Veteran rescuer's 'wonderful work will live on'

John Dempster MBE volunteered for Mountain Rescue for 60 years

Tributes have been paid to the "wonderful work" of a veteran mountain rescue member who has died.

Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) said John Dempster MBE had volunteered for 59 years and "remained actively involved with the team" until days before his passing on 9 October at the age of 84.

John chaired CMRT for 36 years and chaired the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association (LDSAMRA) for 15 years where he provided "invaluable support" to Lake District teams.

LDSAMRA described his death as the "sad loss of a stalwart" while CMRT said his work "ultimately made the lives of rescuers safer and improved outcomes for our casualties".

John first began volunteering in 1956, at the age of 15.

"In the days before radios, young team members like John were recruited to act as runners, relaying messages between the casualty site and the police, or providing updates to base via the phone in the kitchen at Gatesgarth Farm in Buttermere," CMRT said.

CMRT said John was pivotal in the "colossal achievement" of establishing a new headquarters in 2003

He later became the chair of CMRT and for 36 years he helped to push through "numerous improvements" including the "colossal achievement" of establishing a new headquarters in 2003.

Mountain rescue teams said John would also be remembered for his work as chair of the LDSAMRA and then later president.

John began volunteering for CMRT three years after it was established

He worked with Cumbria Police to set up a "ground-breaking insurance policy for volunteers and spearheaded numerous other initiatives that ultimately made the lives of rescuers safer and improved outcomes for our casualties," CMRT continued.

John, who was a headteacher at Thursby and Harrington primary schools, was awarded an MBE for services to Mountain Rescue in 2005.

"His memory will live on in the rescues we attend which, in no small part, are possible because of the wonderful work that John committed so much of his life to," CMRT added.