Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighters John Cooper and Gary Richmond retire after combined 49.5 years of service, sharing final night shift at Newark Fire Station

Two firefighters have retired after completing 49.5 years of service between them.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s John Cooper and Gary Richmond both retired at the weekend, and shared a final night shift together on Tuesday, January 30.

Both have been stationed at Newark Fire Station for over five years, and their final night shift was described by the service as “bittersweet”.

John Cooper joined the service in September 1999 and has served 24 years and four months.

He first served at Retford as part of the on-call team, and then Worksop when he moved to wholetime in 2001.

John has been at Newark between 2018 and 2024, and officially retired on Saturday (February 3).

Gary Richmond joined Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service in November 1998 and has served 25 years and two months.

His first station served at was West Bridgford, and he's moved to Newark in 2016, remaining at the station until his official retirement on Sunday (February 4).

District manager, Zac Goodspeed, said: “We’d all like to congratulate firefighters John and Gary on their retirement, and thank them for their years of service.

“Both have shown exceptional commitment to keeping Nottinghamshire’s communities safe since the late 1990s, and they will be missed by many of their colleagues and friends across the organisation.”

Both were presented with the axe by watch manager Gerry Williscroft during their final night shift.