Over thirty Forensic Science students from our Department of Life Sciences in Cambridge recently undertook a field trip to Kenyon's Emergency Operation Centre in Bracknell, Berkshire and, having received lectures on mass disasters, body recovery and identification techniques, they were keen to see how the leading professionals in this field operated.

The Bracknell facility is designed to record, clean and repatriate the personal effects of mass disaster victims to their relatives - and at the time of the visit, was just concluding this process for the crew and passengers of a large airliner which crashed during 2010.

The students were welcomed by representatives from both Kenyon's Bracknell and Houston facilities, before being given a tour of the property processing areas, and an area set up as a temporary mortuary training scenario. It was explained how every piece of property from a mass disaster is catalogued, and the methods in which they are reunited with the loved ones of the victims. The Kenyon's experts explained how even small items, such as a Dunkin Donut paper napkin, can be of immense sentimental value to a relative - especially if (as in the case of the napkin) it was taken during the last meal that a victim had with a relative before boarding the flight, and was found in the breast pocket of the deceased at the crash site.

The students were particularly moved to hear the story of a young boy (the sole survivor of the air crash which was being processed in the centre at the time) who was reunited with his favourite teddy bear, which he had been carrying when the plane crashed. "It was awe-inspiring," said second year Scene and Laboratory student Natasha Botterill, "it touched me so deeply; here were these big, hard chaps and they cared; they meant every word they said. It gives you a totally life changing perspective".

Kenyon International Emergency Services is a company which specialises in worldwide disaster management solutions; providing a body location, recovery, identification and repatriation service. They utilise the expertise of innumerable different forensic specialists and many of our forensic science graduates will be able to volunteer to undertake work on their behalf in the future.

The organisers of the visit, Grahame Bell and Jocelyn Pryce, are currently negotiating the possibility of establishing a partnership with Kenyons to create a stand-alone mass disaster forensic module for both degree and CPD use. If you need more information about the work of Kenyons, or would like the opportunity of attending any future visits to their facility; please contact Grahame or Jocelyn in Life Sciences.

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