From Prime Minister to Playboy: Who were the 28 'greats' who made our top 100 Portsmouth people from the last 100 years?
Portsmouth100 list shows how the city has touched and helped shape the lives of so many incredible people
When we set ourselves the challenge of naming the top 100 people from Portsmouth from the last 100 years to celebrate the city’s centenary we did not realise how hard it would be. It was not that we couldn’t find that many people, it was a real challenge to keep the numbers down.
The criteria was they must have been born, lived, worked or educated at some point of their lives in Portsmouth and this must have been within the last 100 years or close enough to have made an impact on the city. These were the 28 we considered the greats from all walks of life. The rest of our list was made up of Pompey players, the world of sport, the community and stars of stage, screen, music, literarture and the arts.
There may be names in here you don’t agree with. And other names you think should be on the list. But one thing that cannot be argued is that Portsmouth has touched and helped shape the lives of so many incredible people.
Professor Jim Al-Khalili
While attending 6th form at Priory School in Southsea after his family moved to the UK from Iraq, Jim Al-Khalili admitted finding many distractions, which led to him retaking his maths papers and failing chemistry. But that proved no barrier to him becoming a prominent theoretical physicist, presenter of BBC science programmes, media commentator and lecturer around the world. Among many honours, Jim was awarded the Royal Society of London Michael Faraday Prize for science communication and named a RISE (Recognising Inspirational Scientists and Engineers) leader by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Jim lives with his family in Southsea,
Sir Alfred Blake
Born in Gosport, Sir Alfred Lapthorn Blake was one of the first 14 civilians to be commissioned into the Royal Marines during World War II. Seeing action in Italy, Albania, Corfu, the Netherlands and Germany he was awarded the Military Cross in 1945. Upon returning to civilian life, Sir Alfred was involved in creating the Royal Marines Association. In 1948 he joined Blake Lapthorn, the Portsmouth law firm founded by his grandfather, and went on to take up senior public roles including Lord Mayor of Portsmouth (1958/59), director of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme for 12 years and chair of governors of Portsmouth Girls' High School. He died in November 2013.
James Callaghan
Born in Portsmouth in 1912 and educated at Portsmouth Northern Secondary School, James left school when he was 14. He worked as a tax officer and was later employed by the TUC before being elected as a Labour MP. He became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1964, then Home Secretary in 1967. When Harold Wilson suddenly announced his retirement in March 1976, James defeated five other candidates to be elected Leader of the Labour Party and was appointed Prime Minister on April 5, 1976, at the age of 64. He was PM for a little over three years. He died in 2005.
Marilyn Cole
Marilyn worked at a Post Office punched card unit in Portsmouth Central Telephone Exchange and at the Portsmouth Co-op Fuel Office before she interviewed to be a Bunny at the London Playboy Club - and her life changed. Within a few days of starting work she was test-photographed for the magazine and became January 1972’s Playmate of the Month and 1973’s Playmate of the Year - the only Briton to hold that title. In that year she also graced the cover of Roxy Music’s Stranded album - a step up from appearing on the cheesy cover of a Top of The Pops compilation LP.
Sir Barry Cunliffe
Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, CBE, was born in 1939, and attended Portsmouth Northern Grammar School. He went on to read archaeology and anthropology at the University of Cambridge and made his name in the excavations at Fishbourne Roman Palace but became an
authority on the Iron Age through work on the Danebury hillfort in north Hampshire. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007 and served on a variety of public bodies including the Museum of London, British Museum and the Mary Rose Trust. He was knighted in 2006.
Sir Denis Daley (Mayor)
As one of the most significant leaders in Portsmouth's history, Sir Denis L. Daley served five consecutive years as Lord Mayor during World War II seeing the city through many dark days, including the Blitz of January 1941, and boosting morale with a famous "bruised, but not daunted" speech. In 1941 he was knighted for his service, specifically noted for his actions during the bombing of the city. Sir Denis returned as Lord Mayor in 1950 when, with Lady Peggy Daley, he initiated the twinning link with Duisburg as an act of reconciliation with Germany - a link which remains strong today. He died in 1965.
