followed the (at the time largely unknown) band The Beatles, and documented them for several months and shooting more than 5,000 pictures. It resulted in a definitive pictorial book on the band It Was 30 Years Ago Today. Commissioned by LIFE to shoot in other war torn locations, he covered the Vietnam War, crises in the Middle East, Indonesia, and Cuba after the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Spencer's work with the Beatles, in particular, resulted in him shooting celebrity stories for People magazine, the originals and classification of which were stored in the libraries of Rockarchive, although the copyright has since passed to Spencer's daughters. His subjects included celebrities such as Freddie Mercury, Bob Dylan, Ava Gardner, Katharine Hepburn, Princess Grace of Monaco, Richard Branson, and John Cleese. Personal life Spencer met the English actress Lesley Brook on a blind date, and they were married in 1947. The couple had two daughters, and a son died in infancy. Spencer died in hospital in Odiham, Hampshire of cancer, aged 90, less than 24 hours after his wife of 62 years died. In 2002, Spencer and Brook co-authored a book about their lives, titled Living Dangerously (Percival). Although the original is out of print, his daughters released an updated edition on 27 June 2012. The book's (re-)release coincided with the launch of a website of Spencer's archive of photographs taken whilst working for Life, Time and People magazines. Publications + Letter to Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown. Soldier of Fortune, vol. 1, no. 3 (Summer 1976), p. 6. External links Bio at the 350 (Belgian) Squadron Times Online obituary People from Bedford People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of the University of Birmingham Royal Air Force squadron leaders Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II British photojournalists Deaths from cancer in England Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) 1918 births 2009 deaths Photographers from Bedfordshire British Army personnel of World War II Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers soldiers Royal Engineers officers Military personnel from Bedford