It is with great sadness that we report the death of John Bensley who died on 21 February 2010 after a long battle against cancer.

John joined Knights Warner in 1988 as a contracts manager and was soon promoted to manager in 1990, Director in 1993 and then to Managing Director in 1995. In 1999 he also became a main board director of our holding company K Holdings (East Anglia) Limited.

John was such a large and vibrant character that writing an obituary about him and talking in the past tense is almost impossible. He cared about Knights Warner and the people who make up the company with a passion. He was admired not only for his strength of character, enthusiasm and determination, which was present in every aspect of his life, but also for his sense of fairness and the massive influence John has had on the business will no doubt remain long into the future.

Although based in King’s Lynn he regularly visited our Lowestoft office – his arrival was never a quiet affair, it was more as if a booming whirlwind had arrived and he could lift the mood of an office in an instant. He was a larger than life character and we all feel honoured to have had the pleasure of working with him, to be part of his team and to be his friend.

The kind letters of condolence that the company has received have reinforced the level of respect and liking that people outside of the company had for John. Words such as approachable, professional and knowledgeable are a common theme.

As we all know companies such as Knights Warner are a sum of the all the people who work for them and they continue to grow and manage change, however sad that change may be. For many of us though John was special and meant so much more to us than just a work colleague – he was a true friend, a trusted confidant and leaves a large void in many of our lives.