Ayrshire: Largs man's bravery award for saving pal's life

The Brave@Heart Awards celebrate acts of heroism and bravery in exceptional circumstances by blue-light services, voluntary rescue organisations and members of the public.

Alister Brown, a community first responder in Largs, was meeting his friend Jim Stevenson at Largs Golf Club in March 2022.  

However, Jim arrived breathless and then collapsed shortly thereafter. 

Alistair's award submission said: “On examination, he realised Jim wasn’t breathing and his training kicked in. He began CPR whilst also calling for assistance to deploy the defibrillator which was located on the golf club premises. On one shock, things started moving and signs of survival were visible.”

At the time, Jim said: “I wouldn’t be here today. It’s simple – this is life-saving work.”

Alister, on right, and his friend Jim at Largs Golf Course (Image: Newsquest)
Alister collected a Brave@Heart certificate on Tuesday, October 3 at an award ceremony in Edinburgh Castle attended by Stephen Massetti, SAS’s director of national operations, and presented by First Minister Humza Yousaf.

A delighted Alistair told the News: "It was amazing to be there and wonderful for myself and the Largs First Responders to receive this recognition.

"It was all very pleasant, and I was joined by my daughter Lynsey.

"The First Minister came around and congratulated us all - I thanked him and said 'thank you very much'.

"It is important to remember that an emergency can happen at any time and you have to act quickly to get the result that you are after and that is what happened.

"The Scottish Ambulance Service nominated me for the award and the panel and adjudicators agreed - it was fantastic to be with a lot of other people who have done amazing things, and very humbling; I didn't expect it.

"I spoke to Jim this morning and he also congratulated me and was over the moon - and we confirmed our arrangement to meet at Largs Golf Club tomorrow at 4pm for a couple of rounds at the 19th.

"The award was also great recognition for the Largs First Responders and all the important work which the group does in the community."

Alister, 74, a retired teacher, has been a Community First Responder since 2007.

He is trained to deal with incidents such as cardiac arrests and strokes and immediately knew what had to be done when his pal collapsed.

The Largs grandfather said: “I walked across, took my jacket off and turned around to ask Jim how he was, but it was quickly obvious that things weren’t right.

"Next thing he was on the floor and wasn't breathing, and thankfully my training kicked in.

“I started CPR and knew that there was a defib on the outside wall of the golf club, so I called for someone to fetch it and told them to ring 999."

Alister said that his friend initially had no pulse.

He added: “Thankfully it only took one shock to spark signs of life.

"There was a retired nurse in the club who was a great help. She was down at Jim’s hand and confirmed he now had a pulse and that it was getting stronger, so I knew we were on the right road.”

Jim regained consciousness just as two ambulances arrived.

Alister explained: “The planets just aligned. Resuscitation was started very quickly, there was a defib to hand and Jim’s heart had a shockable rhythm. All these things conspired to give us a good outcome.

“Without my training I'm pretty confident the outcome would’ve been different. What we are taught through the First Responders is so important."

Both Jim and Alister are supporters of Largs Thistle and are regulars on the terraces of Barrfields Park.

The Largs First Responders launched in Largs in 2007 and runs as a charity, relying on volunteers and donations to survive.

At the time, the Scottish Ambulance Service praised Alistair, and stated that his quick actions highlighted how the First Responders plays a vital role in saving lives by providing support in the crucial early minutes before an ambulance arrives.

SAS chief executive Michael Dickson said: “The actions of all the Brave@Heart recipients are truly commendable and they have each showed extraordinary bravery. All our staff and volunteers do amazing, lifesaving work each day.

"They are all wonderful ambassadors for the Scottish Ambulance Service and their communities and are fully deserving of their awards.

"I’d like also to commend the actions of the members of the public, including the two youngsters who did amazing jobs to help relatives.”