I never met Ben, but I certainly remember him providing ATC at Southampton whilst 39 Cadet course took our PPL course.
Yes, the good old days when trainee ATCOs knew what it felt like to take your first solo flight. I distinctly remember flying downwind on my first solo, humming the theme tune to M.A.S.H. - It was only after Ben had cleared me to land that I realised the actual name of the theme tune was "Suicide is painless"!!
Happy Retirement Ben