One of the first station teams to record its activities was based at Llandwrog in North Wales. This team was formed in 1942 by Flight-Lieutenant G. W. Graham who was the station medical officer. He opened the first log book in 1943, by which time his men were referred to as a mountain rescue section, and they possessed transport. Whether this was reserved exclusively for mountain rescue or was on loan from the Motor Transport Section is not recorded, but it came in all shapes and sizes; a heterogeneous collection which was a very distant cry from the tested, streamlined efficiency of the Land-Rovers and Bedfords now in use. Teams were different too, formed from scratch and using what ever equipment and clothing they could find and adapt for the specialised business of mountaineering and rescue.

The first time this team was used, with transport and fully equipped, was on July 6th, 1943, when they went to the scene of a crash at Llangerniew in Denbighshire, north of Snowdonia. A Lancaster had exploded on impact, with a total loss of life.

Eighteen days later an Oxford crashed at Tal y Cafn in the Conway Valley and the pilot escaped with a shaking. This rescue deserves mention on two counts: firstly, the dash from Llandwrog to Tal y Cafn - thirty-three miles in thirty-two minutes, and secondly, the fact that the radio was useless because the wireless operator wasn't accustomed to the type of set in use. As a result it was recommended that a number of wireless operators should be specially trained for mountain rescue work.

The lack of specialised equipment in these days would seem ludicrous to the modern climber. When a Ventura crashed on Carnedd Dafydd the team was delighted with the Thomas stretcher which they borrowed from the civilian mountain rescue post at Idwal Cottage. The R.A.F. were equipped with the ordinary general service stretcher. The Thomas, with its sledge runners, harnesses for front and rear men, its straps and cut-aways for extra bearers at the sides, was a great improvement on the clumsy old contrivance which was only suitable for short distances on level ground and then only allowed of two bearers.

Footwear was another problem in the early days. After a test-run for radio soon after the team was formed, it was pointed out that gum boots and issue boots were unsuitable for rough ground and that nailed boots were preferable.

The need for a properly equipped mountain rescue service was obvious. Throughout the winter of 1943 aircraft crashes became frequent. In North Wales alone there were 10 in the latter half of 1943, 5 of these between November 8th and December 26th. From the date of its inception in 1942 until the end of 1943 the Llandwrog team rescued thirty-three survivors from twenty-two crashes. More startling proof of the necessity for mountain rescue teams were the general statistics. From 1942 until 1944 82 survivors were rescued by the teams out of a total of 347 aircrew. There were 81 crashes. Continue to page 2