A DOZEN OR MORE HODGITES GATHERED LAST WEEK WITH A LARGE FAMILY CONTINGENT FOR THE FUNERAL OF KEN LANSLEY, WHO DIED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AFTER HAVING A TRIPLE HEART BY-PASS WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY COMPLICATIONS.
His partner Audrey had been travelling regularly down to Harefield Hospital where Ken initially showed good progress after the operation, but his condition deteriated quite quickly.
Ken joined the Hodge in 1950, working through until 1989, one of the longest serving employees. He trained as an engineer in Kettering before his National Service in 1947, improved his mechanical knowledge whilst in the mob, and got the start at Northampton soon after his 2 years were up.
He has been a great contributor to this website over the last 5 years because as he had always been a keen photographer, he recorded many machines, demonstrations and occasions both here and abroad, in Northampton and in Barnsley, where he was for many years, and the rather splendid service programme created by one of Audrey`s grandaughters and shown at the top of this article really does typify Ken`s love of camera work, and is a fitting last tribute to one of his lifelong hobbys.
As we said, his contributions to this site were many and varied, and it was he who first brought to our attention the Mangla Dam project in the 1960`s, with his fantastic images of the Euclid SS40 scrapers and 40 cu yd bottom dumps, and it was with great regret just a couple of days after he went into hospital, that we came across the following advertisement from the USA, which we intended to let him have a copy, and which Ken would have had great pleasure in looking at, but sadly never got the chance to see.
We dont apologise for the following images, repeated though they are elsewhere on this site, but we would like to show again these shots of Ken in his early glory days in the 1963/4 period over in Pakistan…with Joe Clark from Euclid, Canada, then two other Northamptonites, Arthur Blason & Cec George.
Many people have contacted B.H.M. and talked about Ken, and amongst the comments repeated were that he was always willing to help anyone if he could, would always put in a fair days work for his money, and was always pretty good crack, and not above pulling a few tricks on his colleagues.
The last time most of us saw Ken was in April when he came along to the wake we held for KMK, and he was busy with his digital s.l.r. that day, with his fotos eventually forming a big part of the tribute to KMK elsewhere on this site.
Obviously, the loss to Audrey and Ken`s adopted extended family will be greatest, but not having his input and knowledge of times gone will be a great loss to us all also, but at least for the foreseeable future, he will be remembered in these columns by all Hodgites who knew him.
Rest in peace Ken.
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