Sad news for the club, our longest serving member and ex treasurer Ken died on the  21st of April.

His funeral was held on the 11th of May and was attended by many club members.

Ken’s friend and our chairman Graham Coldrick read the Eulogy at the service.

Here is Graham’s personal recollection of Ken

“I HAVE KNOWN KEN SINCE 1975 WHEN I JOINED POTTERS BAR PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY AS A 30 YEAR OLD NOVICE PHOTOGRAPHER.  BY THEN KEN HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS A SENIOR MEMBER OF THE CLUB AND HAD BEEN TREASURER FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS.

AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF HOW LONG AGO THIS WAS LET ME SAY THAT KEN HAD TO SIT IN THE BACK ROW AT OUR MEETINGS SO THAT THE SMOKE FROM HIS TRUSTY PIPE DIDNT OBSCURE THE SCREEN.

HE WAS A TALL IMPOSING FIGURE WITH A RAMROD STRAIGHT BACK AND A MILITARY BEARING THAT MADE THE VERY THOUGHT OF ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ACCOUNTS AT AN AGM A NO NO.

GRADUALLY I GOT TO KNOW KEN AND FOUND THAT APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEPTIVE AND THAT HE HAD A WARM PERSONALITY.  SOME OF US WHO ARE HERE TODAY USED TO GO WITH HIM AND MARJORIE ON PHOTOGRAPHIC TRIPS  AND THE MOST POPULAR WAS TO MALHAM IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES.  IT WAS HERE THAT I DISCOVERED KEN WAS A REAL ALE ENTHUSIAST AND A PORK PIE EATING EXPERT.

KEN WAS A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT BY PROFESSION AND AS WE WORKED IN SIMILAR FIELDS WE USED TO MEET UP OCCASIONALLY NEAR HIS OFFICE AT CHANCERY LANE AND LATER AT HATTON GARDEN AND FINALLY POTTERS BAR.  HE COUNTED OPERA SINGERS AMONGST HIS CLIENTS AND VERY GENEROUSLY TOOK ME TO REHEARSALS AT COVENT GARDEN WHEN THEY WERE PERFORMING.  MEMORABLY HE ALSO TOOK ME TO HIS LIVERY COMPANY FOR ONE VERY POSH DINNER.

IN THOSE DAYS HIS FAVOURITE PUB WAS THE SEVEN STARS AND IT WAS NO SURPRISE WHEN THE LANDLORD GRAHAM BECAME ONE OF HIS CLIENTS.  I ALWAYS WONDERED IF HIS CLIENTS EVER MADE THE CONNECTION THAT HIS FAVOURITE PUB WAS IN CAREY STREET.

SOMETIMES WE HAD MEETINGS AT A PARTICULARLY EARLY HOUR AND HE WOULD ACT HORRIFIED AND SAY “OH! WE DONT WANT TO VENTURE OUT UNTIL THE STREETS ARE AIRED”

THERE IS ONE ORGANISATION WHO PERHAPS WON’T MOURN KENS PASSING – AND THAT IS THE INLAND REVENUE, HE USED TO GIVE THEM A REAL EAR BASHING ON BEHALF OF HIS CLIENTS.

AND SO WE COME TO ACKNOWLEDGING KENS HUGE CONTRIBUTION TO HIS PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.  HE WAS TREASURER FOR 52 YEARS AND DID THE JOB WITH GREAT DISTINCTION.  A  JOB WHICH FEW OTHER PEOPLE WANTED OR EVEN COULD HAVE DONE.  HE NURTURED THE CLUB ASSETS AS IF THEY WERE HIS OWN AND WE NEVER HAD TO WORRY ABOUT WHETHER THE BILLS WOULD GET PAID. RECOGNITION OF THIS ACHIEVEMENT CAME NOT JUST FROM HIS OWN CLUB BUT AT NATIONAL LEVEL FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ALLIANCE OF GREAT BRITAIN WHO AWARDED HIM WITH AN APAGB FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE.

he will be greatly missed.