DARTMOOR Rescue Group is currently trying to track down past members in order to help celebrate its 40th anniversary in May. Members of the team's Okehampton section are being sought to celebrate the milestone. The voluntary service was set up in 1968, initially by a few enthusiasts in Tavistock, but now involves nearly 200 people in the four centres of Tavistock, Okehampton, Plymouth and Ashburton. Originally focused on helping walkers on the moor, the teams' expertise has developed into managing search and rescue operations in any terrain. This is recognised by the police who are using them increasingly to find vulnerable people in other rural areas throughout Devon and Cornwall. More recently, the ambulance services have been able to call upon the teams to provide stretcher transport where vehicle access is impossible. Peter Wright, team secretary for the North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team, said: 'It's not easy to trace past members of the Okehampton team as they have come from a wide area — Willand in the East to Holsworthy in the west and as far north as Barnstaple. 'During its 40 years existence 1,000 people will have contributed to the work of DRG.' On May 24 the organisation is holding a celebratory dinner at the Holiday Inn in Plymouth for past and present members and will include awards for those members who have clocked up 25 years with the service.' If any former member would like to join others for the dinner in May please contact the Okehampton secretary at PO Box 52, Okehampton, EX20 3WZ or email [email protected]">[email protected] for more information. Contacts for other teams will be passed on to the relevant secretary.