Helen Duncan
A Scottish spiritualist, Helen was the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735. She held a seance in Portsmouth in 1941 and claimed a sailor’s spirit told her HMS Barham had been sunk. Because news of the sinking had only been shared in confidence with relatives of casualties, the Royal Navy started to take an interest in her activities. With the authorities afraid that she could continue to reveal classified information, whatever her source was, she was arrested at a séance at a Copnor Road chemist shop in 1944 for fraudulent "spiritual" activity and imprisoned, after an Old Bailey trial, for nine months.
Dorothy Dymond
An historian and educationalist, Dorothy was born in Portsmouth in 1891. Having read history at Somerville College, Oxford, she was appointed lecturer in medieval history at Goldsmiths' College in 1919 and in 1927 became a member of the Council of the Historical Association. Two of her most significant publications appeared in 1929: An Introduction to Medieval History and A Handbook for History Teachers. In 1932 she was appointed Principal of Portsmouth Training College and oversaw the building of purpose-built premises, opened in 1939. It was the first training college in the country to introduce sociology into the curriculum. She was awarded a CBE in 1949. Dorothy died in 1985.
Sir Roger Fry
Born in Drayton and educated in the city, Roger Fry returned to Portsmouth after university to begin a career in teaching. He became a lecturer at a private university in Spain and remained in education overseas for 50 years. After establishing a private English curriculum school in Madrid, Sir Roger established other British schools in Europe and Central America as well as a small boarding school for overseas students in England. His passion for quality in education led him to chair and develop an international association for British schools overseas. More recently Sir Roger founded the King's Group Academies trust in England which includes College Park and Northern Parade in Portsmouth.
Rupert Gould
Rupert Thomas Gould was a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy, noted for his contributions to horology - the science and study of timekeeping devices. He became famous for restoring John Harrison's marine chronometers - invented in 1735 as the first clock that remained accurate at sea, able to defeat the problem of determining Longitude. These masterpieces were in decay until Rupert spent 12 years restoring them from June 1920. His book The Marine Chronometer, published in 1923, was considered the authoritative text on marine timekeepers for half a century. In 1947 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the British Horological Institute, its highest honour. Rupert died in 1948.
Norman Douglas Holbrook
Commander Norman Douglas Holbrook was the first submariner to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the first naval VC of World War One. Born in Southsea in 1888, Norman was the fourth son of Colonel Sir Arthur Holbrook, the proprietor of the Portsmouth Times and founder of Hilsea-based Holbrook Printers. He was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and enrolled in Britannia Royal Naval College. Norman was 26 and in command of the submarine HMS B11 when in December 1914 at the Dardanelles, Turkey, he dived under five rows of mines and torpedoed and sank the ironclad Mesûdiye. Despite being under heavy attack, Norman then succeeded in bringing the B11 back to the Mediterranean. He died in 1976.
Margery Hurst
Born in Portsmouth in 1913. Margery Hurst’s father, Samuel Berney, was a cinema owner and builder in the city. She started a career as a typist and developed her skills at her father's business, running the clerical side before becoming office manager. In 1946 Margery launched her agency, Brook Street Bureau, supplying secretaries to businesses, and saw 33 branches open around the country, as well as in New York and Australia. In under two decades the bureau grew into the largest office employment agency in the world. Margery was one of the first women to be a member of Lloyds and the first female member of the Worshipful Company of Marketors. She died in February 1989.
John Jenkins
Growing up in Southsea, John Jenkins worked as a Cunard bellboy before becoming a sergeant in the Royal Pioneer Corps. He landed on Gold Beach on D-Day and, on returning to the city after the war, continued his commitment to service. John was honoured with an MBE and the Legion d’Honneur, named Portsmouth Volunteer of the Year in 2016 for his work with the D-Day Story and was a welcoming figure at Fratton Park where he served as a boardroom steward. At the D-Day 75 commemorations, John was among the veterans who took to the stage on Southsea Common to address the Queen and world leaders and his legacy lives on at Pompey in the Community’s John Jenkins Stadium.
