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 Friday 16:00-16:30
Sunday 20:30-21:00 (rpt)
Radio 4's weekly obituaries programme |
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Contact us |
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This week |
Friday 25th January 2008
(Rpt) Sunday 27th January |
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Peggy Jay
A socialist politician who has died aged 94.
A powerful campaigner for social reform, Peggy was also a defender of the London village of Hampstead from the onslaught of property developers, and the matriarch of an influential family. Although she had been born in Manchester, her parents moved to Hampstead when Peggy was seven years old. She lived in the leafy part of North London for the rest of her life and became an outspoken Chair of the Heath and Old Hampstead Society. Peggy was also an important figure in the London Labour Party. Married to the cabinet minister Douglas Jay, she was friendly with many of the leading party figures of the 1960s and 70s. For thirty years Peggy served as a Labour councillor on the London County Council, first representing Hackney and then Battersea. |
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Squadron Leader "Jimmy" James
Serial escaper and tenacious tunneller who has died aged 92.
Jimmy's wartime exploits inspired the 1963 film “The Great Escape”. But the Squadron leader said it was a travesty of the truth. In fact all but three of the escapers were recaptured and fifty were shot. Squadron Leader James was spared, but transferred to another camp where he was interrogated under torture. He took his duty as an officer to escape very seriously, making more than a dozen attempts to break out of PoW camps. The most famous was the breakout from Stalg Luft III using three tunnels “Tom”, “Dick” and “Harry” which it was hoped would allow two hundred men to break out. |
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Alexandre de Paris
Celebrated “hairdressers to the stars”.who has died aged 85.
Clients at his Parisian salon in the 1960s included Princess Grace of Monaco and Princess Margaret as well as Hollywood aristocracy like Lauren Bacall, Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor. Most of the leading French fashion designers, including Yves St Laurent, invited Alexandre to style their catwalk shows.
Alexandre was born Louis Alexandre Raymon in St Tropez. As a child he enjoyed styling dolls’ hair as well as trying out his skills on his mother and grandmother. In 1938 he was apprenticed in Cannes to Antoine – who later became famous as Antoine de Paris. Alexandre got his big break in 1946 when he styled the bride of the Aga Khan on her wedding day. This led to an invitation to give the Duchess of Windsor’s hair a new look and he remained her hairdresser for 30 years. |
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Andy Palacio
Singer and cultural activist from Belize who has died aged 47.
Andy was much more than a singer and songwriter – he was a passionate campaigner for the awareness and preservation of his native Garifuna culture. This arose when a slave ship was shipwrecked on St. Vincent and the slaves intergrated with indigineous Arawak and Carib peoples creating a language including vocabulary and grammatical forms from Africa. Andy Palacio's recent album Watina won international acclaim and he became an ambassador for his people. Andy Palacio’s death is being marked by a major concert in Belize and the nation is in mourning. |
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Rich Knerr
Entrepreneur and inventor of toys who has died aged 82.
Rich Knerr was the man who brought the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee to millions of American homes. After studying business at the University of Southern California, Rich teamed up with a friend - Arthur “Spud” Melin, to start the novelty goods company Wham-O. It originally sold sling shots, boomerangs and crossbows but went on to market the Frisbee and silly string as well as the Hula Hoop. |
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