A long-serving firefighter, described as “the best husband ever” and a “true gentleman” has died.

There was standing room only at the funeral of Peter Jones, who made “such a difference to people’s lives” through his community work.

The 67-year-old, from Appleford Drive in Minster, was part of the Kent Fire and Rescue Sheerness crew for more than 20 years and volunteered most of his free time to the Sheppey Sea Cadets.

He died following his diagnosis of a rare bile duct cancer at the beginning of 2023.

He passed away on Sunday, March 24, and his “packed” funeral took place at the Bobbing Crematorium on Friday, April 12.

His wife, 66-year-old Suzanne, explained that her husband always wanted to “give something back to the community”.

Speaking of their life together she said: “Peter was born at Sheppey General Hospital and lived in First Avenue in Sheerness until the early 1970s

“He then moved to Prince Charles Avenue in Minster, this is how we met.

“We lived on the same road and he came into the shop I worked in at the time, SVS, in 1978.

“The two of us were both 21 and within six weeks he asked my dad to marry me.”

The couple got engaged in 1979 and married in September 1980.

It was also in 1979 that Peter joined Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS).

Initially, he was stationed at Thameside, and Medway, before transferring to Sheppey in 1980.

He and Suzanne moved to Alma Street, Sheerness and had two children together - Glenn in 1983 and Sabrina in 1987.

Suzanne continued: “We moved to Sittingbourne in 1986 as Peter was transferred to the town’s station.

“This was only for two years as he moved back to the Sheerness branch. We returned to the Island in 1988.”

During his time with KFRS Peter gained the title of champion hotdog eater after he ate 15 in one day at the fire station’s summer fete.

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “Apart from a spell at Sittingbourne, Peter served his whole career at Sheppey where he was a valued crew manager, who was dedicated to his work and his colleagues.”

Being a firefighter wasn’t the grandad-of-two’s only passion. He was also a keen volunteer for the Sea Cadets.

He started as a cadet with the youth charity when he was just 12 in 1970, Suzanne said he “just loved it”.

When he was 15 he entered the Army and left cadets at the same time but returned to the group when he came back just two months later after discovering the career “wasn’t for him”.

At 18 he became a cadet instructor in Sittingbourne but then left that branch in 1978, he was a petty officer at the time.

He went back to Sheppey Sea Cadets in late 1979 and worked his way up to Commanding Officer.

He stopped volunteering for Sheppey Sea Cadets in 2003 and became a district officer for west Kent until he retired in 2012.

His daughter, Sabrina, explained: “This was all volunteer work while he still worked for KFRS.

“He’d be in the station from 8am until 6pm and at home in the evenings where he’d be on a pager.

“He was very accepting of people, he would try and gloss over anyone’s faults…”

“He’d work four days on and four days off spending a Monday and Thursday volunteering for the Sea Cadets.

“People don’t realise that when he was working for KFRS there would be 96 hours where you couldn’t do anything as he had to be within five minuets of the station. It was restrictive but rewarding.”

His son Glenn, who is now a firefighter himself, based in Whitstable, attended Sea Cadets with his dad for five years between the ages of 13 and 18.

He described his dad as “inspiring and humble.”

Sabrina also attended from when she was 10 up until she was 16.

She added: “Other cadets called him scary but I thought it was hilarious - he was disciplined, not strict.

“He was very accepting of people, he would try and gloss over anyone’s faults.”

A Sea Cadets spokesperson said: “He was a true gentleman and will be missed.”

Sabrina’s two sons, 10-year-old Finley and two-year-old Ethan, referred to their grandad as Pops.

Sabrina recalled: “If anything was broken Pops would fix it. He’d sneak off with the eldest for a McDonald’s or an ice cream at the beach and would explain everything he was doing to his grandchildren.”

Peter retired from KFRS in 2011 with a 20-year service medal.

“He made such a difference to people’s lives. He was the best husband ever…”

After this he was a health care assistant at the Island’s prisons for seven years. He then helped out in Medway Hospital’s post room during the Covid pandemic before volunteering at Age UK Sheppey in 2022, where he later became a paid worker until August 2023.

His illness began on Boxing Day 2022.

Sabrina explained: “We thought he had a sickness bug, and originally it was, me and my partner also had it.

“But his stomach pain didn’t go away like ours did. After three GP visits a scan showed spots on his liver and shadowing elsewhere. It turned out to be a rare bile duct cancer which was inoperable.”

Peter underwent chemotherapy from June 2023 to November 2023.

But despite this, the cancer spread. He decided to stop the chemo as he wanted quality time with his family.

Sabrina added: “He wanted to enjoy Christmas and not feel unwell.

“Other cadets called him scary but I thought it was hilarious - he was disciplined, not strict…”

“He was able to and his last time out of the house was on New Year’s Day 2024.

“On March 9 he couldn’t hold water in a cup and two weeks later we lost him, but until then he was fine.”

Peter asked that those wishing to make donations at his funeral would do so to the Sheppey Sea Cadets.

Suzanne added: “Every day I’m learning more about Peter’s life because he did so much.

“He made such a difference to people’s lives. He was the best husband ever.”