Burghfield Royal British Legion donate defibrillator to local community cafè

The Burghfield branch of the Royal British Legion handed over the automated external defibrillator to Cafè B, run by a local Christian charity group Together in Mission.
The chairman of the group, Charles French, said: “We are humbled and delighted to receive this life saving equipment from the RBL. Our cafè serves young and old alike but I’m sure it will give everyone peace of mind to know the AED is here.”
And ceremonial officer for the Burghfield Legion, Major (ret) Mark Shaw-Brookman said: “We are delighted to present this device to such a worthy local cause. This is exactly how we wanted to celebrate our 90th birthday. We also supplied a full first aid kit as well.”
The hand-held device was purchased from Direct First Aid via a local charitable grant. The company will train cafe staff how to use the defibrillator.
Director of Direct First Aid, Peter McCarthy, said: “We’re never off duty as first aiders and passionate about training the public so we were delighted to be asked to train all the Cafè B staff and provide RBL with logistical back-up for the donation.”
The donation follows the launch of a mobile phone application from the South Central Ambulance Service that allows the public to identify the closest defibrillator if there is a medical emergency (see right).