Cec White, who has died aged 86, enjoyed a life of daring and adventure.
As a young man he drove the famous steam locomotive Mallard and once rescued swimmers from the River Tay at Perth.
He was perhaps best known for his role as leading ambulanceman at Cupar.
During his service he delivered seven babies, rescued a tot from drowning and recalled having to use the Tay ferry to take patients to hospital in Dundee.
At his funeral in Cupar, his hearse was led by an ambulance first response car from his home at Braehead to St John’s Parish Church.
James Cecil White was born in Cupar in October, 1936, the first son of Bill and Agnes White.
He began his education at Kinross Primary School before the family moved to Perth when his father got a job on the railways.
Cec, who had three younger brothers, Ron, Bill and Derrick, attended Craigie Primary School and then Perth High School.
When he was 14, his father died so Cec soon went to work on the railways to ensure that the family did not lose their tied house.
It was while working as a train reporter in the marshalling yard that Cec got the chance to drive Mallard and Merlin for short distances.
After three years on the railway, he learned that the tied house was secure so began his baker’s apprenticeship. The early starts and early finishes allowed him to pursue his hobbies of swimming, fishing and cycling.
During the summer of 1955 while out canoeing on the Tay, he rescued holidaymaker Jean Gimbert and went to the aid of two men, Tom McKay of Perth and Jimmy Gough of Buckhaven, who had gone to help her.
The strong current made it impossible for the men to get Miss Gimbert to shore but Cec asked the three to hold onto his canoe while he paddled them to safety.
His two years’ National Service were spent as a special diet cook in an RAF hospital in Germany before he returned to his trade and a new job with Fisher and Donaldson in Cupar.
In 1961, Cec married his first wife, Noreen, and they went on to have two children, Carol and Alan.
After a move to work at Johnstone’s bakery, Cec hankered for change of career and became Cupar’s first ambulance driver, based at Walton’s garage.
He was soon joined by a second driver, Jimmy Hall, and they became a noted double act in Cupar attending to medical calls and many tragedies.
Bravery
Cec and Jimmy saved many lives but for one, the rescue of a two-year-old child from Ladyburn, Cupar, Cec was awarded a certificate of merit from the St Andrew’s Ambulance Association.
In 1969, the service from Walton’s garage ceased and the family, together with ambulance, moved to Braehead.
A few years later, Cec and Noreen separated and he remarried, to Moira, in 1973. Together they brought up Carol, Alan, Jillian, Victor, Mark and Tracey and also welcomed Debbie.
During his career, Cec played a major fundraising role during the Heartstart Appeal to provide defibrillators for every ambulance in Scotland.
Even after he retired from the service, Cec would visit his staff at the ambulance depot. He also took on several driving jobs to keep active in retirement.
Outside work, Cec loved his cars and was a long-term member of Duffus Park Bowling Club, where he served as secretary, vice-president and president.
His family said, said: “He was a fighter, he kept smiling and kept being positive. He loved life, he loved his family and said more than once he had had a good innings.”
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