MIKHAIL VASENKOV, aged 79
A Russian KGB officer, he was trained as a sleeper. He lived in Peru, then as a college professor in the USA before being caught by the FBI. He was then involved in the biggest spy swap ever.
ROSSANA BANTI, aged 96
Red in name, red in dress, red in politics, Rossana was one of the “Terrible Girls of Rome”, in the Italian Resistance during the war. Later she was part of the SOE – code number 007. In later life she was a television producer.
JEAN-PIERRE ADAMS, aged 73
Born in Senegal he had a troubled upbringing in France. He then became an international footballer before a minor operation went wrong and he ended up in a coma for 39 years.
BARRY ST JOHN, aged 76
Singer who performed in Glasgow, Hamburg and London, she had a short solo career but sang with many leading performers and on one of the most famous songs of all time.
EDWARD D. SHAMES, aged 99
Part of the ‘Band of Brothers’ he fought in many significant battles in the Second World War, liberated Dachau concentration camp and captured Hitler’s lair , the Eagles Nest.
VLADIMIR SHATALOV, aged 93
Shatalov survived the Siege of Leningrad as a child. He became a pilot in the Red Air Force before brilliantly manipulating his way into the Soviet Space Programme as a cosmonaut. He went into space on three occasions.
MICHAEL BOURDEAUX, aged 87
Michael founded Keston College in Bromley which was dedicated to the spreading of reliable religious information in communist countries. He was awarded the Templeton Prize for his work.
GILL WRIGHT, aged 62
A big name in the world of swimming. Gill fought to save the Victoria Baths in Manchester. These appeared on the television show ‘Restoration’.
MIMI REINHARD, aged 107
An inmate of a concentration camp, Mimi worked in the office as a secretary. She was forced to type up a list of inmates to work in a factory owned by Oskar Schindler – and the rest is history.
ROGER HASSENFORDER, aged 90
Known as the Crown Prince of Cycling, Roger survived an eventful childhood in the Alsace, but only just. He grew up to be one of cycling’s greatest names – and certainly the most eccentric.
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