6-Nov-2017 Source: Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is delighted to announce ‘Pegasus’ as the name for our AW169 helicopter.
In August, we announced a competition to find a name for our aircraft and entries immediately began flooding in. By the time the closing date arrived, nearly one thousand entries had been received.
Three entries were shortlisted after receiving the same number of votes, before a final deliberation saw ‘Pegasus’ come out the winner.
Four members of the public submitted the name as their preferred choice: Mrs Fear (Glastonbury), Poppy Holt (St. Dunstan’s School, Glastonbury), Mark Williams (Frome) and Angela Andrews (Wincanton). All were extremely thrilled when they received a call from the Charity informing them of the decision. Each will be invited to attend a formal naming ceremony in January where the name will be unveiled on the aircraft.
Lord Lieutenant of Somerset Annie Maw said: “It was my absolute pleasure to be part of the judging panel which selected the name for our air ambulance. Nearly 16 years ago, I was rescued from a fog bound Mendip and on that day the air ambulance team found me by locating the Cathedral in Wells, then following St. Thomas street out of town and up to the top of the hills where they hovered very low in search for me.
“If it hadn’t been done by someone as experienced and capable as they were, more of my spinal cord would have been damaged and I might have ended up unable to use my arms and hands. I will always be undyingly grateful and it is my absolute pleasure to be one of the Charity’s Patrons. ‘Pegasus’ is a remarkable aircraft, which I know will help the team to do remarkable things.”
Running alongside the naming competition was an art competition aimed at our younger audience and entries once again came flooding in. Many local schools used the opportunity for pupils to be creative during lessons, whilst others promoted the initiative and encouraged youngsters to take part. The judges were enormously impressed by the quality and detail of the entries and found it extremely difficult to single out the winners.
“Judging the art competition with its different categories was also a terrific challenge with such a huge amount of young talent on display. The artistic quality was excellent and we had to look long and hard to come to our decisions. I found it such a privilege to be involved and to be able to appreciate the work and imagination that had gone into the entries.”
The result of the art competition was as follows. Well done to all!
Under 5’s:
Ages 6-11
Ages 12-17
