A former RAF firefighter who died from cancer just minutes after his wife and kids arrived to say their last goodbyes is to be given the first full fire service funeral in decades. Harry Spence, 60, lost his year-long fight with oesophageal cancer last month, two weeks after being told that the disease had spread despite undergoing surgery and chemotherapy to fight it off.
The firefighter, who was based at Leuchars for his entire career, will be cremated and his ashes scattered on Glencoe alongside those of dad William, late brother Cameron, 57, and his beloved rescue dog Gus. Harry's cancer was diagnosed in August 2021, prompting a spur-of-the-moment trip to Skye to marry Marti, his partner of 12 years.
Wife Marti tearfully recalled: "The night before Harry died I slept with him in the hospital bed. He had lost so much weight at that point that I could climb onto the bed with him. He had his arm around me.
