Ron Dowler’s life was saved by one of the station doctors who performed a tracheotomy on him whilst he was still strapped into a live ejection seat in the inverted JP. The seat’s top handle was partly out of its housing so it could have gone off. I was told that Ron’s head was actually below ground level because the impact after the aircraft turned over had gouged out the earth below the canopy.
I’m fairly sure the Doc received a well deserved bravery award but I can’t recall what it was.