London Masons are helping two new aircraft get off the ground this autumn – and spearheading a final push for vital donations.

W Bro Simon Greaves LGCR reports

A shelf in the corner of the London Air Ambulance control room, 17 floors above bustling Whitechapel on the roof of the Royal London Hospital, holds a prized collection of helicopter models. The organisers of this vital emergency service are on course to add two more to their collection of big boys’ toys – but these will be real.

On a drizzly day in east London, the crew of the ambulance – its chief pilot, another of the nine pilots, a doctor, paramedic, two specialist firemen and a charity trustee – told Arena how Masonic donations will be key to bringing these two new air ambulances safely into operation over the capital’s skies. 

Six of the 80-strong team operating the service in London are on duty at the helipad. Between tasking, they explain how the capital’s citizens are protected by the air ambulance round the clock. It is a key part of the medical transport network infrastructure that puts us all within just eight minutes of expert care when we need it most. And it’s not just transport: when an injury is so severe that a patient may not make it to hospital, the helicopter effectively brings an emergency department to the patient. They are a key part of why London, with its cluster of specialist hospitals, is the best place to suffer serious illness or injury. 

Some 3% of patients attended to on the ground are transported by air to one of four London hospitals – St George’s, Tooting; King’s College, Denmark Hill; St Mary’s, Paddington; or the Royal London. 

Freemasons in London have been at the forefront of support for this charity, with 96% of its income coming from donations; and the Craft’s rulers have led the impetus to gather further financial resources. 

Chief pilot, Captain Sam Tompkins, (I heard him and his colleagues described as the ‘sky gods’ by other crew), said: “My role here is a mixture of duties. As chief pilot I’m accountable to the CAA for the smooth running of the operation, so on a day-to-day level I manage all the pilots, make sure the rostering’s done in conjunction with all our policies and our operations follow the legislation. The other half of my role is out flying and responding to the jobs as they come.”

“We are a close-knit team and because we spend a lot of time with each other, you have to get on. We recruit very well to allow the team element to shine through.”

“We don’t really see it as ‘action man’ work. When the phone rings, there is a very measured approach to all that we do. The people we carry around in the back, you definitely want them on your side. Someone is having their worst ever day and we want to expeditiously bring that team to them. So you are a lot safer with this team looking out for you.” Adds Paramedic, Ross Aitchison, “I don’t think it’s heroic – we do it because there is a need for it and we have all chosen to have pride in our job.”

Sam continues, “It’s a privilege to be part of the team, and to work over the capital city. It’s something I hold very dear. And it’s only thanks to Londoners and other supporters who really do put their hands in their pocket to go out of their way to keep us flying and able to respond to the job. I can’t say thank you enough [to donors]: they give us their last bit of change and they have that insurance policy for the time they hope will never ever come. Every penny counts. It’s one of those things that you would really miss if you didn’t have it any more.” Paramedic Ross says the contribution from London Freemasons is crucial in getting LAAC’s fundraising over the line.

His pilot colleague, Captain Andy Thomson has 12 years’ experience with the service. “Daily, we turn up to Northolt where the aircraft are hangered, we get our fuel and our maintenance and we’ll meet there in the morning and do our aviation pre-flight checks, pre-flight briefing, check the weather, read NOTAMs (aviation condition reports) and make sure everything is safe. Once we’re happy, we fly the aircraft in to the hospital, and from that moment we are waiting for a job. Throughout the day, we’re mission ready and aim to get airborne in about four minutes. Most flights are three to five minutes on average.

“The environment we work in is trauma. It’s horrible for the patient, their family members and loved ones; but we’ve also got a job to do. We do look after our mental health and wellbeing. We do that through really good briefs, talked through together.” Adds Sam, “Some jobs do get to you. Us pilots are quite lucky in that we are slightly removed; as our primary focus is aviation. Our exposure is a lot less than the medics, which is why their secondment is only 6-12 months, whereas we can continue to do the job for a whole career. It also means we form a well drilled and rehearsed unit for a major incident response.” LAAC provides a peer support programme; essential for staff facing instances of death and disability twice a week; so they can revise and reflect on best practice without being overwhelmed by their experiences. A clinical psychologist is also on hand. Paramedic Ross adds, “Staff are very good at unwinding after a busy day by talking to each other on the way back to base or home.”

Andy again: “It is a critical resource that we are very lucky to have for working people in London – and tourists! I’m very proud to work for this service. We are very lucky to have the support of London Freemasons. They have been absolutely phenomenal; and people just don’t realise what goes on behind the scenes. We see the crew and doctors in the air on the news, but there is so much in the background: the donors, supporters and volunteers – whether its running a marathon or taking a collection bucket – that help is so vital. It’s so important to raise that vital money so that your loved one can still be in front of you.” 

