Lou Grant.
Sergeant New Zealand Police.
30-12-1953 to 26-11-1993.
Lou was a mate of mine.
.
Above (left) is a pic of Lou taken at Lake Vanda, Antarctica in 1987.
The reason for the dress uniform escapes me.
Lou was the leader of a small field team based for the summer months at the Lake Vanda Station in the Wright Valley, Antarctica.
Lou was selected to go to the US to gain an insight into police helicopter operations. On his return to NZ from the States he was instrumental in setting up the Eagle operation at Auckland.
One very vivid memory was of the hike we made to the western end of "The Dias".
Lou had a couple of young sons waiting back in Auckland with his wife Cathy at this time - one of whom had just lost one of his teeth. This was ceremoniously placed under a rock on the western end of the Dias overlooking the Labyrinth, the Upper Wright Glacier and Airdevronsix Ice Falls..
It being Lou's hope that his son would someday retrieve that tooth.
"The Lou Grant Award".
Lou's widow Cath Grant donated a bronze trophy which is awarded every two years for excellence and contribution to police SAR.
Lou Grant ran the Auckland Police SAR squad for many years, leaving SAR only to set up the Auckland Police air support unit.
Thanks for the memory Sir Minty.
The TAIC report on this accident can be found here :-
Click on "Download the report" at right hand side of page.
http://www.taic.org.nz/AviationReports/tabid/78/ctl/Detail/mid/482/InvNumber/1993-020/Page/19/Default.aspx
Also check this out:-
This artists impression was drawn by Allan Campbell (a US visiting artist) and shows the Dias as seen - looking West - from Vanda Station.
The "Tooth" is at the far end of the formation - about 16km away.
You may have noted that this art work is drawn on a thermograph chart.
This is a two piece work. The other view is looking to the East.
A copy hangs with pride on my lounge wall.
No comments:
Post a Comment