Last Word

Pictured: Jacqueline PearceMatthew Bannister onLady Coleridge, the nurse and adventurer who explored the Congo river with Colonel John Blashford-Snell. He pays tribute.Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Afghan warlord who was backed by the CIA to fight the Soviets but sided with the Taliban after the civil war.Jacqueline Pearce, the actor best known for playing villains in "Blake's Seven" and "Dr Who".Lord Thomas, the Chief Executive who introduced ethical banking at the Co-op.And Stan Brock , the cowboy and pilot who provided free health care to thousands in the USA.Producer: Neil George.

Pictured: Burt ReynoldsMatthew Bannister onThe prolific career of the movie star Burt Reynolds. The 'Deliverance' director John Boorman pays tribute. The environmental campaigner Lord Melchett who, as executive director of Greenpeace, was arrested during a protest against GM crops. The Italian anti-mafia campaigner Rita Borsellino who took up the cause after her brother was killed by a car bomb.And the Indian cricket captain Ajit Wadekar, who led the national side to victory against the West Indies and England in the 1970s.Archive clips from: Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 30/01/2000; Outlook, World Service 16/03/2017; Test Match Special: Seasons To Savour, Radio 4 1971.

Pictured: Lindsay KempJulian Worricker on:The dancer and choreographer, Lindsay Kemp, who worked alongside David Bowie and Kate Bush.John Calder, the influential publisher, who championed avant-garde authors and battled censorship.The record-breaking sailor, Hilary Lister, who became the first quadriplegic person to sail across the English Channel.John Calcutt, who shaped the contemporary visual art scene in Scotland at the Glasgow School of Art.And the award-winning American playwright, screenwriter and author, Neil Simon.Interviewed guest: David Haughton Interviewed guest: Kate Bush Interviewed guest: Bill Swainson Interviewed guest: Pauline Rudd Interviewed guest: Francis McKee Interviewed guest: Matt WolfArchive clips from: Woman's Hour, Radio 4 22/01/1969; Private Passions, Radio 3 25/03/2000; Censorship In Modern Britain: Radio 4 Reports, 12/12/68; Radio 2 Arts Programme: Simply Simon, 27/04/1997; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 14/05/1995; A Race Against Time: Hilary Lister's Round Britain Dream, BBC Two 14/07/2013; Woman's Hour, Radio 4 11/07/1989; Third Ear, Radio 3 06/05/1991.

Pictured: Kofi AnnanJulian Worricker on:Diplomat Kofi Annan, who rose through the ranks of the United Nations, to serve as its secretary-general for nine years....Janice Tchalenko, a ceramicist, designer and artist, who bridged the gap between art and large-scale production...The botanist, Hugh Synge, voted one of the 20 most influential British conservationists....One of the finest harp players of her generation - Helen MacLeod - a champion of the music of the West Highlands of Scotland...And Hettie Williams, who at 23, led her class of terrified pupils to safety during the Aberfan disaster.Archive clips from: Night Waves, Radio 3 10/10/2012; Surviving Aberfan, BBC Four 20/10/2016; Saturday Review, BBC TV 02/11/1985; See Hear, BBC TV 01/02/2012.

Pictured: Aretha FranklinMatthew Bannister onSir VS Naipaul, the Nobel prize winning author of acclaimed books including "A House For Mr Biswas" and "A Bend in The River". He was a controversial figure who fell out with some of his fellow writers and was accused of cruelty in his relationships. Nan Joyce, who campaigned for the rights of Ireland's travelling people.Winston Ntshona,, the South African actor who won a Tony award for his Broadway performance in Athol Fugard's play "Sizwe Banze Is Dead" but was arrested by the apartheid government on his return home. And the "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin.Producer: Paul WatersArchive clips from: African and Caribbean Writing: A House for Mr Biswas, Radio 4 03/05/1981; Desert Island Discs, Radio 4 05/07/1980; Profile, Radio 4 11/05/1984; Omnibus, Radio 1 21/04/1988; Paul Gambaccini: Aretha Franklin Interview, Radio 1 01/01/2000; Night Waves, Radio 3 19/03/2007.

