Army veteran putting others first in 'last act of kindness' after life-changing diagnosis

William 'Bill' Harley, aged 71, from Wednesfield will camp out for 24 hours in his back garden with a fellow former military person, now a New Cross Hospital worker, who he credits as saving his life.

Bill became seriously ill in May and his friend Sarah Whelan got him admitted to New Cross' intensive care unit. He was found to be close to death after contracting sepsis and was suffering from hypertension.

Doctors saved him with 10 days of treatment but discovered a cancer in his colon.

He was not expected to survive beyond weeks. Eight biopsies have found the tumour has grown to 50mm meaning that with neither chemotherapy nor an operation deemed suitable, his only hope is radiotherapy,.

The old soldier and proud Scot – who started off in the Royal Highland Fusiliers and served 14 years in places like Northern Ireland, Singapore and Malaysia - has said before that he wants carry out one last act of kindness.

Both Bill and Sarah will raise money for The Royal Air Force Association (RAFA) in Wolverhampton and Compton Care.

They met five years ago when Bill was running a veterans centre in Moat House, Wednesfield and became firm friends. Sarah was a medic in the forces and served all over the world before settling in Wednesfield and working at New Cross.

They will get help from old army friends and military veterans to make sure it is an authentic reconstruction of how it would be when serving – they will use authentic British Army equipment and survive on ration packs for 24 hours.

Bill said; "So many people have helped out already such as Para John who is supplying all the kit and Lisa Jones who is making the cakes – they are both ex service people.

"Since coming home from hospital in May my veteran friends have ensured I want for nothing, and they all go out of their way to help me keep as active as I can.

"They all clubbed together to help me with bucket list trips to Scotland and Wales and continue to get me out and about.

"There will be many people coming in and out of the house and the best thing is it will be in my back garden and only a stones thrown from New Cross if there are any problems."

"The two charities are not only locally based but close to my heart. The RAFA is special to me as I have had many a good Saturday night enjoying the singers and dancing and also attended military remembrance parades and Compton Care who provide much needed support to those suffering from cancer."

Around £900 has been raised for the camp out on Bill's GoFundMe page. To donate, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/v9p7w-my-last-act-of-kindness