Tributes paid to mountain rescue 'legend' David Whalley

Tributes have been paid to a mountain search and rescue veteran who was one of the first on the scene of the Lockerbie disaster.

David "Heavy" Whalley, who has died aged 72, served with the RAF Mountain Rescue Service for almost 40 years.

During his career he attended more than 1,000 mountain incidents, dozens of air accidents and helped save hundreds of lives.

Scottish Mountain Rescue described Whalley as a "true legend" and broadcaster Cameron McNeish said he made time for everyone.

Last year Whalley, of Burghead in Moray, told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that he had been diagnosed with stage four liver disease.

Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) said it was "deeply saddened" by the news of his death.

It added: "Heavy dedicated his life to helping others in the mountains, giving countless years of service with unwavering commitment, skill, and compassion.

"He was a leader, a mentor, and a friend to so many in the mountain rescue community and beyond.

"His knowledge, experience, and kindness left an indelible mark on all who worked alongside him."

SMR said his legacy would live on through every team member he guided, every life he touched and "every summit where his spirit roams free".

McNeish said his friend's death still came as a shock even though he had been ill.

The writer added: "Heavy was probably the most-liked and popular person I have ever met, a man with time for everyone and a man with a heart of gold."

Last year Whalley said he had "always been a fighter" and would battle until the end.

He was affectionately known as by his nickname, "Heavy", which was given to him when he joined the RAF as a 5ft 4in recruit weighing just seven stone.

Whalley worked as a team leader for both the RAF Leuchars and RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue teams.

He was also deputy leader at RAF Valley in North Wales and president of the Search and Rescue Dog Association Scotland (SARDA).

Whalley attended more than 70 aircraft crashes and was senior team leader of the rescue effort at the scene of the Lockerbie disaster.

Pan Am Flight 103 was brought down on 21 December 1988, killing its 259 passengers and crew and another 11 residents in the Scottish town.

Reflecting last year on the UK's worst terror attack, Whalley said: "The place was like hell.

"It was terrible, and it was so dangerous, and there were fatalities everywhere."

"And I don't think people can ever imagine what that was like."

He said the police force and the fire brigade were overwhelmed and admitted it took its toll on his mental health.

Whalley recalled: "I was just working non-stop for about a week, no sleep, nothing.

"One day afterwards I tried to get up and I was frozen, I could not move.

"I had about three or four weeks in bed."

He said after the trauma of the disaster he fought hard for the military to offer help to rescuers who may have suffered from post-traumatic disease, which is a legacy he was proud of.

Whalley was also involved in the search for survivors of the RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994.

He said he remembered vividly the scene as the helicopter crew landed on the fog and smoke shrouded peninsula and added: "I've never been so scared."

All four crew and 25 passengers, among them almost all of the UK's senior Northern Ireland intelligence experts, died when their helicopter crashed on its journey from near Belfast to Inverness.

As he came to terms with his mortality last year, Whalley told the BBC the hardest thing would be leaving behind the people he cherished and who had cared for him over the last few years.

He said: "My two beautiful granddaughters, stepdaughters and friend Kalie, and all these people who've been so good to me.

"That's hard, but it's going to happen, and that's life."