Brian Jackson, left, and other volunteers receive their long service awards for Search & Rescue

Elim member honoured by the King

For the past 40 years, Elim Leicester member Brian Jackson has volunteered for a huge variety of causes. His tireless efforts were rewarded when King Charles announced his first ever New Year’s Honours List. Chris Rolfe found out more

When King Charles’ first ever New Year’s Honours List was revealed, Brian Jackson was very surprised to find himself on it.

But with 40 years’ dedicated volunteering with the Boys’ Brigade, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, the emergency services, Leicestershire Search & Rescue and more, his British Empire Medal was thoroughly deserved.

Describing to Direction his dedicated years of service, Brian says one of the reasons he was awarded his BEM is his work helping to found and run Leicestershire Search & Rescue.

“It’s a nationally accredited team that’s made up of everyone from serving fire, police and ambulance crews to wedding planners, engineers, drone operators and dog handlers,” he explains.

The 11-year-old team works closely with Leicestershire Police to undertake lowland searches for vulnerable people.

“If someone is reported missing and the police decide they are high-risk – children or people with Alzheimer’s, who have medical problems or who are suicidal – they will call us.

“We’ll put a search plan together, raise a team and meet to begin searching with the police. We’re looking for people who don’t know they’re missing or don’t want to be found.” Brian has various roles. As a dispatcher, he handles those crucial initial calls from the police. As a navigation and team leader he helps direct the search.

And at 76, Brian is also ‘the fitness person’ in charge of the group’s annual five-mile fitness tests – which he enjoys running around, he adds, much to the envy of the team!

It is hugely rewarding, Brian says, when his team rescues a vulnerable person.

“One summer we conducted a search for an elderly gentleman with dementia. He’d gone missing, so we did a three-day search in the countryside.

“On day three my team were standing with a cornfield in front of us planning where we’d go next. We heard a groan, went around the edge of the field and found the gentleman.

He’d fallen over and been there for three days. The farmer was planning to combine-harvest the field that day.” The gentleman, although hypothermic and dehydrated, was fine and was taken to hospital. Other searches can be much more distressing, however. Brian tells of searches for people who are suicidal.

“We’ve had a lot of callouts where we go into wooded areas at night and find people hanging in trees.

“The police will secure the area as a crime scene and search for evidence, but after this we assist with body recoveries. When Covid came to an end we saw an awful increase in suicides – where people had been furloughed then lost their jobs and got into money difficulties.”

Brian has dedicated more than 1,500 hours to assisting with around 65 search and rescue missions across Leicestershire and Rutland. But alongside his work here he has also racked up time with several other organisations.

In his early volunteering days, he was involved with the Boys’ Brigade, organising activities and camping trips.

But when his daughter Sharon pointed out the bias towards boys and begged him to start something for girls, he introduced the Duke of Edinburgh Award in his church. “That’s how I got into search and rescue,” he explains. “I was teaching first aid on the hills to the kids and looking out for them during their DofEs. This also led me to become a first responder for the East Midlands Ambulance Service, which I’ve done for a number of years.”

Brian also spent several years working with his local Red Cross fire support team, which is where the nomination for his award originated.

“That was helping people who’d had a major fire. Once the fire brigade had gone they were basically left standing in the street, so we’d go out with a mobile home and get them into somewhere warm.

“Quite often they would have run from a blazing fire in their nightwear, so we’d give them somewhere to go, give them clothes and help them begin sorting their insurance out.”

Thinking of the many and varied volunteer activities Brian has taken part in that led to his BEM, he attributes his achievement to God.

“I wouldn’t have got the award if it wasn’t for God dragging me into Boys’ Brigade and my daughter getting into her DofE. I think it was God’s plan right from the beginning, 40 years ago.”

Police force sends congratulations

Leicestershire Police were among the first to congratulate Brian for earning his BEM. The force’s search co-ordinator sergeant Chris Haines said in a statement:

“Brian has been a vital part of LeicSAR for nearly ten years and is always one of the first to arrive when we require assistance – whatever the time, day or weather conditions.

“Along with the rest of the team, he selflessly gives up his own time to help people in a crisis and it is very much a joint effort when it comes to saving lives and helping to reunite families with a loved one who has gone missing. The force is grateful for all they do and we congratulate Brian on his well-deserved accolade.”

35 years of church service recognised

Brian’s award doesn’t just recognise his service with the emergency services. It also honours his 35 years volunteering at his church, Elim Leicester.

In the early days, this involved running youth and Boys’ Brigade groups.

“For many years I ran what we called the Upper Room Club which was a teenage Bible study, and because I was very involved with youth work anyway, we also had a youth club on Friday nights.”

Today, he helps out at the church’s warm space and food hub and volunteers his technical expertise instead.

“I look after the audio-visual and IT side – I put the PA in, do all the live- streaming and recording and anything electrical in the church,” he says.

This article first appeared in the June 2023 edition of Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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