On 22 July 2024, two aircraft of 1312 Flight RAF, and a civil SAR helicopter based at Stanley in the Falklands, ‘Rescue 1’, demonstrated extraordinary leadership and teamwork during a complex search and rescue operation in the South Atlantic.  This combined operation resulted in the successful rescue of 14 sailors from the fishing vessel ‘Argos Georgia’ which had suffered storm damage and was taking on water 190nm East of the Falkland Islands in extreme weather conditions.

When ‘Argos Georgia’ issued a distress call, authorities initiated a search and rescue operation involving an RAF A400M Atlas and ‘Rescue 1’.  The A400M captain and initial on-scene commander, located the survivors and directed the helicopter to maximise its limited time on scene.  The vessel was sinking and listing at 45 degrees, with two fully-inflated and one partially-inflated life rafts, and one life jacket (thought to be a person in the water) visible in the water.  As ‘Rescue 1’ arrived on scene, with only a potential 20 minutes on task, the crew were informed by the A400M that the life jacket was empty and so the focus moved to the casualties still on the vessel.  ‘Rescue 1’ positioned in a hover alongside the vessel which had only part of the stern out of the water. The crew could see four people still onboard and clinging to the highest point of the stern.  ‘Rescue 1’ manoeuvred to overhead the stricken vessel but with the deck height fluctuating 30-50 feet within seconds whilst also pitching, the crew decided it was unsafe for both casualties and the winch-paramedic to attempt to board.

The decision was made to reposition to the nearest life raft which was only partially inflated and had three survivors visible. The plan was to establish contact with the life raft, deploy a hi-line, and then the winch-paramedic would detach from the winch cable, place two casualties in rescue strops whilst he controlled any swing from below with the hi-line.  This would leave him vulnerable as he would be detached from the aircraft and, ultimately, if there were any malfunctions causing the aircraft to depart the scene, he would be left behind at that point.

With only 10 minutes remaining on scene, on the third attempt to winch to the raft, the winch-paramedic was engulfed by a wave from behind and the life raft was swept away.  Having sustained an injury to his neck and shoulder he was recovered to the aircraft, but with only five minutes remaining on scene, an injured winch-paramedic and 190nm return journey, it was apparent that a further attempt on the life-raft was not feasible.  The winch-operator then spotted a person floating in the water just ahead of ‘Rescue 1’ and it was agreed to attempt to recover the casualty.  However, on reaching the person, they were unresponsive as a strop was placed around them and during winching to the aircraft they slipped from the strop and fell back into the sea.  ‘Rescue 1’ was now two minutes past fuel endurance and so had to return to Stanley.  This left the A400M as the only asset available to maintain oversight and the captain initiated a surface vessel rescue while maintaining visual contact with the life rafts.

On landing back at Stanley, it was apparent that due to on-scene conditions and eastward drift of the life-rafts, a further rescue attempt by ‘Rescue 1’ that night would be fruitless.  Unfortunately, the weather worsened considerably overnight and with 75kt winds, cloud and freezing rain at the surface, it was impossible to launch a subsequent sortie the next day.

As night fell, and nearing the limit of aircraft endurance, the A400M crew co-ordinated a handover with an RAF Voyager aircraft, ensuring all occupied life rafts were located despite stronger-than-anticipated winds and poor visibility.  The Voyager had been scrambled from the Falklands to take-over overwatch duties — a role the Voyager was neither designed nor equipped for.  On arrival, the Voyager crew navigated severe turbulence and thunderstorms at low level; a remarkable feat given the Voyager’s size and weight. Without night vision and with salt spray obstructing visibility, the Voyager adapted air-to-air refuelling navigation procedures to create an improvised search pattern, ensuring oversight of the life rafts.  Through careful crew rotation and effective communication, the Voyager maintained operational focus throughout the nine-hour mission and when the first surface vessel struggled to locate the life rafts due to the sea swell, established communications and guided the vessel to the survivors.

In the face of extreme adversity, the co-ordination between the A400M and Voyager aircraft, with quick decision-making, adaptability to a scenario for which neither aircraft nor crew were trained, and the courage and determination showed by the crew of ‘Rescue 1’, the crews of all three aircraft demonstrated outstanding leadership, resilience, and professionalism, leading to the eventual rescue of 14 sailors.  For their combined actions and achievement in a successful rescue mission, the crews of all three aircraft are jointly awarded the Master’s Medal.

... of the Guild Medal

1976  F A Laker Esq

1977  awarded twice
      Captain J Schuman (posthumously) and Herr J Veito of Lufthansa Flight 181
      The Royal Air Force Red Arrow Aerobatic Team

... of the Master's Medal 

1985  Captain John Testrake

1986  PO ACMN L Slater

1987  R Branson Esq and Per Lindstrand

1988  Captain S Yousif

1989  not awarded

1990  FO A Atchison

1991  Miss H Sharman

1992  not awarded

1993  Captain E J Wyer

1994  not awarded

1995 Air Cdre A N Nicholson OBE QHS RAF

1996 - 1998  not awarded

1999  Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard of the Breitling Orbiter 3

2000  not awarded

2001  Polly Vacher

2002  Caroline Gough-Cooper and Imogen Asker 

2003  David K Hempleman-Adams OBE

2004  HMS ENDURANCE

2005  Not Awarded

2006  The crew of 7 Flt AAC -  WOI1 Challis (Aircraft Commander), Sgt Khanlarian and Cpl Leah

2007  Awarded twice:
      Apache Patrol Members of 656 Sqn AAC
      POACM James O'Donnell QGM

2008  not awarded

2009  Awarded twice:
      The Crew of US Airways Flight 1549
      Captain Charles "Chalkie" Stobbart

2010  Awarded twice:
      Captain Michael Fairhurst and First Officer James Brown
      Captain Stephen Noujaim

2011  Lt Cdr William Strickland USCG

2012  David "Wheely Dave" Sykes

2013 Awarded twice:
      Lt Cdr Vincent Jansen USCG
      Sgt Rachael Robinson QGM

2014  not awarded

2015  Solar Impulse - Dr Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg

2016  Awarded twice:
      Tracey Curtis-Taylor
      Timothy Peake CMG BSc(Hons)

2017  Awarded twice:
      Flt Sgt Mike Rowlands
      Cdr Matthew Grindon RN

2018  not awarded

2019  Awarded to:
      Winchman Paramedic Carlton Real
      Wg Cdr Rob Caine MBE MA RAF
      James Ketchall

2020  Flt Lt Richard Davoren RAF

2021  Awarded twice:
      Lt Col Adam Thornton USAF
      Flt Lt Matthew Douglas RAF

2022  Awarded twice:
      Zara Rutherford
      Mack Rutherford

2023  Flight Lieutenant Matthew Pilbeam RAF

2024  Captain Neil Jeffers