Bob Hutchinson regretfully announced today that he was standing down from the active callout-list membership, after 24 years unbroken service to the Bolton MRT.

Bob first joined the team in 1980, and became our 4^th Team Leader in 1981, up to 1983. He further served the Team in the office of Chairman, 1984-1987, and Deputy Team Leader for the period 1989-1990. He will also be remembered in the Team for his role in the 1990’s in organising the very successful Team fundraising “Milliken” weekends (a very big corporate fundraiser for us). Bob also gave sterling service for a number of years as the secretary to our regional body, the MPSRO. He was also a past chairman of the MPSRO.

Never a climber, but a very experienced mountaineer, including considerable knowledge of parts of the Scottish Highlands, he successfully completed the 3 Peaks (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Snowdon) in the 24 hour period allowed. He was the central organiser of the Team’s winter Scotland trips throughout the 1980’s, to the Mamores, Glencoe, and Cairngorms.

Bob took the decision to leave the active Team after long deliberation, but in his own words, “Time moves on, it’s very much a younger man’s game, and I put a lot of time into the Team to date”. Bob will be very much missed on our Wednesday nights and callouts, but he retains a very strong link with the Team, through remaining the Team’s President.

He will always be known to some members as “RSH” (Robert Stewart Hutchinson); a particular loss will be his infectious sense of humour and the fact nobody could ever really keep his sense of giddiness in control, other than his mother.

Good luck Bob, in your quiet retirement, from all your many friends within the team, those associated with the Team, and Mountain Rescue in general.