To a man with with two daughters I guess in a way when I married into the family I became Ken’s only son - all be it with the “in-law” tag attached. I certainly felt like he took me under his wing and he set about passing on his considerable wisdom to me.

At first sight Ken might appear quiet and a little reserved but you very soon became aware of his lighter side and sense of fun. We not only enjoyed visits and holiday’s with Ken and Maggie but also he worked with me on a number of DIY projects - I’m a reasonable DIYer now but a lot of it was learned from Ken. He was a good companion to work with and seemingly could turn his hand to anything. I was always aware that he was a very bright guy (being a doctor of nuclear physics) but also a craftsman at heart, the precise scientist translated into a careful craftsman. He taught me that if an angle was out by a millimetre at the beginning of a frame it would be a serious issue by the time you reached the other side. When I worked with him he occasionally repeated the phrase “good enough for government work” with a wry smile but you knew that was not a sentiment which he put any store by and he would be aiming for excellence.

Ken always said he would do some cabinet making in his retirement which he never managed to fulfil but he did major restoration work on the house in Somerset and made some beautiful things over the years from sculpture, to wooden music stands and a full size harpsichord.

Ken was always strong and physically fit so it was sad to see his physical and mental decline as Alzheimer’s took it’s toll. As a lifelong tee-totaller and Methodist, though he didn’t touch alcohol, I will always remember his sense of fun and playing football with him and the children: he charged up and down the large field outside of the Coach House in Somerset as if he was decades younger. As a young lad in Southampton at the tail end of the Second World War I heard that he would find live ordnance and put it in a vice to extract the explosive charge to set off in an impromptu firework display! 

I will very much miss Ken and being able to tap into his expertise, his company and his friendship.