Blue plaque unveiled for Guernsey ambulance founder
A blue plaque has been unveiled in memory of the founder of Guernsey's ambulance service.The island's ambulance station will also be renamed Blanchford House, after Reg Blanchford, who set up Guernsey's first full-time, dedicated ambulance service in 1936.Mr Blanchford set it up after he was injured in a serious motorcycle crash and had to be taken to hospital by a passing car.Mr Blanchford's son, Gary Blanchford, said: "I am really proud and pleased that this is happening for my father; he did a lot for the island."
Gary said his father had built up the service from a "second hand ambulance", which a local person sponsored.Mr Blanchford Sr became dedicated to the idea of an ambulance service once he had his accident and the car stopped, as "in any other circumstances he probably would have died".
The local service, which later became St John Ambulance and Rescue Service, was set up on builder's yard on the Rohais in St Peter Port owned by Mr Blanchford Sr's father - a site St John still occupies.At the time, the only other ambulance on the island was run by the States of Guernsey on a part-time basis.Mr Blanchford led his service throughout the German occupation.After the war, he developed the road ambulance, the cliff rescue service and in 1952 launched the world's first marine ambulance, the Flying Christine.Mr Blanchford also introduced the first ambulance radio telecommunications system in the UK, as well as the Inshore Rescue Boat service, the Decompression Chamber and a pioneering radar system, a spokesperson for St John said.Mr Blanchford was made an MBE and OBE, as well as receiving a Gold Lifesaving Medal and the George Medal.He was the subject of an episode the BBC TV show This is Your Life in 1959, a show that celebrated the lives of extraordinary people.
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