One of Dorset Search and Rescue’s dedicated volunteers has gone above-and-beyond by making a significant donation to the charity. Stuart Ward has been an operational Lowland Rescue Search Technician since 2018 and a trainee Water Rescue Technician since 2019.

Sadly, in 2019, Stuart’s mother, Pam Ward, passed away. In an effort to bring something positive out of an upsetting time, Stuart decided to make a generous donation in Pam’s memory.

Stuart approached our operations team and said he wished to make the donation and asked what equipment we needed. One thing we are always in need of expanding is our bank of digital radios. Digital radios are at the heart of Search Operations. They allow our teams to communicate effectively with each other and with Search Control. They are absolutely vital.

With this in mind, the operations team worked with Stuart to identify what was needed and we were fortunate enough to be gifted four handheld Motorola digital radios, complete with fist-mics. This was not quite enough for Stuart, who decided to then add on four earpieces and a spare battery. The total amount comes in at over £2000. An incredibly generous donation from any individual.

The radios have now been purchased, have been programmed by our Radio Communications team and are now ready for operational use.

We'd like to say a big thank you to Stuart.