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LAST WORD
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Last Word
Listen to the latest editionFriday   16:00-16:30
Sunday 20:30-21:00 (rpt)

Radio 4's weekly obituaries programme
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We welcome your comments and suggestions contact us
This week
Friday 10th November 2006
(rpt) Sunday 12th November
Matthew Bannister
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have died recently. This week: Marcus Wolf, Samuel Bowers, Allister Bowtell, Bulent Ecevit and Susan Billington.
Marcus Wolf
Former East German Spymaster who has died aged 83.


Known as ‘the man without a face’, Marcus Wolf ran a network of four thousand agents whose aim was to infiltrate Western governments. He was notoriously elusive and had been in charge of the Stasi’s foreign intelligence service for more than twenty years before the West succeeded in getting a photograph of him. After re-unification, Wolf fled to the Soviet Union, but later returned to Germany and stood trial on charges of treason. His conviction was overturned by the country’s highest court on the grounds that he had been acting on behalf of a sovereign state.

Matthew Bannister talks to the Berlin based journalist, Peter Crave who explains what the reaction in Germany has been to the news of his death and to Professor Timothy Garton Ash about Wolf’s cold war intelligence operations.

He died 9th November 2006.
Samuel Holloway Bowers Jnr
Ku Klux Klan member has died aged 82.


Self-styled Imperial Wizard, Samuel Bowers came from a privileged background. He was the grandson of a United States Congressman and the son of a quarterback at Mississippi’s most prestigious university. In the 1960s new civil rights legislation brought a social and cultural change to the South which Bowers felt endangered the traditional way of life. Believing the original KKK to be too soft, Bowers established a splinter group, the White Knights. The group went on to terrorise African Americans and Jews, killing at least ten and bombing, beating and burning many more.

Matthew Bannister is joined by Jerry Mitchell, the investigative reporter of the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, whose work led to Bowers' imprisonment.

Samuel Bowers was born 6th August 1924. He died 5th November 2006.
Allister Bowtell
Sculptor and prop-maker has died aged 66.


Allister Bowtell is best known as the creator of the Cybermen for Dr. Who and Rod Hull’s Emu. He made many weird and wonderful props for Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the Goodies and Viv Stanshall’s cult film Sir Henry at Rawlinson’s End.

The sculptor – who was said to resemble the legendary cricketer WG Grace – was also chairman of the Chelsea Arts Club and vice president of the Vesta Rowing Club. He held renowned parties on Boat Race Day.

Matthew Bannister speaks to movie art director Don Grant and Vernon Bohay Nowell, Bowetell’s prop-making partner, to recall the eccentric experience of working with him.

Allister Bowtell was born 2nd June 1940. He died 20th September 2006.
Bulent Ecevit
Former Prime Minister of Turkey has died aged 81.


Bulent Ecevit’s career lasted 45 years, during which time he was elected Prime Minister of Turkey five times. In the 1980s he was imprisoned and banned from politics for ten years following two military coups; however he was re-elected in 1999. He is perhaps best known outside of Turkey for ordering Turkish troops into Cyprus after a Greek coup on the island in 1974. Ecevit was also a literary man: he translated western poets and studied Sanskrit and art history at London University.

Murat Baykara, from the BBC World Service Turkish Section, and Professor Haluk Shahin of Bilgi University Istanbul, discuss Ecevit’s life and work.

Bulent Ecevit was born 28th May 1925 and died 5th November 2006.
Susan Billington
Tennis Player has died aged 95.


Susan Billington was the last woman to serve underarm at Wimbledon. She often appeared on Centre Court playing mixed doubles with her husband Henry and regularly gave her grandson, Tim Henman advice on how to play well.

Matthew Bannister speaks to Tim Henman about memories of his grandmother.

Susan Billington was born 16th March 1911 and died 31st October 2006.
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