President

HRH The Duke of Gloucester, KG GCVO.

The Trustees

The trustees meet formally every two months and are in regular contact between these meetings.

Director Nick Spence was first elected to the post of Director in 2010 and was re-elected for a further term of 3 years in 2011. He was one of the earliest members to join RAPID UK. He is the GWAS HART Training Manager

Members’ Representative Simon Thomasson was elected to be one of two members’ representatives in 2010 for a term of 2 years. He is an experienced operational member who has deployed on a number of emergency response and training missions. He is a mobile telephone technician.

Members’ Representative Pete Old was elected to be one of two members’ representatives in 2011 for a term of 2 years. He is a long serving and experienced operational member who has deployed on a number of emergency response and training missions. A qualified paramedic, he is a NHS resilience planning manager

The Operations Committee

The Operations Committee is responsible to the Board of Trustees for all operational matters. It oversees all national and international operations and training. It is supported by the a team of designated co-ordinators with specific areas of responsibility.

Operations Director John Holland was re-elected to the post of Operations Director in 2010 for a period of 4 years. He is one of the founder members of RAPID UK and its most experienced search and rescue specialist. He has participated on almost all emergency response deployments and a number of training missions. He is an officer in the Defence Fire Service.

Member John Miller was re-elected to the Operations Committee in 2010 for a period of 2 years. He is one of the longest serving and most experienced operational members of RAPID UK. He is a builder

Member Mark Wilson-North was elected to the Operations Committee in 2010 for a period of 2 years. He is also the equipment procurement co-ordinator.  He is an experienced search and rescue expert who has deployed on a number of emergency response and training missions. He is an officer in Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service.

Volunteers

RAPID UK has about 100 volunteers who fall into two broad categories, Operational Members and Support Members.

Operational Members undergo a rigorous selection process before they are able to start training. Historically RAPID UK has always had far more volunteers than it can accommodate and it can therefore be very selective about whom it accepts for training.

Support Members support the Organisation in a myriad of ways including fund raising, training support, administrative and logistical support in the headquarters, equipment maintenance and husbandry and staffing the operations room during deployments