Heart Start: Parents of Marine rugby star Craig Hodgkinson tell of their fight for every Scottish sports ground to have life-saving defibrillator
02 April 2014 09:27 AM By John Ferguson
EX GLASGOW Hawks player Craig died after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a Navy rugby match in 2006.
Steve Welsh
John and Di's Trust have already provided 100 defibrillator's
THE parents of cardiac arrest victim Craig Hodgkinson have vowed not to rest until every Scottish sports ground has a defibrillator.

Royal Marine and former Glasgow Hawks player Craig was struck down on the eve of his 27th birthday during a Navy rugby match in November 2006.

Mum Di and dad John believe their son could still be with them had a defibrillator been installed at the Plymouth ground where he had a seizure 30 minutes into a match.

Since his death, the couple, of Strathblane, Stirlingshire, have been campaigning and fundraising to make vital heart starting machines as common a sight as fire extinguishers.

This week, the Daily Record threw its weight behind their fight.

The aim is to save as many as possible of the 1500 lives lost to cardiac arrest outside hospitals every year.

In just seven years, the Craig Hodgkinson Trust have donated more than 100 machines to sports clubs and schools, with three cardiac arrest victims having been saved so far.

Di said: “Craig was extremely fit. He was just back from Iraq where he had been working in severe heat for months.

“His life was about the Marines and playing rugby. He loved it, he was the last person you would think would have been in danger of cardiac arrest.

“We first launched the trust after Craig died because we didn’t want any other young people like him to die just because this equipment wasn’t available.

“The Glasgow Hawks and the Royal Navy played a memorial game at Old Anniesland and the trust were given all the proceeds, which allowed us to buy about 60 defibrillators.

“We quickly identified sports grounds and schools across the country where they’re now available.

“After that, the trust became about raising money for more defibrillators and identifying the best places to place them.

“It is good the Daily Record is getting involved as public awareness is a big part of the issue. It seems that people are really waking up to this now and we are getting more and more inquiries.

“What we have to do now is encourage sports clubs or schools to raise at least some of the money for defibrillators themselves.

“We can help with buying them at a low price and working with the Scottish Ambulance Service to make sure people know what to do if they need to use the equipment.”

Craig played for Scotland at under-18 level and was a stand-out with Glasgow Hawks before leaving university to join the Royal Marines in May 2004.

He received the King’s Badgeman award for most outstanding recruit at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines. He played for the Navy’s rugby team. Di added: “It is fantastic three people have been saved with our machines.


Craig Hodgkinson

“If we saved just one life that would make it worthwhile. We think every sports ground – and everywhere else – should have a defibrillator.

“When someone goes into cardiac arrest, every minute is crucial so the more of these machines the better.

“The machines cost £1000 but we have been able to get them for even less than that. It should be the law that buildings have these in the same way they need fire extinguishers.”

The defibrillators have saved the lives of a spectator at a Heriot’s rugby match in Edinburgh, a footballer playing at a field near Preston Lodge High School, East Lothian and a shinty player at Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire.

Our campaign is being backed by activists and medical bodies, as well as cardiac arrest victims’ families.

British Heart Foundation director Marjory Burns, Ambulance Service chief executive Pauline Howie and ex-Commonwealth Games athlete Jim Brown have all backed the Record’s campaign.

Jim, 61, suffered a cardiac arrest in a gym, but his life was saved by a defibrillator fitted two weeks earlier.

This article was posted on 2-Apr-2014, 12:08 by Hugh Barrow.