SPARE10FORBEN - Key Persons
This photo was taken on the 13th August 2016 at Ben's passing out party which we held at our local pub, The Half Moon. Ben was a Trooper with The Light Dragoons after joining Harrogate AFC at the tender age of 16.
Ben was a popular lad and so the party was packed with family and friends. I can recall Ben laughing at me at the beginning of the night when he noticed that I had bought a variety of glow in the dark props. "It's not my bloody 5th birthday party Mam" he said, yet come the end of the night, Ben, us, his family and friends were all wearing them!
Ben wasn't much of a drinker, he preferred being out and about with his mates and I would often receive a photo or video of him jumping into rivers and off the top of waterfalls. I would berate him afterwards for worrying me and Ben would laugh it off with his typical nonchalance and wit.
I remember Ben and I sitting outside one sunny Saturday, as we watched people completing parachute jumps at a local airfield. At that time he had recently completed his first and subsequent jumps. "I was shi**ing myself the first time Mam, but couldn't wait to get back up and do it again and again!".
Ben had a sarcastic sense of humour and loved a good laugh - that's how I'm always going to remember Ben for the rest of my life.