With public sector organisations contracting and under ever increasing pressure we are relying more heavily on the voluntary sector at times of crisis. It is a great testament to our public that they are prepared to come out and support us during an emergency. However, when they turn up on mass and in great numbers, it is important to put in place a manageable process to bring organisation and focus to their activities and ensure their safety and welfare. 

The deployment of large numbers of spontaneous volunteers was probably most prominent following the disappearance of April Jones, a young girl from Machynlleth in Powys, in 2012. A large search operation was mounted involving police, search and rescue teams as well as hundreds of volunteers, many turning up to offer their help in search operations. This was one of the largest missing persons searches in UK police history. 

Wiltshire and Swindon LRF has been developing a new Plan to deal with the management and deployment of ‘spontaneous volunteers’ and this needed to be tested. Sammy Brant, Principal Civil Protection Officer at Swindon Borough Council, and Chris Manuel, the LRF’s Community Resilience Officer, worked hard to develop Exercise Community Shield with the dual purpose of providing training and to exercise the concept of a Spontaneous Volunteers Hub. 

On Monday 16^th February 2026, 20 people primarily from the voluntary sector attended the Broadgreen Community Centre in the heart of Swindon with the aim of testing out the LRF’s draft Spontaneous Volunteers Plan. Participants included REACT, British Red Cross, Rotary and Wiltshire Search and Rescue.

The morning was spent walking through the Plan during an interactive session delivered jointly by Sammy, Chris and Matty Maggs, an Emergency Planning, Resilience and Response Specialist from Wiltshire Council. It gave an opportunity for experienced local volunteers including some from surrounding areas to share ideas, exchange views and provide feedback in a safe learning environment.

The afternoon consisted of a ‘live’ exercise involving 35 volunteers simulating the registration and deployment of spontaneous volunteers. The second part of the afternoon was very innovative and supported the ‘Brighter Broadgreen Project’ which helps to bring community activity management to life. Participants were deployed on meaningful and productive tasks including litter picking, gardening, painting and leaflet dropping. As well as checking the supervision and deployment of volunteers, these activities made a positive contribution to the community. The volunteers were conspicuous and highly visible in their yellow high viz reflective jackets and residents welcomed this action and some gave positive feedback at the time.

The utilisation of volunteers was a golden thread running throughout the day and a delicious lunch was provided by the charity Rapid Relief at the nearby County Ground! 

Sonia Grewal, Chief Operating Officer at Swindon Borough Council and LRF Executive Group lead from SBC, attended for part of the day and lent her support to the Exercise. 

The Exercise will now be debriefed to enable good practice to be identified and lessons learned which can be incorporated into the final Plan which will be published later in the year.

Sammy Brant said “Spontaneous volunteers can be a tremendous asset during a large‑scale response when they are effectively managed and supported. With the increasing national focus on spontaneous volunteers, this exercise was particularly timely. The day allowed us to work closely with our voluntary agencies, ensuring our developing plan reflects their best practice and further strengthens our partnership. It was fantastic to lead such a unique exercise, truly testing our processes while delivering meaningful community tasks that made a real difference.”

Photographs supplied courtesy of Zachary Wiegand, Swindon Borough Council