Apart from being a good friend Rob is also the SARworld editor-in-chief and has recently been described as a bloke who knows sh!tloads of dead cool stuff about search, though we prefer the term 'Independant SAR Consultant" - This more than qualifies him as important enough to warrant his own interview and I felt you all had a right to know a bit more about the man, the legend, the jumper!

So.... Tell us a bit about yourself, your work, your SAR role, hobbies etc.

Two years short of forty years old, happily married for nearly twelve years with two great children, seven and four, I live very contentedly in Bracknell. I work occasionally as a lecturer / tutor, but mostly I stay at home, look after my children and work on Search and Rescue stuff!

When I'm not working on SAR stuff I'm generally reading about it but I am also an avid reader of most things non-fiction.

How did you get into SAR?

I quit university at the age of 19 when I was accepted into the Fire Service. When an injury forced my retirement just one year into my career, I played around for a few years before going to work in Fire Safety & Engineering and Emergency Planning.

So when, one day, some SEBEV volunteers collared me in Bracknell town centre and told me how suitable I would be as a member, I was flattered enough to join up. How gullible was I?

I have, however, thoroughly enjoyed working with SAR volunteers from a lot of different SAR disciplines ever since – and long may it continue!

What was your most memorable SAR moment?

My most memorable moment in SAR was, in fact, probably also my worst. After the find of a body I was called to give evidence to the Coroner's Court. After the verdict the Family Liaison Officer asked if I would be willing to speak to the family. What actually happened was the family lined up and took it in turns to shake my hand and thank me for finding their relative.

Whilst this is one of the reasons we all do the job, to give closure to the family when we can't return their relative alive, I am not enough of a people-person to do justice to this sort of situation.

What would you most like to see change?

Don't get me started!

My main concern is the almost arbitrary way missing person searches are suspended. Maybe I am wrong, but the suspension of a search has more to do with the police “will” at the time than with any objective measurement and very often the will is not there – especially at the end of a shift or as an operational search period comes to an end.

This, I believe, is a training issue – both for the police but also for lowland search and rescue. If our Search Managers / Controllers are not confident enough, for whatever reason, to tackle the early suspension of a misper search and cannot give good reasons as to why the search should be continued then what hope do police officers have with what to them is one of a hundred different roles that they have to do.

Of course, this leads onto the training and assessment of Search Managers / Controllers within ALSAR – something which has to be addressed before things can be moved on!

What piece(s) of kit couldn’t you do without?

It's funny but despite being non-operational the piece of kit I could not do without, is the piece of kit I spend most of my time training all SAR volunteers I meet to use. A pen/pencil and a piece of paper!

Nowadays I use it to keep note of all those ideas that pop into my mind – knowing that if I don't write it down I will forget it within minutes. If it isn't written down these days, it isn't going to happen / get done.

Likewise, for all you SAR volunteers, if it isn't recorded these days – it didn't happen! The pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

What is/are your favourite SAR websites?

SARworld, obviously although of course SARworld started as an idea on my original blog, Re-Search.

Bob Koester's dbs-SAR website is full of great stuff, as is Charles Twardy's SARBayes website too.

But I love Google for finding all those tiny but interesting SAR websites out there!

What is your favourite website/piece of software/app?

I am a closet “open source” software fan – open office, GIMP etc.

I hate paying for access / software / apps and I love the FREE option.

Who inspires you?

SAR volunteers who do all this remarkable stuff, then walk away, seeking no glory, no recognition, content that they have done a good job; the right thing.

To me, they (you) are all heroes!

It is because of the great work you all do that I want to support you in any way I can.

Anything else you’d like to add…

There are so many great people out there in the SAR world, there just isn't time for me to meet you all – but I'll give it a good go!

But what better place to start than meeting here on SARworld. If you haven't joined our forums, why not join today and introduce yourself? And start contributing in any way you can – in the forums, by suggesting interesting weblinks, sending in your press releases or maybe even writing an article or two...