Aircrewman is honoured at palace

A FORMER Mossley man has been awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his part in a dramatic rescue operation.

Chief Petty Officer Aircrewman Dave Rigg was presented with the honour at Buckingham Palace by Princess Anne for his courageous and determined attempt to save a life in treacherous conditions.

The former St Damian’s School pupil, who serves in the 771 Naval Air Squadron based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, was the winchman and paramedic on duty on November 10, 2008, when the crew were scrambled just before midnight to a Spanish fishing vessel near the Isles of Scilly.

In the pitch black and seas whipped up by gale force winds, it took more than 30 minutes to get Chief Rigg on to the deck.

He was faced with a critically injured man, who had been hit by a cable that had almost severed his upper and lower torso.

Chief Rigg managed to get him on board the helicopter and continued to administer emergency treatment, successfully resuscitating the casualty five times.

But despite his valiant efforts, the fisherman died before they reached the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. By the time the crew returned to base they had been on duty for nearly 20 hours.

Chief Rigg grew up in Mossley before joining the Royal Navy in 1991 and trained initially as a weapons electrical mechanic, serving in HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious before transferring to the Aircrewman Branch in 1996.

After training as an Aircrewman with 810 Naval Air Squadron at Culdrose, he went on to serve with 814 Naval Air Squadron at sea prior to joining 771 Search and Rescue Squadron in 2001, where he is an aircrew instructor, a paramedic and a night vision goggles instructor.

He lives in Porthleven, near Culdrose, with his wife Andrea.