Pictured: Barry ChuckleMatthew Bannister onTony Bullimore, the self styled "Del Boy of yacht racing" who was trapped under the hull of his boat for 4 days during a solo round the world race.Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, the Japanese American woman who was interned in the USA during the World War Two and later fought for and won a presidential apology and compensation for her fellow inmates.Barry Chuckle - one half of the Chuckle Brothers who entertained a generation of children on TV.June Jacobs, the Jewish activist who caused controversy by meeting members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.Tommy Peoples, the award winning Irish fiddle player of the Bothy Band.Producer: Paul WatersArchive clips from: BBC News 20/06/73; ChuckleVision, BBC TV.

Pictured: Mary EllisMatthew Bannister on Mary Ellis - a leading pilot for the Air Transport Auxiliary who risked her life to deliver fighters and bombers during the war. Shinobu Hashimoto, the screenwriter who teamed up with the director Akira Kurosawa to make great classics of Japanese cinema, including the Seven Samurai and Rashomon. Dr William McBride, the Australian obstetrician who raised the alarm about the terrible side effects of the drug Thalidomide.Lincoln Brower who devoted his life to the study and protection of the Monarch butterfly.Mahendra Kaul, the pioneering Indian TV and radio broadcaster who was the face of the BBC's Asian Programmes Unit for 20 years. Archive clips from: 'Spitfire Women', BBC Four 18/09/2010; 'Supersense', BBC TV 23/01/1989; Sonia Deol, Asian Network 27/12/2011; 'Ten Million Wings', Radio 4 16/03/2004.

Pictured: Anne Olivier Popham BellJulian Worricker on:Charles Gimingham, an environmentalist, described as the foremost expert on heather and moorland landscapes....Human rights lawyer, Felicia Langer, who represented many Palestinians in the Israeli courts....Campaigning doctor, Julian Tudor Hart, who pioneered the regular monitoring of blood pressure in patients....Art historian, Anne Olivier Bell, who edited the five volumes of Virginia Woolf's diaries....And the real-life Good Morning Vietnam DJ, Adrian Cronauer, inspiration for the film starring Robin Williams...Archive clips from: Assignment: A Report From The Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights, Radio 4, 07/04/1982; On Behalf of the Working Class, BBC Wales, 07/11/1982; The Good Doctor, BBC TV/Worldwide, 07/10/1996; Newsnight, BBC Two, 23/01/2008; George Orwell Back at the BBC, Radio 4, 05/11/2017; Panorama: Life at 100, BBC One, 23/10/2017; Dear Diary, Episode 2, BBC Four, 11/01/2010; Good Morning Vietnam Revisited, Radio 2, 13/04/2015.

Pictured: Oliver KnussenJulian Worricker on:British composer and conductor, Oliver Knussen, described as a towering figure in contemporary music....Barbara Harrell-Bond, who founded and then directed the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University....The media executive, Sam Chisholm, who drove the development of multi-channel television in Britain....Steve Ditko, the American artist and writer best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange...and the last Transylvanian aristocrat to have lived through the communist purges, Anna Sandor de Kenos.Archive clips from: Jonathan Ross in Search of Steve Ditko, BBC Four, 16/09/07; Music Matters, Radio 3, 09/07/18; Horizon: Exodus, BBC Two, 06/03/95; Breakfast Time, BBC One, 05/01/89.

Photo: Lord CarringtonMatthew Bannister onLord Carrington, the Conservative Foreign Secretary who resigned after the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands.Karen Finch, the textile conservator who restored the garments of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Marlene Dietrich among many others. Claude Lanzmann, the French film maker best known for Shoah, the nine and a half hour documentary about the holocaust.Harlan Ellison, the outspoken American science fiction writer who published 70 books, more than 400 short stories and countless essays. Producer: Neil George.