Farewell to RAFA's Ken

Ken Igglesden, the long-serving president of Bexhill Royal Air Force Association, died in the early hours of Monday morning.

He leaves behind wife Elsie, their two daughters Carolyn and Barbara, and son John, as well as eight grandchildren and one great-grand child, Lucas.

Ken was born in Rye on February 25 1923 and had four brothers. Soon after his birth the family moved to Bexhill where he attended St Barnabas school and the Down school, and then started work in the printing trade as an apprentice for FJ Parsons in Western Road.

He signed up just before his 18th birthday and served in the Royal Air Force as a wireless operator/air gunner flying in Wellington bombers over the Persian Gulf on anti-submarine duties.

After the war he returned to Bexhill and took up his pre-war occupation, having married Elsie in 1945, and worked for Smith and Ouzman printers in Eastbourne.

He played an active part in the newly formed RAF association by being a member of the cricket team and also helping out in club activities in general. He went on to devote his life to the RAFA and over the years he held several committee positions and in 2001 became President. For some time he was also a member of the National Council of the RAFA.

Ken's main interest was organising the annual Wings Appeal and during the years over 500,000 was raised locally.

His first concert was in 1948 but over the years he organised many fundraisers including dinner dances, old time musical, donkey derbies and he even managed to arrange a flying display by the Red Arrows off Bexhill beach.

Ken was awarded an MBE in the New Years honours list of 1996 but it's possible his proudest achievement was to be awarded the Silver Jubilee medal in 1978.

Recently Ken was dogged by ill health but this did not dim his determination to ensure that the Wings Appeal went ahead as usual. As was reported in the Observer on June 11, he organised a concert by the RAFA Presidents band in St Augustine's church as his "swan song". Needless to say the concert was highly successful and nearly 500 was raised.

Branch chairman Pat O'Brien said: "Ken was involved in local RAFA for more than 60 years and, as he would have wished, the local branch and club is still active and well supported.

"The RAFA will mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain at a memorial service in St Michael's Church on September 26 at 12 noon. Ken will certainly be there in spirit and he would be delighted to think that many of those who knew him would attend the service to mark his life and times as well as the victory in the air in 1940."

The funeral will be held on Monday August 9 at 2pm in St Augustine's church, Cooden Drive.