David Burchell is an English first aid worker, nominated for the South London Press Our Heroes Award, an award established by the London newspaper, to celebrate his nearly 50 years of service to the community. This is his story. David was only 17 years old when he joined St. John Ambulance, the historical English charity organisation committed to providing first aid, which over the years has become an international icon. It was 1964 and his first major job was attending the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, in January 1965.
Since then David has attended countless important events including the London Marathon, the Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilees and the Olympics.

His story talks for itself, David has years of experience, gained from numerous different situations even though he himself is modest when speaking about it: “It’s just a question of being in the right place at the right time; you find yourself there by chance in different situations and you get on with it”. David, now 65, joined St. John Ambulance on the advice of his parents, who had themselves also dedicated 60 years to the same organisation in Sussex.

For 40 years David juggled his voluntary work alongside his full time job as a gas engineer, turning out for two or three events a week and he tackles paperwork on a daily basis in his role as local divisional superintendent.