Specialist Paramedic David featured in royal photo exhibition

A South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) Specialist Paramedic has been featured in a royal photo exhibition capturing the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) Paramedic David Thorpe made the final 100 of the Hold Still project led by the Duchess of Cambridge with the National Portrait Gallery.

Members of the public were invited to submit images taken during the national lockdown and inspired by three themes - Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness.

David’s portrait, taken by Gloucestershire photographer Steve Jenkins, was one of more than 31,000 entries for the online project.

David, who is a former soldier, said: “I’m thrilled, delighted and extremely proud that my portrait has been chosen as one of the 100 images for the Hold Still exhibition.

“It’s been such a humbling experience. Steve contacted me in June, saying he would like to use me as a subject for a virtual photographic display for the National Portrait Gallery, depicting life during the lockdown period of the pandemic.

“Since the launch I’ve received many compliments from family, friends, work colleagues, army buddies, and people I don't even know!

“My sense of pride is beyond words, but it is thanks to Steve and I am so grateful to him for the opportunity.”

Steve said: “I wanted to portray David in a ‘heroic’ light. His expression is one of determination and stoicism. Just like his fellow NHS colleagues and key workers, not thinking about himself, but the care and needs of those less fortunate.”

David began his career in the British Army, serving in Germany, Canada, the Falkland Islands, Cyprus and the UK. He was deployed on Operations in Northern Ireland and Iraq, and reached the rank of Corporal.

He joined the NHS as a student nurse before becoming an ambulance technician. After completing his paramedic training he was selected to join HART in 2010.

David, 62 and based in Bristol, is now in his 20th year of service for SWASFT, and is thought to be the oldest HART Paramedic in the country.

HART paramedics work alongside other emergency services personnel at serious incidents or threats to public health. They provide care to anyone within a hazardous environment who would otherwise be beyond the reach of care.

HART Bristol celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this month.

The Hold Still project aims to capture a portrait of the nation, recording the “fears and the hopes and the feelings” across the generations during the pandemic.

The final 100 images includes various keyworkers, virtual birthday parties, handmade rainbows and community clapping for NHS staff, and people dealing with illness, isolation and loss.

The exhibition is available to view at www.npg.org.uk/holdstill