What do the inventor of the tube map, the founder of Oxfam and Blackadder’s sidekick all have in common? According the people at the National Lottery, they’re just some of Britain’s unsung heroes.
Legion magazine editorial
Published: 17 November 2009
The list of
Britain's top 50 'unsung heroes' was published to coincide with the Lottery’s 15th anniversary.
Other notable names on the list include
Peter Pan author JM Barrie, graffiti artist Banksy and 81-year-old Derek Arch, who is currently the UK’s longest-serving milkman.
While it’s impossible to argue that these people don’t deserve their place on the list – there’s certainly a reason to celebrate every single one of them – the absence of some names is likely to cause controversy.
For one thing, the list seriously lacks representation of our forgotten forces heroes. Why no mention of footballer Walter Tull, who was awarded the Military Cross during World War I? Or naval intelligence officer Patrick Dalzel-Job, rumoured to be Ian Fleming’s inspiration for the character James Bond?
It seems crazy that Baldrick’s exploits can get him to number six on the list – even though he is a fictional character – yet many more British legends are yet to be named.
So tell us, which ‘unsung heroes’ do you think deserve a mention?
