Michael Benians
2.9.1925 – 13.10.2008
Mike was always going to be a success. Of that there could never be doubt. His life may have had its ups and downs like any other but failure was never going to be an option. The saying “where there is a will, there is a way” could probably have been attributed to Mike.
Mike and his wife Rachael came to Uckfield in 2004. Some say that fresh eyes are needed to see a need. Mike clearly ‘discovered’ Lime Tree Avenue on his arrival in Uckfield; he lived just a stone’s throw away. He gloried in the cathedral-like quality of the avenue, but recoiled in disgust at its neglect. I remember singing about the avenue in the 1980s when I used to take my boys to school sometimes; using the words “pollard the trees…” However, the trees were always someone else’s responsibility. Mike could see there was a need to do something, and he actually looked into just whose responsibility they were. The answer? About 20 people and organisations were responsible for them; each of these secretly wishing that they were not. It turns out (due to Mike’s investigations), that the local authorities were only stepping in if there were pressing health and safety issues.
Mike phoned me for the first time on 29th October 2005. He announced that he had been in discussion with local residents and Councillors about the management of the avenue, and that I had been suggested as a possible Chairperson of a new group to work for the restoration of Lime Tree Avenue. A meeting was duly convened for December 1st 2005, and we were launched. By the 5th, our group had acquired the name Lime Aid, and, thanks to Mike, we were in the press, had our own letter-head, constitution and bank account. From then until very recently, Mike worked tirelessly and cheerfully to marshal the forces necessary to restore the avenue. In that time, most of the trees have been pollarded, and the remainder will be done this winter. Most of the trees have had their epicormic growth (suckers) docked, and the remainder will be done on the 29th November this year, and then annually. Four dangerous poplars have been removed (at Mike’s expense) and we are due to plant new lime trees to replace them in November. The avenue has been cleared of litter regularly. Several new limes have been planted, and solar lights have been fitted into the curb stones along one section. A 5-year management plan has been devised, and we have a superb web site at:
http://limetreeavenue.co.uk/default.aspx
All this, plus generous financial support, is due to Mike. So who was he? Educated at Marlborough House School, Kent, and Eastbourne College, Sussex, Mike joined the Royal Engineers as an NCO in 1943. After the war, he gained his B.Sc. in Engineering at Regent Street Polytechnic, and became a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He married Rachael in 1950. He worked in mechanical engineering and related fields until 1980 when redundancy precipitated Mike to start his own business in Hampshire.
Mike could speak German and some Polish, and was much travelled during his eventful career.
During his time as Secretary of Lime Aid, Mike networked with the three local authorities and his MP. Organisation membership included Eastbourne Association of Voluntary Services, and he attended training courses run by them. He was also a member of the South Downs Council for Voluntary Services, and through that organisation, made contact with the County High Sheriff. He was also a member of the Sussex Gardens Trust, the International Tree Foundation, the Uckfield Volunteer Centre and the Uckfield Preservation Society. He also joined the Lake Wood conservation volunteers at their Task Days helping to fight alien invaders (of the plant kind).
Mike’s energy seemed boundless, and he started a movement (Lime Aid) that has gained momentum. He will be greatly missed, and a hard act to follow. The elegance, ecology and endurance of Lime Tree Avenue will always be a fitting monument to a long and successful life, taken from us following a rapid decline, but in the end, peacefully at home with his family.
Martyn Stenning (Chairman of Lime Aid).
15th October 2008, Uckfield.