The search is finally over; the votes have been cast - in their tens
of thousands - and our search to find out who you think is the Greatest
Midlander can now been revealed.
Having whittled
the many nominations from Midlands Today viewers down to a final ten,
the pre-vote favourite was William Shakespeare - but as you can see
below, the Bard of Avon was comfortably beaten into second place by
the man who's name is synonymous with Britain's World War II success.
 He
was the man who gave us the world's most famous fighter plane - even
though he never actually flew in one. And he died before his grand
design went into production. Today, more than 60 years after his death,
many believe he's never been accorded the true recognition he deserves.
Who was he? He's R.J. Mitchell, the designer of The Spitfire.
He polled a massive
25 per cent of your votes. The Staffordshire man, from Butt Lane,
near Stoke on Trent, died from cancer in 1937 at the age of 42, before
his Spitfire went into production. Many of you believe he's been denied
the recognition he deserves. But in the legendary plane he created,
his spirit lives on.
The results in full:
| 1st |
|
R.J.Mitchell |
25% |
| 2nd |
|
William
Shakespeare |
17% |
| 3rd |
|
Sir
Edward
Elgar |
12% |
| 4th |
|
Billy
Wright |
11% |
| 5th |
|
Sir
Frank
Whittle |
10% |
| 6th |
|
Sir
Stanley
Matthews |
9% |
| 7th |
|
Jasper
Carrott |
8% |
| 8th |
|
Ozzy
Osbourne |
5% |
| 9th |
|
Neville
Chamberlain |
2% |
| 10th |
|
A.E.Housman |
1% |
Click
here for further information on:
R.J.Mitchell
William
Shakespeare
Sir
Edward Elgar
Billy
Wright
Sir
Frank Whittle
Sir
Stanley Matthews
A.E.Housman
The Spitfire in flight -
all thanks to the
Greatest Midlander
R.J.Mitchell
|
