Muriel and Doris Lester &
The Heritage of the Kingsley Hall Community Centres

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Dennis Riley

Dennis Riley 17th  January 1931 – 13th  August 2019

Dennis Riley , who has died aged 88, was a long-time volunteer worker at Kingsley Hall in Dagenham.

He joined the Youth Club – where he met Audrey his future wife of 65 years – as a teenager  and participated in the earliest visits of the Dagenham-Witten Youth Exchange.

Spotted by former Minister-Warden Sydney Russell to have great talent as a carpenter and craftsman, Dennis was soon enlisted to do odd jobs, maintenance and even building work in the Centre (and in KH Bow in the early 1970s!).

Over his more than 70 years of service to KH Dagenham, he ran all kinds of Groups – youth, carpentry and for older people, organised regular fundraising activities and from 1990 to 1998 stepped into the breach as Centre Manager when KH was struggling to find suitable staff.

 Wherever you wander in Kingsley Hall, in every room and corridor, there are things to remind you of the handicraft and service of Dennis Riley who will be sadly missed by the Centre and his many friends there, in Dagenham and beyond.