A tribute to Roland Furber

It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Roland Furber on 4 February 2013. Roland, who was the President of the College of Paramedics, an Honorary Fellow of the College and had been the College's inaugural Chief Executive, had courageously fought ill-health over recent years but despite that, had still managed to drive round the coastline of England, Wales, and Scotland in the spring of 2012. That journey alone personified Roland. It had required months of planning and needed the bottomless reserves of determination, that we all knew he had, to undertake such a challenge on his own. Roland kept his followers up to date with daily blogs which can still be viewed at rolandsramble. wordpress.com, a record which has been converted into a book.

Roland had a long and distinguished career in the UK ambulance services beginning in 1967 and had held a number of senior positions throughout his career. Following retirement from the ambulance service he became tho enormous contribution to the paramedic profession and in setting up and managing the British Paramedic Association (BPA) which later became the College of Paramedics. To most people, Roland's professional history and achievements would represent a very full and busy life with not much time left for anything else. But remarkably, over the years, he and Carol also fostered more than 100 children.