A memorial bench with a brass plaque could soon be put up to honour Moses Jon N'Kanar, after the beloved Kingston legend passed away earlier this month.
Kingston Council confirmed yesterday (November 21) the death of Mr N'Kanar, or Moses as he was known locally.
A private funeral has been "pencilled in" to take place at 12.15pm on November 27 at Putney Vale Cemetery, according to the cemetery, although the exact details remain to be confirmed.
Local residents took to social media to share their anecdotes and their condolences to honour the much-loved Kingston man who has been a pillar of the community for at least fifty years.
One social media user said: "RIP Moses, may God keep you safe now your work here is done. Thank you for brightening our lives. You brought so much happiness to us, thank you dear friend. We will miss you."
James Giles, a community campaigner from New Malden, said he had obtained permission from IdVerde for a bench and brass plaque to be erected in Moses’s honour.
The local campaigner has suggested the bench could be painted red in memory of Moses' unconventional red outfits if the Council confirms this is feasible.
The exact location of the bench is still being discussed, with some suggestions it could be placed in Georgia Road or in Kingston Road Recreation Ground.
A crowdsourcing campaign has been started on Go Fund Me to raise the £1,750 needed to erect a memorial bench and brass plaque.
Mr Giles added: “He was such a great guy, such a character. There was no-one like Moses.
“He told me once, although sometimes you had to take things he said with a pinch of salt, that he was an exiled prince from a foreign nation.
“He lived in Kingston for at least 50 years of his life. I’ve got grandparents in their sixties that remember him.”
Paul Newman, 66, who moved to Devon over a decade ago, said he would be travelling to London to attend Moses’s funeral.
Mr Newman said: “His father owned a farm in Africa and always contacted him to come and work on his farm, and Moses said ‘I am not going to work there. Whether that was his mind or whether that’s a fact, I don’t know.
“He had a very tough life. He was often being mugged for his money. I don’t know how many times his bicycle was stolen. He was always being picked on and was an easy target."
You can donate to Giles James’s crowdsourcing campaign by searching ‘Moses of Kingston Memorial Bench’ on Go Fund Me.
Kingston Comet would like to honour Moses and pay tribute to his best outfits. Send us your best pictures on mathilde.frot@london.newsquest.co.uk
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