Ken’s passing on the 20th May 2020 was a such a shock to all of us that knew him.  He was a friend and mentor to the many people he encountered in Scouting and in other aspects of his life.    

As a tribute to Ken, a memorial fund was established in June 2020, and we are pleased to say donations of £6,287 have been made to date.  The Regional Leadership Team are working with our young people as well as Ken’s family to identify the best uses of this funding to support opportunities for young people within the Region.  

Ken’s wife, Alison, has also decided that she would like to make a personal donation to the Region and has asked that the money be used in Ken’s memory for the benefit of both young people and adults across the Region.   

Having now spoken to Alison about possible options, she has asked that initially, she would like to see some of the donation be used to establish something new at Bonaly, particularly for the benefit of our younger members.  We are therefore delighted that we will now be able to erect two “Hobbit” huts near the Baronial Hall that will have enough accommodation space for a Beaver colony and their leaders. (Other sections will of course be able to book too, if the Beavers haven’t taken up permanent residence!) Planning permission has already been granted, however lead times for materials are slower than we would have liked but we are hopeful to have this exciting addition in place during the course of 2022. 

We are very grateful to Alison for such a generous donation, and we are also working with her to identify where else the funds could be best targeted in order to reflect the breadth of Ken’s involvement in Scouting across the Region.   Further details will be shared in due course.  

John Cannon  
Regional Chair