Former Worthing firefighter celebrates 100th birthday with surprise visit from a fire engine

Patrick Bushby was greeted by Worthing Fire Station commander Mark Cooper and his crew outside Caer Gwent care home, surprising him with a visit from a fire engine for his birthday.

Mr Cooper presented a framed letter from Chief Fire Officer Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, offering congratulations and wishing every happiness on his special day.

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton said: "While your time serving at West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service may seem like a distant memory, I hope the time you spent with us keeping your community safe is remembered fondly, and no doubt with many tales to tell.

"We are so incredibly grateful for the time that you served with us, and it is testament to your service that the next generation of firefighters at Worthing Fire Station wanted to come and join you in marking your milestone birthday."

Patrick served as a retained fireman for 38 years, starting at Worthing in 1947 at the age of 22, when the central fire station was in High Street, and later serving at Broadwater and in Horsham as a Leading Fireman.

He was able to show the visiting firefighters an axe that was presented to him by his colleagues at Horsham Fire Station in May 1980 in recognition of his devoted service in the fire brigade. It was a farewell gift as he was transferring back to Worthing, where he remained until he retired from the fire service in 1985.

Patrick said he ‘really enjoyed the friendships and camaraderie’ and recalled jumping on his bike to pedal to the fire station when the air raid siren sounded to alert the local firefighters to an incident.

Major fires he attended in Worthing included incidents at Debenhams in South Street, Parkers in Station Road and the 1960s fire at the Rivoli Cinema. Patrick also recalled many wildfires across the South Downs, which he said ‘seemed to go on forever’.

The Worthing branch of the Royal Naval Association was also at the tea party and members presented Patrick with a birthday cake.

He joined the Navy as a teenager, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Gordon. He was involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, known as the 'Atlantic run' – the longest and most complex naval campaign of the Second World War, and was also called up for the Korean War in the 1950s. He was awarded the Arctic Star in 2014 for his service during the Arctic Convoys.

Daughter Lynda Fedrick said: "He is a local man with a very interesting life. He is very well and still a bright man, just his legs let him down. He has been really healthy and independent up until a couple of years ago, which he finds very frustrating."

Patrick was born on May 6, 1925, and was one of eight children. He and his first wife, Joyce, had three children, Lynda, Roger and Christopher. He went on to marry Jean, after divorce, but they all remained friends.

He has lived in Worthing for a majority of his life, apart from a stint in Horsham running the post office and 18 months in Littlehampton. Jean wanted them to live in a new house that no one else had lived in but once they were there, they decided it was not for them and they were soon back in Worthing.

Over the years, Patrick had many jobs, including working as a window cleaner and as a milkman, in the days of bicycles and horses.

He went on to own a few of his own businesses, including a greengrocers in Dominon Road and the Post Office in same parade, as well as a newsagents in Downland Parade, Upper Brighton Road, and the Post Office in Horsham.

He had motorbikes well into his 70s, enjoyed gardening and music, and was an active member of a video and film amateur group. Now, he says, he is taking each day as it comes.