Brian Taylor (63), has been a paramedic since 1971 and officially retired from the ambulance service on January 7.
Mr Taylor was working as a baker in Stonehaven when he joined the Red Cross and developed an interest in becoming a paramedic.
He said: "I always thought to myself 'I could be an ambulance man'. At the time the Ambulance Service chief lived in Stonehaven and when he said there was a job available I just said 'Ok!'"
While working as a paramedic Mr Taylor saw many harrowing sights, but says that the good things that happened always gave him hope.
He said: "The patients were the best part of the job, because it was great to help them and speak to them. When you pick someone up from an incident and then see them walking about again you think 'I helped them do that'. It's a really fulfilling job.
"But you can't help everyone, and that is sad. Like any job it had its drawbacks and there are some incidents I attended that I still can't talk about. But the good things keep you going. I was lucky to have great colleagues that supported each other."
Mr Taylor has seen a lot of changes in the past 40 years. "The way the service has changed is incredible," he said. "It was very basic when I first started, and there was only two of us. Now they've got a lot of equipment to use, and you have to do lots of training."
Mr Taylor is now looking forward to retired life and spending more time with his wife. He said: "I will miss the company of the people I worked with and speaking with the patients but I won't really miss the early morning call-outs! I look forward to spending time with my wife, Sheila, and our dog Benji. I love gardening and bowls so I will keep myself occupied. Sheila retires in December so she is quite jealous of me at the moment, especially when she leaves for work in the morning!"