How on the day David Bowie died he apparently paid £10,116 towards Binley Woods village hall’s car park

There are many milestones to remember about David Bowie 10 years after his death – but the fact he apparently paid for a Warwickshire car park is not one most will dwell on.

But for Norman Miller, it is the biggest memory he has of the late Thin White Duke, having put in a plea for him to play Binley Woods Village Hall, firstly in 2014.

Miller, an ex-hall committee member, was inevitably told by the star’s son Duncan Jones, the show could not happen – but when Bowie died on 10 January 2016, he heard from Jones again.

Apparently drawing on his father’s marketing genius, Jones offered £10,116 – the date of his death in cash – towards the village hall car park.

At first Miller thought it was a scam, telling the BBC: “I went to the bank and showed them the letter and they said they’d opened an account with nothing in it, and then the money was transferred the day he died.”

Before the generous donation, Miller said the hall’s car park fund “was going nowhere”.

So, as a Bowie fan, he thought “I’d write to him – I’ve admired all my life”.

“I thought, ‘Well, I’ll get David Bowie to come and do a concert’ [to raise the funds],” he said.

At the time in 2014, Jones sent a reply saying his father was not taking on work due to his health, but that didn’t stop Miller.

“I kept sending letters, and I put everything in it that I could think of about my family, about the Sky Blues, everything I could think of I’ve crammed in a letter.”

Miller heard nothing for two years, but then on the day of the star’s passing, he heard from Jones again.

The second letter thanked him for the joke he had sent and that it had made Bowie smile.

But, it also said “because of the letters and jokes you sent, which kept David’s hopes up, we are going to give your village hall £10,116”.

According to Paul Salisbury, current chair of the parish council, the amount covered the deposit on the car park’s construction.

The village has affectionately called it “the car park David Bowie paid for”, ever since.

“Without that money, it wouldn’t have been done. It was the last part of the jigsaw,” Salisbury said.