SEBEV Search and Rescue
Encyclopedia
| Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue (SEBEV) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Information | |||
| Role | Search and Rescue, Civil Contingencies | ||
| Contact | Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue (SEBEV) The Basement EP Conference Centre, Peacock Lane, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 3DF United Kingdom |
||
| Website | www.sebev.co.uk | ||
| History | |||
| Year founded | 1980 | ||
| Emblem | Hernes Oak | ||
| Notable | Queens Award for Voluntary Service | ||
| Previous Designation | South East Berkshire Emergency Volunteers | ||
| Chairman | Kris Manning (since April 2010) | ||
| Charity Number | 1046861 | ||
Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue (SEBEV) (pronounced sea-bev) is a registered charitable Lowland search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
team based in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and provides support functions (primarily Search and Rescue) to Thames Valley Police
Thames Valley Police
Thames Valley Police, formerly known as Thames Valley Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley area covered by the ceremonial counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire....
and the Emergency Planning departments of various local authorities in Berkshire. In common with most UK SAR teams, SEBEVs members are all unpaid volunteers.
The original meaning of SEBEV was South East Berkshire Emergency Volunteers however the full title was dropped in 1994 and the team was then known simply as SEBEV Search & Rescue (or sometimes by the media as Berkshire Search & Rescue) in order to better reflect their role. In 2011 SEBEV changed its name again to Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue (SEBEV).
History
The organisation was originally set-up in 1980 by John Cowling as a Civil Defence volunteer team to provide support for the local authorities and the statutory emergency services during civil emergencies as a Category 1 responder, support organisation (CCA 2004). At the time its membership consisted of mainly Council employees who met once a month for basic training in such things as message handling, logging and plotting and map reading.In 1981 SEBEV acquired its own headquarters, an ex street cleansing depot, in one of the local housing estates which was redesigned and redecorated as a training area with communications facilities. Gradually the council staff left and replacement volunteers came from friends. Over a period of time they became entirely composed of non local authority staff, with the exception of the Borough Emergency Planning Liaison Officer. In 1984 the team moved from their single room premises into Easthampstead Park
Easthampstead Park
Easthampstead Park is a Victorian mansion in the civil parish of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire. It is currently a conference centre.-Location:...
in Wokingham, taking over the basement area already used by the government as a bomb shelter. EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) is still the home of SEBEV to this day.
SEBEV members meet once a week to undertake training as well as training weekends, at home and away.
In 1995, its primary function changed to providing Lowland Search and Rescue support for Berkshire. The team, based at Easthampstead Park Conference Centre in Wokingham, Berkshire is available 24 hours a day to search for missing persons. SEBEV also assists other SAR teams in neighbouring counties, when needed. The team has its own fully equipped Incident Control Vehicle and an Incident Support Vehicle plus all equipment necessary for Rescue and First Aid purposes.
SEBEV meets weekly for training in such subjects as search techniques. communications, navigation, first aid, including use of Automatic External Defibrillators, rescue techniques, team building, navigation amongst other subjects.
SEBEV is a member team of ALSAR
ALSAR
Association of Lowland Search And Rescue is a voluntary organisation in the UK which assists the emergency services in the search for missing persons. It is part of the UKSAR operators group appointed by the Department for Transport....
the Association of Lowland Search and Rescue and is mentioned in the Search and Rescue Framework for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
SEBEV Search & Rescues' logo depicts a stag eating from Herne's Oak in Windsor Forest. Variations on this are used in a number of images to represent the Royal County of Berkshire.
Fundraising and Events
Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue (SEBEV) is funded purely by its own fundraising efforts, local community events and occasional grants or donations.SEBEV provides first aid, marshals and stewards for local events such as carnivals, music festivals, sports activities and firework displays.