DIANA MELLY, aged 87
She met a series of husbands in nightclubs before marrying a famous jazz singer and becoming his manager and helper. It was a very unconventional marriage.
BRIAN SHERRIFF, aged 94
A designer of women’s underwear, he became a beekeeper after going bust and designed a revolutionary suit to protect people from bee stings.
DAPHNE SELFE, aged 97
A model and actress, she retired when she married. In her seventies she made a comeback and became an international sensation – the oldest model in the world.
PETER TOWNEND, aged 98
From The Age of Steam, he was Shedmaster at King’s Cross station, looking after iconic trains – and oversaw the transition to diesel engines.
SIR BEN HELFGOTT, aged 93
After just surviving the Holocaust he came to Britain as one of the Windemere Children and went on to represent GB at two Olympic Games as a weightlifter.
EDWARD SEXTON, aged 80
THE WIZARD OF THE SCISSORS Born into a poor family in Dagenham, his father William was a public health inspector and his mother, Isabelle Pitt, was a cleaner at the BBC. Edward was one of […]
RALPH EHRMANN, aged 97
From being an RAF navigator, he rose to be Chairman of the toy company Airfix, using his experience to design models – and transformed the British toy market.
GRAHAM NEWBOULD, aged 66
The Queen’s personal chef who divulged her food likes and dislikes, and who also worked for Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
DAVID KIRKE, aged 78
He reacted to tragedy with great risk. He invented bungee jumping and microlighting and competed in extreme and dangerous sports, always facing great dangers.
PATRICIA RUANNE, aged 77
She had exceptional dancing skills and became a Prima Ballerina at a young age. She worked closely with Nureyev and became a celebrated ballet teacher.
FATHER JEREMY DAVIES, aged 87
After qualifying as a doctor he became a Catholic Priest, rising to become England’s prominent exorcist. A man of firm beliefs and controversial opinions.
PIPPA LATOUR, aged 102
The longest surviving female SOE agent working in occupied France, she paved the way for D-Day, but was never acknowledged by her male colleagues.
BOB LE SUEUR, aged 102
An insurance salesman who was active in the resistance in Jersey in the Channel Islands during the war, rescuing Russian slave labourers from the occupiers.
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