Staff Cadet Sergeant Buckingham of B Company, was travelling home during rush hour approaching a very busy set of traffic lights. Minutes before he arrived, there had been a very bad road traffic collision that involved a lady who had been hit by a car. Although there were several adults at the scene already, Stand Cdt Sgt Buckingham observed that none of them appeared to be tending to the lady. He stopped and asked if there were any trained first aiders at the scene. As there were not, he then took control of the situation.
The lady had multiple injuries, including a very bad head injury, an open fracture of the leg and arm injuries. Staff Cdt Sgt Buckingham managed to stem the flow of blood from the severe head injury, then continually reassured the lady whom, even though was barely conscious, he managed to keep awake by asking her questions. He also ascertained that she had no underlying medical conditions and when she had last eaten, so he could pass this information to the paramedics and air ambulance crew when they arrived.
Staff Cdt Sgt Buckingham admitted when he got home that, he had to dig deep at the time to hold it together as he had never seen such bad injuries in a real life situation. Surrey ACF couldn't be more proud of Staff Cdt Sgt Buckingham, who held a clear and calm head in a very stressful and traumatic situation, even though that head is on younger shoulders. At the time, he was a Cadet Sergeant but we're thrilled to say he was promoted on 6th January 2021 to Staff Cadet. Well deserved! Well done! #proud
His Mother said, “We are obviously incredibly proud of his actions as he could have just driven on by, but I want to thank the #ArmyCadets for all the incredible skills and experiences that they teach to the young people. Without his knowledge of first aid and leadership skills, both of which he has learnt through Cadets, he would not have been able to help nor take command of the situation until the professionals arrived. It just goes to show you never know when you need to put your learning into practice.” #Inspiretoachieve #GoingFurther #SkillsForLife
