One of Albany’s most dedicated volunteers was handed the highest individual honour a State Emergency Service member can get at the WA Fire and Emergency Services Awards on Saturday.

Albany SES team leader Ben Whittle won the prestigious Peter Keillor award, otherwise known as SES volunteer of the year, at the WAFES ceremony in Perth.

His win marks the first time in 27 years the award has been won by an Albany volunteer, with Ronald Panting the last local recipient in 1999.

It was a complex and painstaking 36-hour vertical rescue of an injured rock climber at Bluff Knoll in May last year that won him the gong, which acknowledges a volunteer who has made an “exemplary contribution to the SES”.

The hiker was climbing a trail on the north face of the peak and fell about 180m from the summit, swinging via their harness rope back into the rock face and breaking their ankle.

Mr Whittle led the Albany and Gnowangerup SES units in the rescue operation and tried to extract the man from the platform he had scrambled to, but was forced to call it off due to challenging terrain and poor light.

He then positioned equipment and systems to prepare for rescue operations at first light.

“It was pretty full on,” he said.

We only got back at 3am that night, and then I had to be back out there out at midday the next day to brief the career fireys and lead the operation from our side

While admitting he has dealt with worse conditions in his 13 years of SES work, Mr Whittle said it was a big and comprehensive rescue operation.

Ever humble, he was surprised to hear his name called in lieu of the other two finalists, and was relieved not to have to read out an acceptance speech to the 700-odd attendees.

“It’s not what we do it for obviously, but it is always nice to get a bit of recognition,” he said.

“I’ve copped a fair bit of flack from my team though.”

It is for this reason that his new glass trophy, dubbing him best SES vollie in the State, is quietly sitting on his mantle piece at home rather than in the Albany office.