Zog meets the real flying doctors
June 4, 2026
GWAAC SPCCs on the 999 Dispatch Desk
June 5, 2026
On 15 May 2026, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) welcomed three new Trustees – Tonia Lovell, Chris Ware and Dave Boden. They bring a wealth of experience from varied backgrounds and are committed to strengthening GWAAC’s vital work in our communities.
Tonia Lovell
“I am delighted to be joining GWAAC as a Trustee. I am excited to contribute my governance and strategic experience to help support GWAAC’s mission and the incredible teams who make it all happen.
I spent 16 years as a Senior Manager/Executive Director and Chartered Governance Professional in financial services where I developed a robust skill-set in relation to governance, risk management, regulation, and compliance. Previous to that I was Group Company Secretary in the Social Housing sector. I worked closely with Boards and helped develop and deliver organisational strategy. I also serve as Vice Chair and Lead Safeguarding Governor for two secondary schools, which has strengthened my understanding of Board dynamics and effective governance.
After retiring, I knew I wanted to keep making a difference and continue to put my experience to good use. GWAAC immediately stood out — the values, culture and lifesaving work resonated deeply with me. Friends of mine owe their lives to air ambulance care, so supporting this cause feels especially meaningful.
I have been genuinely inspired by the energy, dedication and generosity of GWAAC’s staff, volunteers, and community in working tirelessly to raise much needed funds to keep the helicopter in the air and the critical care cars on the road. I have met so many dedicated people at Volunteer events; the number of people giving up their time is truly inspiring. Hearing the stories and seeing the hours given to raise awareness across retail, education and events left me in awe of this community’s generosity. The events, and the people, confirmed to me that I was joining something very special.”
Chris Ware QPM (Queens Police Medal)
“I am passionate about supporting GWAAC in providing the highest levels of care to those who need it. My operational, aviation and charity experience spanning nearly 50 years will bring value to my role as a Trustee.
During 30 years’ service with Avon and Somerset Police I was the Operations Manager for the Western Counties police air support unit that covered Gloucestershire, Avon and Somerset. We worked closely with ambulance services providing support to serious medical incidents; either taking resources to the scene or occasionally, with the aid of a paramedic, a casualty to hospital. The model was used as the foundation for GWAAC.
In other roles I gained experience in operational planning, aviation policing and intelligence, and was awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service to police aviation, major event planning and operational policing. On retirement from the police, I was the Head of Security at Bristol Airport before undertaking consultancy roles with public sector organisations and the Home Office.
Most recently I was a volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager for the RNLI in Weston-super-Mare.
I am an experienced Trustee in the field of education and heritage and was a Trustee at Aerospace Bristol for 10 years.
In the first few months of getting to know the team at GWAAC I’ve been really impressed with the vast experience and passion of the medical team members and the variety of value-added services the charity delivers particularly around defibrillators and training, especially to children and young people.
I’ve also now joined the volunteering team and have begun giving talks about the Charity to interested groups.”
Dave Boden
“I am keen to support GWAAC as a Trustee as I believe it is a very worthwhile cause and feel that my business background including helicopter operations could be useful to the organisation.
I have worked in bid and programme management for most of my career, predominately in the defence sector. I worked on major warship programmes (including the Type 45 Destroyer recently deployed to Cyprus), the RAF air-to-air refuelling capability, and the programme that trains all the UK military pilots (which included helicopter training at RAF Shawbury).
I would like to help GWAAC continue to grow as an organisation and safely deliver what I consider to be a highly important service to the community. At a more tactical level I also hope to use my skills and experience to assist GWAAC in renewing its helicopter support contract when the time comes.
In my short time being involved so far, I have been surprised and impressed at the scale of the operations in terms of the number of call outs conducted.”
As a charity, we're fortunate to benefit from people who generously give their time and expertise to support our work. The experience and perspectives Tonia, Chris and Dave bring will help us continue delivering lifesaving critical care while planning for the future.
We look forward to working with them and are excited about what we can achieve together.
Looking ahead
Trustees play an important role in helping guide the charity's future direction and ensuring we continue to provide lifesaving critical care across our region.
Find out more about our strategy and the priorities that will shape GWAAC over the coming years.
