Celebrating 30 years of saving lives

Around 200 people packed the hangar at Cornwall Air Ambulance headquarters to celebrate 30 years of saving lives.

In April 1987, Cornwall became the first place in the UK to launch an air ambulance helicopter service. Now 30 years on and more than 26,000 missions later, a roster of crew past and present, airlifted patients, trustees, supporters and many more, gathered to celebrate the milestone in the charity’s history.

The guests included the Cornwall Air Ambulance’s first ever pilot Geoff Newman and first paramedic Paul Westaway, who were both instrumental in setting up the lifesaving service.

Geoff said: “For the past 30 years, I’ve felt a quiet contentment that the Cornwall Air Ambulance has continued to thrive and inspired other services. It’s not often you get to make a small scratch on the world. We’re very, very proud of what we achieved. We had the good fortune to meet likeminded people. It was meant to be.”

Paul added: “It is not only my life that was changed by the air ambulance, for countless thousands have benefited from the skill of the crews who fly on the helicopters. They have also benefited from the sheer speed which the crews can be delivered to incidents wherever they occur and when necessary, the patients can quickly be flown to an appropriate hospital.”

Below is a selection of photos from the event which took place on Friday 31 March at the Cornwall Air Ambulance airbase in Newquay.