The need for the new aircraft is evident. Andy particularly cites gearbox issues – helicopters are not like cars: there is a severe shortage of parts and the old aircraft are incurring increasing extra maintenance expense. The Masonic-branded Airbus H135 replacements will come with a further unseen benefit for weary Londoners: they have quiet, enclosed tail rotors unlike other aircraft operating over the capital. It’s another reason for Londoners to sleep easy: knowing that medical experts can touch down near you in minutes, without disturbing the neighbours too much.

Dr Chris King, with the service for six months so far, says the varied working day is what he most loves about the job. In 24 hours, he will see 5-7 patients; from road traffic collisions to assaults, falls from heights, or incidents on the Underground network. “We all like to be challenged and stretched; and this job involves a lot of complicated decisions that have to be made quickly. It’s a real luxury coming here and knowing that you can really do the best for your patients in a well-equipped organisation. We can get to our patients incredibly quickly, we have fantastic tools at our disposal to be able to provide the very best care and we are lucky to have such great support from the people who live in London.”

Also on site are a fire crew. Why? Fireman Mark Drewitt says the helipad is the highest in Europe. At over 300ft high, it’s deemed to need its own specialist fire crew, as in the event of an accident, the London Fire Brigade would take around 15 minutes to be on scene. They are trained to deal with fuel leaks or aircraft crashes and prepared for anything. “It’s always amazing to see some of the patients who come up and thank us afterwards. It’s very humbling,” he says. Fireman Michael Horton has spent 17 years with the team and admits that one cost of the job is seeing the darker side of London: shootings, stabbings and bad accidents. But he wouldn’t change the job: he has also picked up much medical knowledge along the way and explains that he also gets to show visitors around the helipad.

A final word from charity trustee Nick Goodwyn, a Freemason (RAF Lodge No 7335 among others) and retired RAF squadron leader. Arena bumped into him, visiting the helipad with his wife and their son. He says, “It’s always very humbling and inspiring to come here and stand with a pilot who’s just come back from a job and may have a busy afternoon ahead. Of course it’s a very exciting time for us at the moment, because we are replacing our existing helicopters with two new helicopters for which we’ve had the Up Against Time challenge. London’s Freemasons have been exceptional in pledging £3mn towards that. The Air Ambulance is unique in that it does outstanding and world-leading surgery at the roadside which is why we have so much interest from brilliant surgeons and surgical teams.” LAAC is not just a transport service and a mobile emergency department, it’s a world leader in trauma research.

Donate at: www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/donate?reason=up-against-time-appeal

The London Air Ambulance in numbers

Average callouts: c5 a day, roughly 2,000 a year. 2023 was the busiest on record with 2,007 patients.

46,000 patients attended since inception in 1989; LAAC expects to treat 25,000 patients over the next 15 years

Last year they carried out 300 emergency anaesthesias, 191 blood transfusions, attended 243 ‘code red’ calls and performed 47 thoracotomies at the roadside 

Average time in the air for each callout: 7.5 minutes

Reach anywhere within the M25 in 11 minutes

Cost to run: £15m annually, plus £15m for the two new helicopters

Median age of patients 31, with 11 per cent under age 18

Visiting the Helipad

Gary Duce of Stoke Newington Lodge No 2552 has featured in Arena before – he’s behind the initiative for an American Sports Special Interest Lodge. Gary is also gameday manager and an Assistant Coach at the London Olympians American Football team, who are also supporting the Air ambulance this year with money collected at all home games. Thanks to their efforts, they got a visit to the helipad – here is Gary, with team manager Clive Maxheath and player Blake Rayment in pads.

Lodges Reach for the Sky

Members of Honor & Generosity Lodge 165 (£25k donor) and Argosy Lodge 5181 (£5k donor) were able to visit the helipad and see how their grants would be applied. They had a chance to speak with both medical and engineering staff, inspect one of the current helicopters (soon to be replaced) and enjoy the incredible views.

Four wheels and over £1000

On 11th May 2024, W Bros Geoff Stuttaford and Martyn Mordecai, both of Sine Favore Lodge No 9856 took part in the CarTen (Cardiff to Tenby) 105-mile Charity Bike ride in aid of the “Up Against Time” Appeal. The ‘Pedalling Police Pensioners’ (their description, not ours, heaven forbid…) hit their target, raising £1010. 

This article is part of the Arena Magazine, Issue 55 Summer 2024 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in the Arena Issue 55 here.