Bury mountain rescue volunteer honoured with MBE for five decades of service

Monday, 29 December 2025 22:30

By Adam Clark

David Llewellyn Barrington (Credit: Supplied)

A long serving mountain rescue volunteer from Bury has been recognised in the New Year Honours for more than fifty years of lifesaving work across Cumbria and the Lake District.

David Llewellyn Barrington, aged 74, has been awarded an MBE for services to Mountain Rescue in Cumbria and the Lake District.

Mr Barrington has supported communities across the north west since 1967, dedicating much of his life to mountain rescue operations in some of the country’s most challenging terrain.

He has served with the Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team and the Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team, including more than 16 years as a team leader. During that time he was frequently on call around the clock, responding to emergencies in the Pennines and the Lake District fells.

Over his career, Mr Barrington is estimated to have attended more than 2,000 call outs, helping to save lives and assist people who were lost or seriously injured in remote areas.

In 2020, he received the Mountain Rescue England and Wales long service certificate marking 50 years of continuous service.

He continues to support mountain rescue work and since 2019 has served as treasurer for the Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team. In that role he has applied his business experience to strengthen the charity’s finances and improve its fundraising and operational resilience.

Speaking about receiving the honour, Mr Barrington said, “It was and still is a huge shock to be recognised in the New Year Honours list.

“Very rarely am I speechless, but when I was notified, other than being emotional, I just needed to sit down and reflect.

“My sincere thanks go to my fellow mountain rescue colleagues in LAMRT and previously RPMRT who have helped me in over 2,000 rescues.

“Long may I continue helping those injured and lost within the Lake District mountains and fells.”