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From a leading physicist to Blackadder’s sidekick and the creator of Bagpuss - the nation’s unsung heroes are finally getting the credit they deserve.
The findings of a poll have been released to mark the 15th Anniversary of The National Lottery and celebrate the Lottery’s own unsung heroes – anyone who has played over the last 15 years and helped to raise over £23 billion for people and communities across the UK.
The results highlight Britons whose achievements have been overlooked or misunderstood over time – some are familiar, some are forgotten, but the UK’s top ten unsung heroes are:
1. Michael Faraday - Left school at 13 but went on to become one of the most influential scientists in history. His discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 was crucial in allowing electricity to be used in technology and his work on electromagnetic rotation led to the development of the electric motor.
2. J.M Barrie - Revered as a writer and dramatist but honoured here for touching thousands of children and their families’ lives by leaving the rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.
3. Edward Jenner - The ‘Father of Immunology’ who pioneered the vaccine for smallpox – a devastating disease, which swept in epidemic form through many countries leaving death, blindness and disfigurement in its wake. Smallpox was subsequently proclaimed eradicated by the World Health Assembly in 1980, and Jenner’s discovery led to our understanding of immunology and the principle of vaccination today.
4. John Peel - Best known as the longest serving of the original Radio One DJs and honoured for his commitment to championing new music. His legacy still helps discover new talent through the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury.
5. Alan Turing - Mathematician and computer scientist who invented the earliest form of the computer and whose work at Bletchley Park in WW2 led to the deciphering of messages from the German Enigma machine.
6. Baldrick - Character in comedy TV series Blackadder who serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick and is here celebrated for his relentless commitment to the ‘cunning plan’.
7. Midge Ure - Singer, songwriter and lesser-known driving force behind Band Aid and Live Aid.
8. Percy Shaw - Yorkshire man who invented the 'cat's eye' - the reflective road studs used worldwide to enable motorists to follow the road safely at night.
9. Tim Berners-Lee - Computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web and passed-up the opportunity to be the Bill Gates of a new generation. Not only did he make his idea available for free, with no patent and no royalties due, but ensured that its standards continued to be based on royalty-free technology.
10. Fred Scott - Veteran cameraman who risked his life to bring footage of the Middle East conflict into the homes of millions. He was caught up in friendly fire en route to Baghdad while filming famous BBC reporter John Simpson, and was one of the first journalists to be embedded with troops in Iraq.
Michael Faraday, whose photograph Einstein allegedly kept by his desk for inspiration, was the inventor of the electric motor and featured on our £20 notes until his face vanished from the public eye in 2001.
Faraday is followed by names past and present, revealing surprising insights into British culture:
- Many regions reverted to home-grown talent, with Bristolians honouring graffiti artist Banksy and Glaswegians going for curry favourite Ahmed Aslam-Ali, inventor of the chicken tikka masala
- Women’s rights pioneer, Emily Davison, was ranked 12th by women but was less revered by men, coming in at a lowly 41st
- Luminaries from TV and entertainment shone in the top 25, with Oliver Postgate, the creator of Bagpuss and The Clangers at number 11, and Roy Castle’s official adjudicator and Guinness Book of Records founder, Norris McWhirter, at number 18.
Sir Matthew Pinsent, CBE, National Lottery ambassador and Olympic champion, said: “The Lottery has changed the face of the UK over the past 15 years, and players have become the world’s biggest unsung heroes – philanthropists raising around £25 million each week for fantastic projects that improve community life and make a real difference. Projects range from organisations that help World War Two veterans take part in commemorative visits, community projects across the arts, heritage and sport, and elite athletes like me.”
- Claire Scott or Kate Cozens on 0207 260 2700 or firstname.lastname@bluerubicon.com
- Rebecca Gowrley or Jessica Cain at the National Lottery Promotions Unit on 0207 211 3991 or rebecca.gowrley@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk or jessica.cain@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
Notes to editors:
- This month, The National Lottery is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Since the Lottery began, players have raised over £23 billion for projects across the UK, a staggering £25 million each week
- Projects supported by The National Lottery span the fields of arts, heritage, sport, environment, education, health and charity
- The nation’s top 50 unsung heroes list was compiled from the results of an online survey of 1,976 respondents in November 2009. The findings have been weighted and are a representative sample of all UK adults.
- The nation’s top 50 unsung heroes are:
1 Michael Faraday - Left school at 13 but went on to become one of the most influential scientists in history. His discovery of electromagnetic induction was crucial in allowing electricity to be used in technology and his work on electromagnetic rotation led to the development of the electric motor.
2 J.M Barrie - Revered as a writer and dramatist, but honoured here for touching thousands of children and their families’ lives by leaving the rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.
3 Edward Jenner - The ‘Father of Immunology’ who pioneered the vaccine for smallpox – a devastating disease, which swept in epidemic form through many countries leaving death, blindness and disfigurement in its wake. Smallpox was subsequently proclaimed eradicated by the World Health Assembly in 1980, and Jenner’s discovery led to our understanding of immunology and the principle of vaccination today.
4 John Peel - Best known as the longest serving of the original Radio One DJs and honoured for his commitment to championing new music. His legacy still helps discover new talent through the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury.
5 Alan Turing - Mathematician and computer scientist who invented the earliest form of the computer and whose work at Bletchley Park in WW2 led to the deciphering of messages from the German Enigma machine.
6 Baldrick - Character in comedy TV series Blackadder who serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick, and is here celebrated for his relentless commitment to the ‘cunning plan’.
