I have known Peter, an elder at a local Church, for many years, and he is a Friend of our Surrey-Mid Branch.  However, I only discovered recently that he works as a Project Specialist at the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service HQ in Reigate.  Immediately the thought of Badged New Testaments for the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service came to mind, so I suggested it to him and he said he would make enquiries.

Sometime later Peter reported that the Assistant Chief Fire Officer for the County was in favour.  We discovered that the 28 Fire and Rescue Stations across the County, together with HQ administrative staff, employ just short of 700 personnel.  So 700 Testaments were ordered with the Service’s crest on the new bright red cover specified for Fire and Rescue Brigades. 

Subsequently it was arranged for three branch members to meet up with Steve, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, at the Headquarters to discuss how best to distribute the Testaments to the 28 Fire Stations. He said they would be delivered by their supplies vehicle and notification would be given to all staff beforehand in official communications. 

Steve mentioned his Army tour of duty in Afghanistan and how his son was now serving there.  He had given a New Testament he owned to his son before departure as he thought he might need it. He also showed us the cricket pavilion at the Wray Park HQ site which had fallen into disrepair and had now been refurbished as a permanent Brigade memorial to commemorate the 100 or so Surrey Fire and Rescue Service personnel who fell in the two World Wars. 

The outcome was an excellent Memorial Dedication Service on a beautiful, sunny October day last year.  After the ceremony, our Zone 6 Trustee, Reg Harris, was able to present Badged Presentation Bibles to the Surrey Chief Fire Officer, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, the High Sheriff of Surrey, the Chairman of Surrey County Council and our Gideon Friend, Peter, who acted so effectively as the mediator.

We also asked if Steve had contacts with other emergency services in the South East, and if he would be willing to ask if they also might like Badged Testaments.  He has numerous such contacts and said, “They will be jealous when they see how attractive our Testaments are!”

Of these contacts, so far the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMBS) has shown the most interest.  The Senior Chaplain has shared the idea with all the other Chaplains and they are keen to go ahead.  Tony Lovering, our National Scripture and Membership Development Manager, has started discussions to plan implementation.  SECAMBS covers Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex and a part of Hampshire, with numerous Ambulance Stations and many staff.

We give thanks to God for this sequence of unexpected developments, apparently springing from a “chance” question about Peter’s job.

Handley Hammond (Zone 6 Vice Trustee)