Ian Satherley BEM was one of the Bristolians awarded with an honours this year. The retired firefighter was given the British Empire Medal after almost 50 years of voluntary work in addition to his 32 year career for Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AF&RS) which began in 1974.
Mr Satherly left school believing he would go on to be an electrician but was made redundant at 21 when the company he was working for went bust. He was living on Southmead Road at the time so he hopped on his scooter and made his way to his local ‘employment exchange’ but a large recruitment sign outside Southmead Fire Station stopped him in his tracks and he never made it to the job centre.
Mr Satherley had only been there a year when he began his work with what was then known as the Firefighters Benevolent Fund (now called the Firefighters charity). He volunteered his time to the charity which was originally founded during the Second World War to support bereaved families of firefighters who had died during the Blitz.
