Ben was a fellow Bible student at Orama. I recall he had a memorable sense of humor during his time which I captured on various photos when he was 26yrs old. Nobody has seen these unique photos apart from me, so I am sure they will bring smiles and laughter to family. Ben was a diligent student keen to deepen his Biblical understanding and Christian faith. If the family would like quality copies of Ben please contact me.

Ben was a great, energetic, intense member of our community in Putney, a part of inner London. We were looking for long-term, larger community housing in the early to mid 1980s and Ben gave all his time and energy to the search. I valued him deeply and always smile when I think of him because we had so many funny experiences together. We have missed him for these many years since he moved back to NZ.

While I’ve not be in contact with Ben over the last 5 or 6 years, my memories of him in England with his wife Nancy and daughter Nadine, remain vivid. Ben was such a colourful character. As he joined this group of young missionaries, his favourite word was ‘shambles’. Ben wanted everything neat and tidy, which seemed to be a foreign concept to many. So he would go around muttering ‘Shambles, it’s just shambles’ as he whipped the gardens into shape, pruning mercilessly with fabulous results in the following season, and generally bringing order. And of course, Ben being Ben, also brought chaos as well, as his ideas didn’t always work out quite as planned. I remember him having students dig a huge hole once, which took them several hours. But through the night, he realised there was a different way to do what he needed, so the next day he had the same students fill in the hole. All people could do was laugh. A man of vision, always wearing a smile – along with those shorts and sandals, no matter the weather. The world will be a less colourful place without him.