Betty Joel
Betty (born Mary Stewart Lockhart) was a furniture, textile and interior designer. Born in Hong Kong in 1894, she and husband David moved to England at the end of World War One, building a cottage on Hayling Island. She began to design furniture to meet the needs of her entirely modern house and, after gaining admiration and orders from friends, started her own business Betty Joel Ltd in 1921. As demand for her furniture grew, she opened the Token Works factory in Goldsmith Avenue, Portsmouth in 1929. It continued to operate until 1935 when, to satisfy orders, she expanded to London. Betty died in 1985.
Lord Frank Judd
Frank Judd spent a lifetime in politics devoted to the pursuit of human rights and social justice. Having joined the Labour Party aged 15, he lost two contests for a parliamentary seat until gaining Portsmouth West for the party in 1966. He remained MP for Portsmouth West and the redrawn new constituency of Portsmouth North until 1979, serving on his party’s front bench for much of his political career. He spent 11 years as director of development charity Voluntary Service Overseas and then Oxfam before joining the House of Lords in 1991. He died in April 2021.
Dr Roy ‘Fritz’ Koerner
Roy Koerner MBE was a Polar explorer who participated in the 1968-1969 surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean with expedition leader Sir Wally Herbert - a 3,800-mile expedition from Alaska to Spitsbergen. Then Prime Minister Harold Wilson described the journey as "a feat of endurance and courage which ranks with any in polar history". Born in 1932 in Copnor, he was nicknamed "Fritz" on account of his Germanic surname, and the moniker stuck. He was educated at Sheffield University, after which he taught at Bridgemary Community School before joining the British Antarctic Survey in 1957. Roy died in 2008.
Rachel Lowe
Entrepreneur Rachel Lowe MBE is best known for creating the Destination series of board games. Born in Portsmouth in 1977 she attended St Edmund's Catholic School and Havant and South Downs College. She devised Destination Portsmouth while working as a taxi driver to help fund her studies at the University of Portsmouth. Despite her pitch being rejected on the first series of Dragons’ Den Rachel persevered - and in 2004 Destination London launched in Hamley's and became the store's top-selling game that Christmas. She founded Rachel Lowe Games & Puzzles which continues to specialise in creating and distributing licensed board games and jigsaw puzzles. Rachel was awarded an MBE in 2009 for services to business.
Alexander McKee
Alexander Mckee was a journalist, military historian and diver who published nearly thirty books. It was while researching and writing he took up diving with the Southsea branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club, starting Project Solent Ships to investigate wrecks and search for King Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose. It was on September 17, 1970, Alexander and his team pulled an object from the bottom of the Solent - it was a wrought iron gun and the first physical proof that the Mary Rose had been found. He died in July 1992
Billy Manning
Billy arrived in Portsmouth in 1945 and established a travelling funfair. While living with his family at the end of Long Curtain Road, Southsea, their beautifully maintained caravans became a visitor attraction in their own right. He took over the Southsea Clarence Esplanade Pier Company and began developing Billy Manning’s Amusement Park on adjacent land. It was promoted as “the brightest and gayest amusement park on the south coast of England” and operated daily from March to October, from 10am until late night. Billy was made an honorary lifelong member and Chief Barker of the Variety Club of Great Britain and regularly hosted charity events.
Dr Una Mulvany
Una Mulvany was born and raised in Portsmouth, beginning her education at the Convent of the Cross, Southsea, She studied at Durham University School of Medicine and returned to the city to set up practice. While medical officer in charge of a first-aid post in St. George's Square during the Blitz, she drove through shrapnel, flames and falling debris to help those injured or in danger - on one occasion staying with victims for two hours in the cellar of a bombed house, even though it was at risk of collapse. For her acts of bravery, Una was awarded the MBE. She died in 1987.
