Last Word

John Wilson on Mimi Reinhard, the Holocaust survivor who typed Oskar Schindler’s famous list and later turned down an offer from Steven Spielberg.Sir Harrison Birtwistle, the uncompromising British composer of contemporary classical music who once caused panic at the Proms.Sylvia Lancaster, the mother of Sophie Lancaster who was brutally murdered in 2007. Sylvia set up a foundation with the aim of promoting tolerance and inclusivity among young people...And Letizia Battaglia, who defied the Mafia with her graphic photographs of their crimes.Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips used: BBC News 24, Mimi Reinhard 07/12/2007; Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment, Schindler's List - Trailer 1993; Oscars, Schindler's List wins Best Picture 1994; The Royal Opera - YouTube Channel, The Minotaur - Labyrinth Scene 1991; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Sir Harrison Birtwistle 16/01/1994; BBC Radio 3/English National Opera, The Mask Of Orpheus 01/04/1987; BBC News 24, Greater Manchester Police records offences against members of subcultures 04/04/2013; BBC TWO, Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster 12/03/2015; BBC Radio 4 Extra, Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster 11/10/2015; Granada TV, Coronation Street 07/05/2021.

John Wilson remembers the lives of those who have recently died including Jordan Mooney the punk icon known as ‘the original Sex Pistol’ who ended up as a veterinary nurse. Jack Higgins, the thriller writer who hit the jackpot with The Eagle Has Landed, and sold more than 250 million books. Robert Ashe, an aid worker who spent most of his working life supporting refugees all over the world.And David McKee - author and illustrator who created timeless childhood favourites including Mr Benn and Elmer the multi-coloured elephant.Producer: Neil GeorgeArchive Clips Used: BBC 6Music, Three Minute Epiphany - The Essence of Punk and Defiance 05/06/2019; BBC TWO, The Culture Show - Jordan Mooney interview 01/07/2014; Megalovision/ Whaley-Malin Productions, Jubilee - trailer (1978); BBC Radio 2, The John Dunn Show 01/07/1992; Audible Audiobook/Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, The Savage Day by Jack Higgins 2019; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Jack Higgins 12/12/1981; Associated General Films/ ITC Entertainment, The Eagle Has Landed - trailer (1976); BBC Radio 4, Profile - Jack Higgins 27/04/1984; ThamesTV/ Freemantle, The Killing Fields - Cambodia VT50536 18/01/1990; BBC News, 29/06/1980; BBC News, 23/10/1999; BBC Breakfast News, interview with David McKee 25/05/2019; BookTrust, David McKee reads Elmer 25/05/2022; Books Alive! YouTube Channel, Not Now Bernard by David McKee 08/11/2017; BBC TWO, Mr Benn - Pirate 31/03/1972; Made in Me - YouTube Channel, Me Books - David McKee interview 10/01/2013.

Matthew Bannister on Derek Mack, the rocket engineer who helped Britain enter the space ageJune Brown, the actor best known as Dot Cotton in EastendersDr Doris A. Derby, the American civil rights activist and photographer who took historic pictures of the struggle for equalityDave Sales, the Dorset fisherman who fought a 23 year campaign to protect the sea bed in Lyme Bay. Producer: Neil George Interviewed guest: Dion Mack Interviewed guest: Ken MacTaggart Interviewed guest: Bob Banks Interviewed guest: Hannah Collins Interviewed guest: Gill SalesArchive clips used: British Pathé, The Black Knight Rocket 1958; BBC One, The One Show - The Rocket Men 25/01/2019; BBC TV Archive, Black Arrow Project - 24 Hours 27/10/1971; BBC One, Eastenders, 1985-2020; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - June Brown 17/02/2017; British Movietone, V E Day in London 1945; Granada TV, Coronation Street, 19/08/1970; Library of Congress, Southern Oral History Program in North Carolina - Doris Derby Interview 2011; Storylines, Guardians of the Reef Project - Interview with David Sales 27/07/2017.

