Little did this great man, Leonard Cheshire, know when he took a sick man dying of cancer into his home how his idea would grow.

The man, Arthur, said to him: "You know, Leonard, you're not doing this just for me..." How right he was!

After losing Arthur he took someone else in... and someone else... thus he had his first Cheshire home.

And my, how that work has grown, to care for 20,000 disabled people through care at home, residential homes, independent living units and various other ways.

He loved to visit his homes. Kenmore had been open 10 years when I came in 1968. He had stayed here a few times before then and I was told he used to eat with the residents and sleep at the homes – no single rooms then.

He came three times while I was here and he remembered me each time; amazing really, considering all the thousands of people he must have met.

His last visit was soon after he had started being poorly.

Someone said of him: "When you were with him, you knew you were in the presence of someone very special." This was certainly true. His 75th year was very special, they put all sorts of events on for it. Sadly he died shortly before his birthday but they still carried out all the events.

I won a second class diploma for a tribute I wrote to him. He read the article and he sent me a lovely letter, obviously he typed it himself. I was thrilled with that.

For some reason I wrote to Her Majesty the Queen that year, and got a reply. But guess whose letter I had framed – Leonard Cheshire's, of course.

In November of that year there was a wonderful tribute programme on Radio 2 to him. It went out that night and a friend taped it for me. I still have it. I think it was compered by Ed Stewart.

At the end he promised that the name and work of Leonard Cheshire would never be forgotten.

With millions of others, I certainly say "Amen" to that!

AUDREY JOHNSTON
Kenmore Cheshire Home
Whitcliffe Road
CLECKHEATON