Community rallies round to buy memorial bench for 'legendary' shopkeeper in Milton Keynes

A legendary local shopkeeper described as the heart and soul of a community now has a special memorial bench in his honour.

Ken ran the former convenience store at the Stantonbury Local Centre for around 30 years it closed in 2019 to make way for an Aldi supermarket.

He died of cancer two years later but has never been forgotten by the hordes of former Stantonbury Campus students who used to visit his shop.

One of them, Daren Charters, launched a fundraising page to raise more than £900 for a bench to be placed at the Stantonbury shops, near the famous bicycle mural, in Ken’s honour.

"He was our mentor and our friend,” said Daren. “He had such an impact on the lives of the tens of thousands of campus students and local residents that passed through his door that I don't believe that words are enough to explain.

To know him was to love him. He never had a bad word to say about anybody and was always a warm and welcoming soul.

"As teenagers he looked out for all of us as a mentor, he kept us out of trouble, gave us some wonderful advice and always made us smile. When we made the transition into adulthood he became our friend and when we started having children of our own he started to look out for them in the same way he had cared for all of us.

"The old shops on the Stantonbury Campus have gone now to make way for an Aldi Supermarket but his spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of the locals and of the ex Campus students who's lives he touched. You simply can't think about the old Stantonbury shops without seeing his face or hearing his oh so distinctive voice in your head.”

Ken’s son Bhupinder said his dad was an “amazing, funny, kind person” who was a pillar of the community, a friend to many and a loving father and husband.

After a wrangle getting the relevant permission, the bench was finally installed last week. Former Stantonbury students, or anybody who remembers Ken, are being encourage to go there and pay their respects.