Bumping into another Dukie in places out of the ordinary is something many of us have experienced over the years but three Dukies popping up in the same place at the same time?

That is exactly what happened on the last weekend in June, when David Bullock (78-83, Haig and Marlborough), Phil Messenger (84-91, Kitchener and Roberts) and Phil Waddell (87-92, Roberts) all qualified as international humanitarian aid responders with UK charity REACT Disaster Response following a tough week of training on Salisbury Plain.

All three had previously served in the British Army and although there had been a couple of chance meetings in the intervening years none had any idea they would join REACT at the same time. David, who had also served in the Australian Army and fire service, has worked as an aid responder Down Under. Phil Waddell became involved in humanitarian work in 2022, twice driving in a convoy of aid to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

While REACT Responders come from a variety of backgrounds, a large number are military veterans, many come from blue light services; others are simply people with a burning desire to make a real difference.

REACT Responder volunteers receive intensive training to re-act to emergencies and disasters both here in the UK and internationally. International work can involve helping people affected by natural disasters, getting aid to people in hard to reach places, enabling people to access clean drinking water and much more. Teams of REACT Responders have deployed to support populations in Turkey, Ukraine, the Caribbean, Asia and even Australia.

More information about the work REACT Disaster Response do, how to get involved and how to support the charity can be found at https://www.re-act.org.uk/

Phil Waddell