Wokingham

Local Wokingham volunteers who come into their own in an emergency have received a new bursary from Wokingham District Council’s community resilience team.

At a special presentation on January 26, representatives from St John Ambulance, South East Berkshire Emergency Volunteers (SEBEV) Search and Rescue, British Red Cross and WRVS attended a special presentation ceremony to receive the first Adrian Harris Bursaries, funding a place at the Emergency Planning College in Easingwold.

Adrian Harris was emergency planning officer at Wokingham council from February 2001 until April 2005 when he sadly died after a five-year battle with cancer. The community resilience team at Wokingham council decided to form the bursary fund in his name, in line with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 which sets up a working partnership between local authorities and the various voluntary agencies involved in a major incident or emergency.

Wokingham council receives a grant from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, designed to encourage mutual support between local authorities and voluntary agencies for the benefit of the community. The bursary aims to meet that challenge, allowing the recipients to attend an Introduction to Civil Protection at the Cabinet Office’s Emergency Planning College in Easingwold, Yorkshire. The course helps to equip participants with the knowledge they need as responders to an emergency.

Wokingham Council chairman Cllr Iain Brown, who presented each of the recipients with their bursary certificates, said: “I was interested to meet these people who voluntarily give a large amount of their time to help others. It is during an emergency that these people really come into their own, and any council response would not be complete without their help.

“We always think that a crisis won’t happen to us, but of course it always could. I hope that everyone benefits from the course at the nationally-recognised Emergency Planning College and that they bring back tools and knowledge that will make them even more indispensable during an emergency.

“I much admire the team for setting up such a such a worthwhile way of remembering a colleague.”

Recipients of the Wokingham bursary were: Howard Rayner of St John Ambulance, Jenny Truelove of the WRVS, Neil Tamsitt of SEBEV Search and Rescue and Michael Beswetherick of the British Red Cross.

Any member of a voluntary agency in the Wokingham district is welcome to apply for the next round of bursaries from April 2006. Details are available from assistant community resilience officer Deb Brown on (0118) 974 6473.

Wokingham District Council