The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives has joined the paramedic profession in mourning following the death of Roland ‘Roly’ Furber, the President of the College of Paramedics, who passed away on 04 February 2013.
Roland and his late wife Carol made an enormous contribution to the paramedic profession and the establishment of its professional body – originally the British Paramedic Association (BPA) prior to becoming the College of Paramedics. Roland had a long and distinguished career in the UK ambulance service starting in Berkshire in 1967 as a 19 year old and over the next 34 years held a number of senior positions until his retirement in 2001.
Martin Flaherty, Managing Director of AACE, said:
“I speak on behalf of the whole NHS ambulance service when I say that we are all deeply saddened by the passing of Roly Furber, who was absolutely committed to his profession and to the advancement of paramedic practice in the UK. Roly was one of life’s good guys, a very genuine and gentle man who in recent times was brave enough to fight so courageously against ill-health. We now hope he can rest in peace and he will be sadly missed by all in the ambulance service.”
Roland was part of the group responsible for establishing the professional body for paramedics and in 2002 wrote the business plan for the BPA. He became Chief Executive of the BPA in 2003 and then inaugural Chief Executive of the College of Paramedics in 2010.
In 2012, Roland became the first recipient of the College of Paramedics’ Lifetime Achievement Award and he was also an Honorary Fellow.
To read the obituary on the College of Paramedics website click here.
Funeral details and programme of events
Roland’s family have announced that his funeral will be held at 11.00 am on Monday 18th February, 2013.
The funeral service will be held at:
Pear Tree Road Baptist Church
154 Pear Tree Road
Derby DE 23 6QD Tel: 01332 293 213
Roland’s burial service will take place immediately afterwards at:
Chellaston Cemetery
Chellaston
Derby DE73 6UW
The cemetery is a only a short drive away from the church and full directions on how to get there will be available at the service. This will be followed by a gathering with refreshments which all involved will be very welcome to attend at:
The Derby Conference Centre
London Road
Derby DE24 8UX Tel: 0845 880 8101
Please note that Roland’s family would very much appreciate it if you could drop them a brief email to let them know if you will be able to attend all or part of the day as it is expected that a great many of his friends and colleagues will wish to pay their final respects and they want to ensure that they organise the day accordingly.
Please address your email to Roland’s son, Craig Furber at caroland@ntlworld.com
Roland’s family would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for the many kind expressions of sympathy they have received at this sad time and wish to remind you that donations in memory of Roland can be made to either the College of Paramedics or the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund.
