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A World War Two veteran was filmed bursting into tears after being presented with a cushion with his late wife’s face on it.

Ken Benbow, 94, was married to Ada Benbow for 75 years before she died in 2019. He then used to sleep with a photo of his wife in a frame every night, until carer Kia Mariah Tobin, 17, warned that he could cut himself on the glass.

She then presented him with a cushion featuring Ada’s photograph on the front as a gift from staff at Thistleton Lodge, in Preston, where he lives. A video of Ken receiving the cushion has since gone viral online after it was shared on social media.



Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, Ken became emotional as he described receiving the present, calling it ‘the most precious thing anyone could ever wish for’.


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Ken told how he had met Ada while out dancing, just one week after he moved to Liverpool. He said: ‘I can still see that post she was leaning on with her friends.’

They then courted for two months before making plans to move in together and get married. He told how he had proposed to Ada at a dance, adding: ‘We were always dancing. I used to fling her over my shoulder and we would jitterbug. It was lovely.’

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Describing Ada, Ken said she was the ‘best little woman in the world’, adding: ‘She was the most caring, beautiful wife anyone could ever wish to have. She never did a thing wrong in her whole life.’

Asked if he now preferred cuddling the cushion to the photo frame, Ken said: ‘Definitely. I cuddle up to it, I [practically] smother myself with it, it’s so beautiful, it’s so soft and lovely.’

He had been thrilled to receive the cushion (Picture: Thistleton Lodge/ Caters)

Ken was just 17 when he joined the Navy, with his career taking him on North Atlantic conveys, through the invasion of Italy and onto patrols of the English Channel. He then became an electrician after the war ended.

Sat next to him during the interview, Kia told how she had now moved into the care home to help look after Ken and other residents. She has now lived there for two weeks.

She said: ‘I live with my Nan and Grandpa at home so it was a bit hard to imagine leaving them. But I’ve sorted things out for them to get food and supplies.’

The teenager added that by moving into the care home full-time she was helping to keep her grandparents ‘safe’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

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