Ian (left) is pictured above receiving his certificate from Area Manager Denis O'Driscoll.
21 August 2009
Firefighter Ian Wright has retired after a third of a century’s service in Olney – and brought to an end an almost unbroken family connection dating back to the formation of Olney Fire Brigade in 1878.
For Ian was following in the footsteps of his father Norman, grandfather Roger Perkins and great-grandfather Rowland Perkins, with Rowland believed to be a founding member. He appears in a station photograph taken in 1880.
Ian and Norman overlapped, as Norman retired in 1990 after 25 years’ service. Ian, whose son Jason is joining the army, began his service on 1 February 1976.
Denis O’Driscoll, Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Area Manager Response, presented Ian with a framed certificate and a framed letter from the Chief Fire Officer at Ian’s final training night. He also presented a bouquet to Ian’s wife Gill.
Denis paid tribute to Ian’s record of long service and loyalty, and noted that the combined service of Olney Fire Station’s 11 personnel was exactly 200 years!
Ian’s colleagues presented him with his kit-room peg – he used the same one for 33 years – mounted on a plaque.
A former apprentice car mechanic, Ian worked on a farm before becoming Olney Town Council’s head groundsman 10 years ago, looking after sports pitches, flower beds and the upkeep of the town. As a Retained Duty System firefighter, he had to remain close to the fire station during his on-call hours in case he was needed at an emergency incident.
Over the last 33 years, Ian has attended hundreds of fires, road traffic collisions and other emergency incidents in Olney and the surrounding villages, as well as many further afield, including the Yarl’s Wood asylum centre fire in Bedfordshire in 2002 and major fires in the Central Milton Keynes shopping centre in the 1980s and 1990s.
Ian, known to his many friends in the town as Flip, said: “In 1976, the year that I joined, they reckon we went to as many incidents as in five normal years because of the hot summer.
“It’s been a wonderful experience and it really opens your eyes to life."
The letter from Chief Fire Officer Bill Feeley reads: “I am pleased to have this opportunity to place on record our thanks to you for your considerable commitment to Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service over the past 33 years.
“I understand that you are the fourth generation of your family to have served the community of Olney in this way. This is very rare and I believe may be unique in Buckinghamshire.
“Finally, I would like to wish you, Gill and the family the very best for your future.”