Norah and Margaret O’Shea
Sisters Norah and Margeret O'Shea were founders and active members of the Portsmouth branch of The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the law-abiding group founded in 1897 to campaign for women's voting rights. Living together in Cosham, Norah was an outgoing figure known as the 'red haired rebel', giving many rousing speeches for the cause. Margaret was more of an avid letter writer on all matters of women's equality, her letters appearing in The News and the NUWSS newspaper 'The Common Cause'. She also penned the words for a suffrage song entitled 'Forward! Ever Forward!'. The sisters did not take part in the suffrage boycott of the 1911 census, but made a personal protest writing across the census form: 'We have filled in this paper under protest because women cannot vote for Members of Parliament'. Norah helped organize and took part in the NUWSS Women's Pilgrimage - a huge march from across the country to rally in London - in 1913. Margaret died in 1927, Norah in 1953.
Margaret Rock
Born in London, Margaret Rock moved with her family to Portsmouth in 1917 and attended Portsmouth High School. In letters home from her father, who was serving in the Royal Navy, she was encouraged to work hard on her studies and developed excellent maths skills. She put these to good use as one of 8,000 female mathematicians who worked as code breakers at Bletchley Park during World War II. Margaret was promoted to a senior cryptographer, specialising in German and Russian code breaking, and helped decode the Enigma Machine that ultimately turned the tide of the war. She died in August 1983, having never spoken about her work which was bound up in the Official Secrets Act.
Sir Alec Rose
Renowned yachtsman and former Southsea greengrocer, Alec Rose sailed around the world in the Lively Lady and received a hero’s welcome on his return to Portsmouth in 1968. He was escorted into Portsmouth Harbour by 400 motorboats, yachts, catamarans and canoes blowing sirens and whistles. A crowd of more than 250,000 people gathered to congratulate him on his 354-day, 28,500-mile solo trip around the globe. Sir Alec was knighted by the Queen and given the Freedom of the City of Portsmouth that year and made Freeman of the City of London in 1969. He died in 1991.
Margaret Rule
Having studied chemistry at university, Margaret Rule changed to a career in archaeology and in the 1960s assisted in the discovery and excavation of the Fishbourne Roman Palace. While its first curator she began her work in maritime archaeology.and assisted Alexander McKee with the initial search for the wreck of the Mary Rose in the Solent. She learned to dive in order to supervise and work on the wreck and played a pivotal role in both the publicity and campaign for backing to raise Henry VIII's warship from the seabed. Margaret died in April 2015, aged 86.
Barbara Tipple
Barbara Tipple attended Portsmouth College of Art, originally with a view to being a portrait painter. But aged 18, she went to see a contemporary jewellery exhibition at the V&A museum in London and knew from that moment what she was destined to do. Having trained as a jeweller, Barbara Tipple Jewellers was born and continues to produce award-winning jewellery, handmade by master goldsmiths, with a store in Marmion Road, Southsea. Barbara is the only female jeweller in Britain to ever have received three De Beers Diamonds International Awards, has numerous other industry awards, the Freedom of The City of London and long-lasting relationships with some of the most discerning jewellery collectors across the world.
Simon Ward
An innovator and leader in the world of British fashion, Simon Ward was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School before studying at Goldsmiths College, University of London. After starting work in the menswear department of Selfridges, he joined the British Clothing Industry Association before moving to British Fashion Council (BFC) where he was responsible for London Fashion Week catwalk shows. He was part of the team that created the British Fashion Awards in 1989, set up the Colleges Council to build better working relationships between colleges and industry and oversaw the first British menswear showcase for designers – London Collections: Men. Simon was awarded the MBE in 2017 for his services to British fashion.
Dr Colin White
As a naval historian, Dr Colin White was one Britain’s leading experts on Admiral Nelson. He joined the Royal Naval Museum in September 1975 as a research assistant, rising through the ranks until in 2000 he was given responsibility for co-ordinating the Trafalgar 200 Festival, a national and international series of events to mark the bicentenary of the historic battle. In 2006 he was appointed Director of the museum and was holding that position at the time of his death on Christmas Day 2008. Throughout his time in the city Colin had been a long-standing member of the Southsea Shakespeare Actors and a server at Portsmouth Cathedral.