Matthew Bannister onThe first female US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was a leading advocate of the NATO bombing campaign aimed at stopping ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.Peter Padfield, the naval historian who as a young man took part in the reconstruction of the voyage of the Mayflower from the UK to the USA.Christina Smith, the colourful entrepreneur known as “the queen of Covent Garden” for her property and business development in that area of London.Sheila Paine, who travelled to remote areas of the world to build up a renowned collection of textiles.Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Jim Naughtie Interviewed guest: Tom Lippman Interviewed guest: Fiona Padfield Interviewed guest: Andrew Lambert Interviewed guest: Dame Rosemary Anne Squire DBE Interviewed guest: Nick FieldingArchive used: One to One: Madeleine Albright, BBC Two, TX 12.9.2005; A Woman Called Smith, BBC Two, TX 30.4.1997

Matthew Bannister onBruce Page, the investigative journalist best known for leading the Sunday Times Insight team’s expose of the Thalidomide scandal.Dottie Frazier, the pioneering American scuba diver who kept a boa constrictor as a pet and rode a motorcycle until she was in her nineties.Josephine Veasey, the British mezzo-soprano acclaimed for her performances in works by Wagner and Berlioz.And Maynard Davies, who left school unable to read and write, went on to become a well-known bacon curer and chronicled his extraordinary life in a series of books.Producer: Neil George Interviewed guest: Magnus Linklater Interviewed guest: Peter Kellner Interviewed guest: Alec Peirce Interviewed guest: Karen Straus Interviewed guest: Una Barry Interviewed guest: Karen McCallArchive clips used: AP Archive, How West Germany Treats Thalidomide Children 10/12/1972; BBC One, The Editors: Press and Politicians 02/07/1978; Alec Peirce Scuba Channel, Dottie Frazier - A Diving Legend 09/01/2020; BBC Radio 4, A Musical Evening - Josephine Veasey 01/08/1985; YouTube - TheScottReaProject/Channel 4, Interview with Maynard Davies 1996; BBC Radio 4, The Food Programme - Interview with Maynard Davies 23/07/2000; AmericanRhetoric.com/YouTube Channel, Madeleine Albright - International Women's Day speech 08/03/2010.

John Wilson on Mary Coombs, the world's first female computer programmer in the commercial sector; Paul Farmer, a medical anthropologist who saved millions of lives in the world's poorest countries; Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, who had a run-in with General Eisenhower and later went on to translate the comic book Tintin; and William Hurt, Oscar-winning actor.Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Fred Frank Land OBE Interviewed guest: Georgina Ferry Interviewed guest: Sheila Davis Interviewed guest: Sue Brown Interviewed guest: Michael GoldfarbArchive clips used: Putney High School YouTube Channel, Mary Coombs - 125th Anniversary Alumnae Portrait Exhibition 09/11/2018; LEO Computer Society / The Centre for Computing History, Sounds of the Leo Computer - LEO III in Operation 1964; Google / computingheritage YouTube Channel, Mary Coombs shares her story 25/09/2013; Partners in Health YouTube Channel, Paul Farmer - I believe in healthcare as a human right 21/05/2009; Decades TV Network, America Enters World War II 1941; British Movietone, Festival of Britain Opening 03/05/1951; BBC Cymru / Moulinsart, Tintin's Adventure with Frank Gardner 30/10/2011; Ellipse Programme/Nelvana Ltd, Tintin - The Crab With The Golden Claws (DVD) 1992; BBC Radio 4 Extra, The Adventures of Tintin By Hergé - Explorers On The Moon (Radio Drama) 06/02/1992; The Ladd Company, Body Heat (1981) film; HB Filmes / FilmDallas, Kiss of The Spiderwoman (1985) film; Marvel Studios / Vita-Ray Dutch Productions (III) / Studio Babelsberg, Captain America - Civil War (2016) film.

Matthew Bannister onShirley Hughes, the children’s author and illustrator whose books created a welcoming and recognisable picture of family life.Roger Graef, the documentary filmmaker who revealed the inner workings of the criminal justice system, the planning authorities and the treatment of children in care. Shane Warne, the Australian spin bowler hailed as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, but also known for his off the pitch party lifestyle. Producer: Neil George Interviewed guest: Tom Vulliamy Interviewed guest: Julia Eccleshare Interviewed guest: Michael Palin Interviewed guest: Katie Derham Interviewed guest: Simon WildeArchive clips used: Random House Children's Publishers UK, Shirley Hughes reading 'Dogger' 18/09/2013; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Shirley Hughes 25/03/2001; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour - Shirley Hughes on 30 Years of Alfie 06/06/2011; Amnesty International, A Pleasure at Her Majesty's - documentary 1976; BAFTA, Tribute to Roger Graef 02/05/2014; Derrick Knight and Partners/ BFI, One of Them is Brett - documentary 1965; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Robert Graef 26/10/2014; BBC One, Police - A Complaint of Rape 18/01/1982; BBC Radio 5Live, Remembering Shane Warne 04/03/2022; YouTube, 5 Magical Wickets of Shane Warne 05/08/2018; 60 Minutes Australia/ YouTube Channel, Shane Warne Interview 04/03/2022; Cricket.com.au/ YouTube Channel, From the Vault - Warne's Four Turns Adelaide on its Head 19/04/2020; BBC Radio 4, News - Shane Warne Sent Home from World Cup 11/02/2003; BBC Radio 4, Today - Tribute to Shane Warne 05/04/2022.

