Release date: 7 May 2025
A man who served as a retained firefighter almost eight decades ago is celebrating his 100th birthday with firefighters from Worthing Fire Station.
Patrick Bushby joined West Sussex Fire Brigade in 1947 at the age of 22 after serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
To celebrate reaching centenarian status, his daughter got in contact with the crew at Worthing Fire Station, where Patrick used to serve, to see if they were able to come along and commemorate his milestone birthday on 6 May.
The crew presented Patrick with a letter from the Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, and were even joined by former colleagues who served with Patrick during his 38-year career.
Patrick made the decision to become a retained firefighter at Worthing Fire Station, located in the High Street, after a friend persuaded him to join. Speaking of his time as a firefighter, Patrick said he ‘really enjoyed the friendships and camaraderie’ and recalls jumping on his bike and peddling to the fire station when the air raid siren would sound, alerting the local firefighters to an incident.
In 1962 he moved to a new fire station in Broadwater, where Worthing firefighters still serve today, and the following decade Patrick transferred to the former Horsham Fire Station in Hurst Road after becoming the proprietor of a local Post Office. It was during his time at Horsham he recalls attending Gatwick Airport on many occasions.
After nine years he moved back to Worthing and transferred to his original workplace, where he continued to serve until his retirement in 1985.
Throughout Patrick’s career he attended notable incidents such as a number of major fires across Worthing, including: Debenhams in South Street, Parkers in Station Road and the 1960s fire at the Rivoli cinema.
Patrick also recalls attending many wildfires across the South Downs which ‘seemed to go on forever’.
Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, said: “Patrick has dedicated many of his years to looking after the communities of West Sussex, particularly those in Worthing. I am delighted that Worthing Blue Watch were repay some of that time back to help Patrick, a long-standing member of our fire family, celebrate his incredibly special day.”
