HERO OF THE SOUTH EAST
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| Inside Out's five finalists |
The search was on to discover the hero - male
or female of course - of the South East. The person who has excelled
in their field and enriched the lives of others.
We weren't talking about reality TV stars who may be
forgotten by tomorrow, but talented, dedicated individuals who have made
a difference to the world.
A few months ago, Inside Out asked you for your suggestions
for the Hero of the South East. The shortlist
of five, in no particular order, was:
Here are more details
on each of our hero finalists….
Vera Lynn
Who knows how the Second World War would have ended if
the British didn’t have their own secret weapon - the morale boosting
Vera Lynn.
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| Vera Lynn - forces
sweetheart |
Born in London in 1917, she’d been singing on stage since
the age of seven. Vera was doing reasonably well as a professional singer.
But when the war started she went stratospheric.
But Vera didn’t just disappear after her wartime role
as forces sweetheart. Her singing career continued to flourish, she became
a film star and had her own ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ radio series.
In 1975 she became a Dame of the British Empire. She
settled in Ditchling, East Sussex, where she began to take an interest
in charity work, as well as demonstrating against heavy lorries in her
village.
Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom is undoubtedly one of Britain’s best loved
screen comedians. He was actually born in London
in 1915, but he was brought up in Deal in Kent.
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| High-profile campaigns have highlighted access issues |
Although he brought laughter to millions, his own childhood
was unhappy. His father was a violent drunk. When his mother left in 1924,
he ended up in care.
But from an early age Norman Wisdom showed a tough determination.
At the age of 13 he walked from London to Cardiff to get a job down the
mines.
Norman discovered his talent for comedy while in the
Army during the war. And it wasn’t long before he was a film star - especially
loved for his slapstick character Norman Pitkin.
In 2000, Norman Wisdom was awarded a knighthood. His
contribution to the South East continues today, as he is patron of the
Astor Theatre Arts Centre in Deal and Patron of the Deal Carnival Committee.
John Surtees
Born in Tatsfield, Surrey in 1934, John Surtees is the
only man ever to have been world champion on two wheels as well as four.
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| High-profile campaigns have highlighted access issues |
John Surtees won seven motorcycle world championships.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he went on to win the Formula 1 world drivers
title and the North American Can-Am Championship for sports cars. To this
day, a corner of Brands Hatch is named after him.
Resilience and determination were notable hallmarks of
John, and ones that he showed when his CanAm Lola T70 crashed at Mosport
Park in Canada. John was badly injured but astonished doctors with the
speed of his recovery.
These days he’s a property developer. But he finds the
time to help youngsters get behind the wheel, and maybe become the champions
of the future.
Charles Dickens
Born in 1812, Charles Dickens' family moved to Chatham
when he was a boy and in later life he lived near Rochester. To this day,
Rochester holds an annual Dickens festival in his honour.
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| Dickens - quintessential
Victorian author |
Charles Dickens is much loved for his contribution to
English literature. From David Copperfield to Great Expectations,
A Christmas Carol to Oliver Twist he is the quintessential
Victorian author.
Dickens was also very fond of Broadstairs. His seaside
home was here in Bleak House. Here he wrote David Copperfield and
Bleak House. Dickens visited Folkestone many times in the mid 1850’s.
He was often seen climbing up the chalk cliffs.
In 1870 Dickens was back at Gad’s Hill when he suffered
a stroke and died. He asked in his will to be buried in an inexpensive,
unostentatious and extremely private manner. If fact, he was buried in
Westminster Abbey.
John Logie Baird
John Logie Baird was born in Scotland in 1888, but he
arrived in Hastings probably in 1922.
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| High-profile campaigns have highlighted access issues |
Dogged by ill health for most of his life, Baird nonetheless
showed early signs of ingenuity by rigging up a telephone exchange to
connect his bedroom to those of his friends across the street.
John had been tinkering with the idea of sending pictures
by wireless since he was a boy. When a business venture making jam in
the Caribbean failed, John had the opportunity to experiment with his
dream of inventing television.
John achieved success in 1926, when he gave the world's
first demonstration of true television in his attic workshop in Hastings
before some fifty scientists. In 1928 he achieved the first transatlantic
television transmission between London and New York.
Although he died in 1946, John’s invention arguably had
a greater impact on home life than anything else in history.
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