First aid veteran retires

Sylvia Cockburn joined St Andrew’s First Aid Training and Supplies Limited in 1987 after a career as a medical attendant at Woodlands and Braes High schools.

The 82-year-old from Princes Park, Falkirk, travelled to the charity’s head office in Glasgow for what she expected to be an informal meeting with bosses before leaving – only to be met with a room full of staff and colleagues waiting to congratulate her on three decades of commitment and service.

Sylvia took charge of more than 1500 courses and trained around 15,000 people during her time, helping SAFA promote its ambition to make Scotland become a nation of life-savers.

She was one of the first to achieve the First Aid Trainer/Assessor award and went on to qualify as a training and development assessor with responsibility for developing the skills of others on the team.

Managing director Michelle Ferguson said: “The dedication shown by Sylvia has been enormous and she will be greatly missed. During her time with us she has been an inspiration to many of our customers and staff. We wish her all the best in retirement. Her legacy will be with is for many years to come.”

Sylvia, who was married for over 50 years and has two children and two grandchildren, said: “I’ve enjoyed my time with St Andrew’s. It’s been a pleasure to teach vital life-saving skills to so many people.”