Matthew Bannister onSonny Ramadhin, the West Indian bowler who was one of the heroes of the side that scored a famous victory over England in 1950.Sister Catherine Wybourne, who was known as the 'digital nun' for her use of blogs and social media to communicate the messages of her order.Captain Raymond Savage, one of the last surviving prisoners of war who worked on the notorious Burma railway in the 1940s.Anna Karen, the actor best known for her appearances in the TV sitcom 'On The Buses' and the 'Carry On' films.Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Kenneth Ramchand Interviewed guest: Joshua Surtees Interviewed guest: Eric Southworth Interviewed guest: Caroline Aston Interviewed guest: Linda ReganArchive clips used: YouTube, Melbourne 1960 - The Tied Test; British Pathé, West Indies Cricketers Look 'Aussie' Class (1950); Joshua Surtees, Interview with Sonny Ramadhin; BBC SOUND ARCHIVE, ENGLAND V WEST INDIES 29/06/1950; Imperial War Museum, IWM 4823 Interview with Raymond Savage; British Pathé/ Reuters, The Fall of Singapore 1942; London Weekend Television, On The Buses TV Show 1971; Rabbit and Snail / Morris Bright MBE Interview with Anna Karen; Hammer Films/EMI, Holiday on The Buses (1973); The Rank Organization, Carry on Camping (1969); BBC One, Eastenders 20/01/1997; BBC Radio 4, Listening Corner - Sally's Secret by Shirley Hughes 04/04/1983.

Matthew Bannister on Jamal Edwards, the young music entrepreneur whose YouTube channel supported the careers of grime and rap stars like Dave, Skepta and Stormzy. P.J. O’Rourke, the conservative American satirist who applied his barbed wit to reporting from the world’s trouble spots. Romaine Hart, whose Screen on the Green cinema gave a platform to art house films and was described by Quentin Tarantino as “the coolest cinema in London”.Ronnie Campbell, the Scottish crofter and land rights campaigner who is thought to have been the last Highland drover, taking flocks of sheep on long distance journeys by foot.Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Crystal Mahey-Morgan Interviewed guest: Michael Goldfarb Interviewed guest: Nicola Hart Interviewed guest: Kenny MackintoshArchive clips used: BBC Radio 4: Bookclub, TX 5.2.2006; BBC Radio 4: The Report, TX 11.2.2016

Matthew Bannister onBeryl Vertue, the TV and film producer who brought us 'Men Behaving Badly' and 'Sherlock'. The actors Martin Clunes and Martin Freeman pay tribute.Flavio Carboni, the Italian wheeler dealer who was at the centre of many legal and political mysteries, including the death of the Vatican banker Roberto Calvi.Phil Harvey, the American businessman who set up a chain of sex shops to fund the provision of birth control to millions of people in the developing world.Lata Mangeshkar, who was seen as one of India’s most influential singers. She recorded songs in thirty six Indian languages.Producer: Neil George Interviewed guest: Simon Nye Interviewed guest: Martin Clunes Interviewed guest: Martin Freeman Interviewed guest: Philip Willan Interviewed guest: Simona Zecchi Interviewed guest: Christopher Purdy Interviewed guest: Anil SinananArchive clips used: BBC RADIO 3, Free Thinking 09/06/2021; Thames TV/Hartswood Films, Men Behaving Badly S01 E01 18/02/1992; BBC/Hartswood Films, Men Behaving Badly S06 E01 06/11/1997; BBC/Hartswood Films, Sherlock 2010; BBC RADIO 4, Desert Island Discs 20/01/2013; YouTube, Italian Dinner Party 2010; BBC ONE, PANORAMA: Called To Account 20/12/1982; BBC NEWS, Report on Roberto Calvi 06/10/2005; BBC NEWS, Bomb Explosion in Bologna 03/08/1980; DKT International, Phil Harvey: Pioneer of Social Marketing 28/09/2015; YouTube/Telly TalkIndia, Lata Mangeshkar Funeral 07/02/2022.