He has served the village as an on-call firefighter for more than 40 years. The fire station has also welcomed many of Chris’ family as staff members over the years and at one stage, Chris’ sons - Adam and Jeremy - were both part of the team. Chris has worked tirelessly to ensure the fire engine remains available to attend incidents, as well as training and developing new firefighters. Key to this was the effective recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters including his recruitment of one of the first female firefighters into the then Wiltshire Fire Brigade in 1992. Chris said: “I am thrilled to have been nominated and receive such an honour in Her Majesty The Queen’s New Year Honours List. I would like to say a big thank you to my family and all those who have supported me over the last 40 years. I would also like to thank all the firefighters I have worked with, who have made my time in the fire service most enjoyable.
MBE recipients
Anne Baker from Salisbury, who at 106 years old, received an MBE for fundraising for the NSPCC. Anne said: “It was a great surprise and a great honour because I felt as if I didn’t deserve it at all. “I’ve just been helping the NSPCC for about 50 years - I always have the party in my garden, which normally makes about £1,000 a year which is lovely. “We couldn’t hold it this year but we still managed to raise £4,000 instead of having our usual party, so we were pleased and grateful to everyone who contributed to that.