Memorial Bench

Published: 15 September 2026

On Thursday 10th September member of the Parish Council gathered on St Mary's Green for the unveiling of a memorial bench to Roger Fennemore MBE. 

The Council Chairman, David Hopkins, spoke at the gathering.

His speech is below.

It is an honour and privilege to say a few words on behalf of the parish council.
Roger Fennemore MBE was one of that rare breed of people that everyone seemed to know – even if they didn’t!
The name Fennemore was synonymous with MK – an institution, a legal business that stood for success that was somehow so representative of all that MK aspired to be and eventually became
If you knew Roger you were always drawn to his sense of fun, his sociability, his engaging personality and his ability to seem interested in whatever you might be saying – even if he wasn’t really!
Born I believe in Luton, educated at Bedford School and a Bedford Rugby club player of some considerable renown (playing on the wing – where speed and avoiding the tackles of the somewhat bigger forwards is the crucial skill) his love of all sport become totally interlinked with the work he (and Sally) and others undertook in the later stages of his life. 
Retiring from the law in his mid 50’s Roger dedicated himself fully to volunteering and philanthropy.
His love of sport and his commitment to fundraising for talented able bodied and disabled young athletes was the focus and dedication that was finally recognised by his MBE in 2016
Locally, Roger, as we all know, served as a Parish Councillor for a number of years, and despite stepping down formally in 2014 he still regularly attended the public open sessions to ask questions and offer his opinions on a wide range of local issues - always in a well argued, constructive and often humorous way. 
That was the advocate in him coming through.
He persuaded the Parish Council to allow the installation of Rugby Posts in the recreation ground to mark the 2015 rugby world cup and for dozens of rugby balls to be distributed through our local schools to help encourage interest in the game among our younger residents.
He also served as a school governor at Walton High, as a Director of the MK Hospital Trust, a Trustee at SNAP and of the Lords Taverners, was Deputy Chairman of the East Regional Sports Board (Sport England) and most famously locally was a founder and driving force of the MK Sporting Lunch Club (that he and Sally founded in 2001) and which having adopted SportsAid as its charity went on to raise over £2.5M to support young athletes.
Personally, Roger became a great friend, advisor and part of what we called the gang of four which consisted of the MK Dons Pete Winkleman, the then MP Iain Stewart, Roger and me (and occasional guests) who would chew over the (local) issues of the day over lunch at a local hostelry.
On behalf of the village, thank you Sally for this very welcome and attractive seating – and thank you Roger (as I know you are listening) for your service locally, regionally and nationally and for the positive impact you made to the lives of so many people. Just ask Greg Rutherford, Gail Emms, Victoria Pendleton and countless others - including all of us here this afternoon.
We will always remember Roger Fennemore MBE