Charity abseil at Yeovilton
Sailors completed a 100 feet abseil down Yeovil’s tallest building to raise money for a new special care baby unit inYeovil District Hospital.
Three personnel from 815 Naval Air Squadron completed the abseil down the side of Yeovil Hospital on Sunday 5 October 2014 in support of Yeovil Hospital’s Flying Colours Appeal.
The group (comprising 2 Air Engineers and 1 Aircrew member) from Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton heard about the charity abseil in support of the Hospital’s continued efforts to raise money for a new Special Care Baby Unit and decided to join in as a way of helping the appeal with donations from service colleagues.
815 Sqn personnel contributed around £500 to support the group’s participation in the abseil. They were cheered on as they jumped down the 100 ft tall building by plenty of local onlookers.
Lieutenant Amy Gilmore (30) is an Aircrew Observer from 815 Squadron. As an Observer Amy is part of the 2-man crew in a Lynx helicopter, her role includes navigate the aircraft and operate the sensors & weapon systems. Having joined the Royal Navy in 2002 she will shortly be deploying with her Lynx Helicopter, for a 7-month deployment onboard HMS Dragon.
Whilst raising money for the Charity Abseil, Amy said: “I love taking part in sports such as snowboarding, windsurfing, triathlon and doing stupid things like abseiling down the sides of hospitals!”
Leading Air Engineering Technician (LAET) Iain Hart (29) an Aircraft Avionics Engineering technician from 815 Squadron and joined the Royal Navy in 2006.
Ahead of the Charity Abseil, Iain said: “I know that the Flying Colours appeal is raising money for a great cause, colleagues at work have benefited from the care that Yeovil Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit provides to very premature babies. This was a fun way of helping the Appeal reach its target.”
LAET Sean Whitmore (27) is also an Aircraft Avionics Engineering technician from 815 Squadron and joined the Royal Navy in 2008.
After the Charity Abseil, Sean said: “We’re really pleased that we’ve been able to help the Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit appeal in this simple way. It was a little daunting hopping over the edge of Yeovil’s tallest building, but once we got going it was awesome - I want to do it again.”