A man who works for BAE Systems at its Samlesbury site and volunteers as a mountain rescuer in his spare time has been honoured by the King.
Kevin Camplin, part of the manufacturing team at BAE Systems’ Air Sector site, has been handed an MBE for his services to mountain rescue in the New Year’s Honours list.
He was one of more than a dozen Lancastrians honoured in the list, which included a former MP and charity champions.
Mr Camplin was a former team leader with the Bowland and Pennine Mountain Rescue Team from 2014 to 2023, having volunteered with the service since 2002.
He helped in a number of high-profile incidents including the search for Padiham murder victim Katie Kenyon in 2022, the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy of 2004, and was an incident controller during the 2015 Boxing Day floods.
Mr Camplin helped in the search for Katie Kenyon in the Forest of Bowland in 2022 Mr Camplin, from Lancaster, said: “It is an unexpected honour to be awarded an MBE.
“It is as a member of a team, alongside others, that provides all the support and delivery that means we can carry out our search and rescue activities within our communities.”
A Bowland Pennine MRT spokesperson said: “On behalf of myself and the rest of the team, I would like to congratulate Kev on being awarded this honour.
“It is no small undertaking to give the commitment needed as a team member and as a Team Leader for so long. Well done, Kev.”
Mr Camplin was one of three BAE Systems current and former employees to be recognised in the 2025 New Year’s Honours.
David Bond, former chief executive of Sheffield Forgemasters for six years on secondment from BAE Systems, was handed a CBE for services to the defence industry.
Mr Bond, from Winchester, retired in 2024 after 39 years with BAE Systems and predecessor companies.
Another retiree, David Corfield, was handed an MBE for his services to the defence industry and aviation.
Mr Corfield, from Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, spent 46 years with BAE Systems, including most recently as chief executive of Prismatic where he lead the team developing the PHASA-35 unmanned solar-powered aircraft.