Yorkshire Air Ambulance chairman Peter Sunderland to retire after almost 20 years' service

Peter Sunderland will step down as chairman and trustee at the end of June after 19 years at the helm of the life-saving charity that provides a rapid-response emergency service to more than five million people across the county.

He joined the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) in 2004 after leaving his role at the RMC Group PLC where he worked for more than 27 years as one of their UK directors, bringing with him a wealth of experience.

Mr Sunderland said: “I feel now is the right time to step down from my role with the charity.

“When I first joined the YAA in 2004 it was a very different organisation from the one that it is today. We had one leased Bolkow helicopter that operated from a Portakabin at Leeds Bradford airport.

“The administration was carried out from a small office in Dean Clough Mills in Halifax. Income from donations was very small and hardly covered our costs.”

The charity is independent and relies on public donations to keep the service active, which has helped to save more than 8,000 lives since launching more than 20 years ago.

He added: “A different situation from the very robust and stable position that the charity finds itself in today and I am so very proud of how the YAA has evolved over the years. It has truly been a team effort.”

Under his leadership as chairman since 2006, the charity has surpassed many important milestones including purchasing helicopters, developing two air bases at Nostell and Topcliffe and gaining its own Air Operators Certificate – the first of its kind at the time.

Abby Barmby, director of marketing and communications, said: “Peter has truly been the pillar of YAA for nearly twenty years now and will be greatly missed by us all. He really has made YAA the respected organisation it is, not just as our chairman but as a true ambassador too – a legacy we will all carry forward.

“On behalf of everyone at YAA we’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to both Peter and his wife Margaret who has been a wonderful support to him over the years. We are indebted to them for all they have done.”

In 2007 Mr Sunderland was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 for voluntary services to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Current vice-chair Mike Harrop will become chairman from the start of July when Peter Sunderland steps down.