Gary Spearman, who died on Easter Sunday, with partner Emily, and children Poppy, Jaydon and Toby. THE family of Gary Spearman, who died of skin cancer at just 37, have thanked the Isle of Wight community for the outpouring of love and tributes since his death on Easter Sunday. Gary, a dedicated community volunteer, leaves behind partner Emily Harrison and three young children, Jaydon, nine, Poppy, six, and Toby, two. He was only diagnosed with melanoma in September after suffering a seizure. His father Alan said: He was well loved by a lot of people so there s been a lot of heartbreak.
A DEDICATED search and rescue volunteer has died just days after being made an honorary firefighter. Fire, lifeboat, coastguard and search teams across the Island are mourning the loss of Gary Spearman, who died yesterday (Easter Sunday) following a battle with cancer. As a young boy he yearned to become a firefighter, but was unable to. However, he threw his heart and soul into volunteering for the emergency services, serving with Ryde Inshore Rescue, WightSAR, and Sandown and Shanklin Independent Lifeboat, among others. On the final day of the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, and knowing Mr Spearman was very poorly, deputy chief fire officer Steve Apter appointed him as an honorary firefighter.
RYDE author and serving fire officer, Damon Corr, has published the final volume of a series of books chronicling the history of Isle of Wight firefighting. Damon has released his eighth volume, Beyond Victory, which rounds off a project spanning 100 years from 1850 to 1950. Published under the title of the Isle of Wight Fire Brigades Federation, Damon pens the books to raise funds for the Firefighters Charity. Soon after joining the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, at Ryde Fire Station in 1996, Damon became interested in the history of the service. In 1996, a colleague presented me with a modest pile of ephemera retained from when the station was moved in 1994 from its old site in Station Street to a new facility on Nicholson Road, said Damon.