When John Dempster was 15 he was a keen walker and climber, so joining Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team seemed the obvious thing to do.

Sixty years on the team and how it operates has changed hugely. There are far more call-outs, more equipment, more vehicles and more members. What has not changed is the great friendships and countless adventures the members share.

John, 75, of Brigham Road, has worked tirelessly for the team and made many friends for life. He was chairman for 36 years and also did 15 years as chairman of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association. He stepped down this week from active service.

The former headteacher of Harrington Junior School was brought up in Great Clifton.

“I was in the Scouts and got involved with Workington Rambling Club when I was about 13. I then started scrambling and climbing and would often get the bus to Keswick,” said John, who is married to Wendy.

“The bus would stop in Cockermouth and pick up climbers. That’s how I found out about Cockermouth Mountaineering Club.

“I joined the club in 1956, when I was 15. The club pretty much made up the mountain rescue team.

“The team at the time had a Willys Jeep, a few ropes, a sleeping bag, stretcher and first aid sack. We used the Jeep until 1959 when the team purchased a Rolls Royce which had been converted into an ambulance for the princely sum of £55.”

The team, made up of volunteers and solely funded by donations, now operates out of a spacious bespoke headquarters on Station Road and has four rescue vehicles.

Long gone are the days when they had to lug tilley lamps up the fells.

“No teams had radios in the early 60s, but the civil defence had, so five of us joined – to become the Scientific and Reconnaissance Unit, complete with Geiger counter and, more importantly, a short wheel-base Landrover fitted with a base set and four portable radios,” said John.

Tragically, John’s friends and former team mates Mike Stephenson and Jock Thompson died following an accident on a team practice in 1967.

John was in Bermuda at the time. “I received a telegram. It was a great shock. Mike was my best friend. He was due to be godfather to our daughter Elsa.”

John retired from school 20 years ago and spent much of the next five years heading up an appeal for the team’s new base.

He said: “There’s been a lot of progressing and improving over the years. The team has been a huge part of my life and I have made many friends.”

He has now stepped down from attending callouts but will remain involved with the team.