Contributor - Ken Leak
Ken Leak is a major contributor to the Hellifield Herald. He writes stories about the history of the village and how is has changed in his lifetime.
Ken was born in Colne in 1957, but his family moved to Hellifield in 1960 where his father was employed as a Signalman at the then busy Hellifield Station.
Ken grew up in the village but left in 1980 to join the Royal Air Force. His career in the RAF took him to many locations in the UK, and he served in the Falklands plus active service with the Air Mobile Brigade in Bosnia/Croatia in 1995. Throughout the years he contributed many articles and illustrations to various magazines and periodicals, and always maintained his interests and links with Hellifield and the surrounding area.
In 1994 he met his wife Heather and on leaving the RAF they were married in 1996, settling in Hellifield. He contributed to the Channel 4 programme ‘Grand Designs’ which was focusing on the restoration of Hellifield Peel’s ancient Manor House. He also became the local correspondent for Hellifield for the Craven Herald, and is currently the longest serving correspondent.
From 2000, until retirement in 2019, he followed in his father’s footsteps and worked for ‘the railway’. In 2001 he wrote ‘Hellifield A Journey into the Past’, a history of the village, and followed this in 2008 with a sequel which included an autobiographical section ‘The Beckjumpers’, which focused on growing up in Hellifield in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Ken is currently a Trustee of Hellifield Institute and contributes articles and illustrations to the monthly ‘Hellifield Herald’ village magazine. He continues to produce artwork and illustrations for magazines and travelogues such as ‘The Dalesman’ and ‘Down Your Way’. Ken also illustrated a series of Walking Guides on the National Parks of England for Orchard Publishing.
He is a musician in a local band having played the piano and keyboards since the age of 7. His many interests include music, art, local history, railway and military history.
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