7 Midge Ure - Singer, songwriter and lesser-known driving force behind Band Aid and Live Aid.
8 Percy Shaw - Yorkshire man who invented the 'cat's eye' - the reflective road studs used worldwide to enable motorists to follow the road safely at night.
9 Tim Berners-Lee - Computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web and passed up the opportunity to be the Bill Gates of a new generation. Not only did he make his idea available freely, with no patent and no royalties due, but ensured that its standards continued to be based on royalty-free technology
10 Fred Scott - Veteran cameraman who risked his life to bring footage of the Middle East conflict into the homes of millions. He was caught up in friendly fire en route to Baghdad while filming famous BBC reporter John Simpson and was one of the first journalists to be embedded with troops in Iraq.
11 Oliver Postgate - Creator and writer of children's programmes, including The Clangers and Bagpuss, voted the most popular children's television programme of all time in 1999
12 Aneurin Bevan - Labour politician who was a key figure on the left of the party in the mid-20th century and was the Minister of Health responsible for the formation of the National Health Service
13 Mary Seacole - Jamaican-born British nurse best known for her involvement in the Crimean War, lauded in her lifetime alongside Florence Nightingale but then largely forgotten for almost a centur
14 Thomas Clarkson - A leading campaigner against the slave trade who achieved the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves
15 Bernie Taupin - Songwriting partner to Elton John who wrote the lyrics to tunes such as Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me and Your Song.
16 Mary Rand - Track and field athlete who was the first-ever British female to win an Olympic gold medal in a track and field event
17 Sir John Harington - Writer who devised Britain's first flush toilet in 1596
18 Norris McWhirter - Co-founded the Guinness Book of World Records with his twin brother Ross
19 Joe Mitty - Set up Oxfam's first ever charity shop in Oxford in 1949
20 Reverend Benjamin Waugh - Founded the UK charity, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the late 19th century
21 Emily Davison - An activist for women's suffrage who died after being struck by the King's horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby
22 Harry Gregg - Goalkeeper for Manchester United and Northern Ireland and survivor of the Munich air disaster in 1958, he pulled several of his team mates from the burning plane including Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Matt Busby
23 Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon - Physician who conducted the first ever study of up to 500 women with breast cancer, the findings from which still inform modern treatments today
24 Rosalind Franklin - Biophysicist, physicist and chemist whose work is widely regarded as crucial in helping Francis Crick and James Watson discover the structure of the human DNA molecule
25 Captain Matthew Webb - First person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids
26 John Harrison - Invented the marine chronometer, which allowed ships to establish their East-West position, or longitude, at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel
27 David Roberts - Swimmer and eleven time Paralympic Gold medallist
28 Banksy - A quasi-anonymous graffiti artist whose work has appeared in cities around the world, although he has never been formally identified or directly sold any of his work
29 Christopher and Jamie Cooper Hohn - The UK financier and his wife gave almost £800 million to charity in four years, making them Britain's most generous philanthropists
30 William Beveridge - Published the Beveridge report, the recommendations of which formed the basis of the UK’s welfare state and the creation of the NHS.
31 Ian Donald - Physician who pioneered the use of diagnostic ultrasound in medicine
32 Richard Doll - Physiologist who was a pioneer in research linking smoking to health problems and also did pioneering work on the relationship between radiation and leukaemia, asbestos and lung cancer, and alcohol and breast cancer
33 Henry Charles Beck - Created the present London Underground Tube Map in his spare time while working at the London Underground Signals Office
34 Margaret Ann Bulkley - Britain's first female doctor who dressed like a man for more than 50 years to become her alter-ego Dr. James Barry so she could practice medicine
35 Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards - Successfully carried out a pioneering conception in 1977 which resulted in the birth of the world's first baby to be conceived by IVF, at Oldham General Hospital
36 Hilary Lister - Record breaking quadriplegic sailor
37 Derek Arch - Britain's oldest serving milkman, aged 81 who still works seven days a week in Coventry
38 James Francis 'Frank' Pantridge - Known as the Father of Emergency Medicine, he transformed emergency medicine by introducing the coronary care unit
39 William Reid Clanny - Inventor who invented the Clanny safety lamp for miners
40 Rick Allen - Drummer for hard rock band Def Leppard who overcame the amputation of his left arm and continued playing with the band, which subsequently went on to its greatest popular success worldwide
41 Stanley Baker - Star of Zulu, The Guns of Navarone, overshadowed by his friend Richard Burton
42 Jeeves - Fictional valet character in the short stories and novels of P.G Wodehouse, in which Jeeves gets his clueless and oblivious boss Bertie Wooster out of various predicaments
43 Aileen Cust - First female veterinary surgeon to practise in the British Isles, completed her veterinary studies in 1897 but was denied permission to sit the final examination.
44 Christopher Marlowe - Elizabethan playwright said to have heavily influenced Shakespeare's early work before he died in suspicious circumstances in 1593
45 Henry George Ferguson - Designed the Ferguson System of ploughing in 1926, which was to revolutionise farming and the agriculture industry world-wide.
46 Alfred Russel Wallace - Naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist best known for independently proposing a theory of natural selection, which prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own theory
47 Julian Lloyd Webber - One of the world's most renowned classical cellists and younger brother to successful composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
48 Donald 'Ginger' McCain - Horse trainer of Red Rum
49 Stephen Merchant - Co-wrote The Office, Extras and the Ricky Gervais show with Ricky Gervais
50 Thomas Spencer - Business partner of Michael Marks who together set up what is now known as Marks & Spencer
