“As soon as I saw it I said ‘that truck came from Paxton! I can remember driving it!’”

Mr. Thomas, or Skippy as he is also known, was the last engine driver of that 1924 Garford Hale Vintage Fire Engine when it went out of service in July 1969.

Mr. Thomas remained in the fire brigade until he retired at age 65 on April 15, 1987.

As the longest living person from Paxton, Mr. Thomas has close memories of his firefighting days.

He spoke about one time he drove the truck, which had an open back, one of his fellow firefighters actually fell off.

“I drove it out of the old shed and swung it around the corner.”

“Then I noticed someone on the road and said, ‘That looks like Milward!’”

Mr. Thomas’s daughter Allana also remembers some of her father’s firefighting days as well, such as when he and other members of the brigade had to take days off work to fight the fires in Quorrobolong.

Mr. Thomas became involved in the fire brigade after one of the firefighters passed away.

When he attended the funeral he was approached to join.

“The captain of the fire brigade said I want to introduce you to the chief inspector, he said ‘I’ve got to get another firey, and you’ve got the job’.”

When he first joined, many of the other firefighters had never driven an engine before.

In his time with Paxton Fire Brigade, Mr Thomas was vice-captain as well as engine driver.

His wife Gladys Thomas has also been recognised for her involvement in firefighting.

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Four-year-old Dean Lewis was very excited to meet Robert Thomas the open day at Cessnock Fire Station. His mum, Kyla Genova took this photo and said Dean is crazy about emergency services, firemen, fire trucks and everything that goes with them, and that he “could not stop raving” about meeting Mr. Thomas on the day.

See more photos from the open day by clicking on the gallery below.