Brian has dedicated 50 years to serving his local community in Bishop’s Waltham as an on-call firefighter, in addition to a full-time job as an accountant. He is one of only a handful of people to achieve this career milestone.
Brian said:
“I feel honoured and very proud to receive this award from His Majesty The King. I have enjoyed a long and rewarding career in the fire service, and still love being a part of it and serving the local community.
“I couldn’t have done the job for so long without the support and understanding of my wife and family, especially as fire calls can often arrive at the most inconvenient times. I’d also like to thank the supportive team at Bishop’s Waltham.
“In May I had the honour of attending a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace with my wife Linda, so it has been a year of lovely surprises.”
Throughout his career he has attended many major incidents in the Hampshire area. This included one of the biggest fires in recent history at the Ocado warehouse in Andover which took over four days to contain. He also attended several of the relentless wildfires of 2022, and similar blazes in 1976.
In addition to helping his community through his role as an on-call firefighter, Brian has supported a range of charity events and community activities.
- In 2023 Bishops Waltham had a new fire station built and as part of this the construction company offered to complete a local community improvement project. Brian volunteered to take part and spent a day helping to overhaul the junior school garden, providing a sensory garden for pupils and teachers.
- He has led on many station events including car washes and open days, motivating the whole station to take part. These not only raised money for the Firefighters Charity but also provided the community with fire safety education.
- He organised the attendance of a fire appliance and crew at Marwell Zoo’s Dream Nights (from 2013). These events for terminally ill children from across the Southeast of England benefited 1500 guests annually and ran for around five years, supporting 7500 people.
- Raised money to buy kit for the establishment of Bishops Waltham First Responders and the Meon Valley Heart Start, who provided emergency medical assistance in the community.
- Collected tonnes of newspapers which helped fund the construction of a school swimming pool and supported Rotary Club dinners, summer balls and Christmas fayres.
Neil Odin Chief Fire Officer at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said:
“Brian Cole has shown exceptional commitment and dedication to the Service and the community of Bishop’s Waltham as an on–call firefighter during his incredible 50-year career.
“I am delighted that he has been recognised in the Kings Birthday Honours. It is well deserved, Brian truly embodies community spirit, not only through his passion to protect lives and property as a firefighter, but also by generously giving up his time and inspiring others to do likewise to help those in need. Over his career Brian has contributed thousands of pounds and many hours to support many worthy causes, and made a huge difference to so many people’s lives.”