Roger Bennett
Kingswood Heritage Museum has an extensive collection of images of the many celebrities who have grown up in and visited the area. Many of these images are featured in one of the Museum’s new exhibitions for 2025.
This month’s “Memory” features the late Roger Bennett, the much – loved presenter on BBC Radio Bristol. Roger worked for the station from its inception in 1970, and was the station’s main presenter from 1974 until he retired in 2003.
Roger was born locally in Bristol and was educated at Sefton Park Primary School and Bristol Grammar School. He followed his father into journalism at the Bristol Evening Post, where he spent 17 years, becoming the paper’s Chief Reporter.
Roger was perhaps best known for presenting Morning West on BBC Radio Bristol, and became the longest serving breakfast presenter on radio. He won the prestigious Sony Radio Presenter of the Year in 1983; was voted Local Broadcaster of the Year in 1994; and in 1998, was honoured with a Sony Gold Achievement award for his dedication to local radio. He was also presented with an honorary Masters’ degree by Bristol University in 1997.
An accomplished jazz musician, Roger played soprano saxophone and clarinet with his “Blue Notes” band.
The photo above (courtesy of the South Gloucestershire Gazette) shows Roger in Hanham in 1988 at a Sunflower Competition. Were you there when Roger visited Hanham for this event? If you were, please share your memories with Kingswood Heritage Museum by email at kingswoodmuseum@gmail.com, or by phone on 0117 9605664.