Last Word

Matthew Bannister on Roy Dommett, one of the UK's leading rocket scientists who was also a well known morris dancer. Warren Mitchell, the actor best known for playing Alf Garnett in the TV sit com "Till Death Us Do Part" Allen Toussaint, the New Orleans producer and musician who worked with many of the great names in rock. Cynthia Payne, who ran a brothel at her home in Streatham where men exchanged luncheon vouchers for sex. And Jonah Lomu, the rugby player who won 63 caps for the All Blacks and scored 37 international tries.

Matthew Bannister onHelmut Schmidt, the German Chancellor who helped to design the European Monetary System and agreed that US nuclear weapons could be sited in his country. His friend the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger pays tribute.Also the jockey Pat Eddery - Willie Carson remembers their rivalry on the course and their friendship off it. The actress and TV scriptwriter Julia Jones, who wrote the sitcom Take Three Girls and the period drama The Duchess of Duke Street.The businessman Lord Noon who made millions by selling authentic take away Indian curries to the British.And the trombonist Nat Peck, last survivor of the Glenn Miller Band.

Matthew Bannister on Norman Moore, the conservationist who discovered that organochorine pesticides were decimating the UK's bird of prey population. He fought a twenty year campaign to have them banned. The singer Diane Charlemagne - known as the diva of drum and bass. We have a tribute from Moby. The academic David Cesarani - a leading authority on modern Jewish history. The actor and screenwriter Colin Welland who, on winning an Oscar for Chariots of Fire, announced "The British Are Coming". And a powerful poem read by the Radio 4 newsreader and Chief Announcer Peter Donaldson.

Matthew Bannister on Professor Lisa Jardine, the historian whose intellectual curiosity stretched across the arts and sciences. She was chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and a regular broadcaster on Radio 4. Philip French, for thirty-five years the Chief Film Critic of the Observer. Ronnie Massarella who built up a successful family ice cream business and managed the British showjumping team for 32 years. And Maureen O'Hara, the red haired Irish film star known as the Queen of Technicolor. She appeared opposite John Wayne in five of his films including the Quiet Man.

Matthew Bannister onGeneral Jack Galvin who was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe as the Cold War ended. Generals Colin Powell and David Petraeus pay tribute.Joan Leslie - the Hollywood star who made forty films in ten years.Michael Meacher - the former Environment minister once described by Neil Kinnock as "Tony Benn's vicar on earth." The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joins us.Howard Kendall - Everton football club's most successful manager. Gary Lineker remembers playing under him.Jerry Parr - the secret service agent who saved President Ronald Reagan's life when he was shot.

Julian Worricker on: The former Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, Geoffrey Howe, whose resignation speech in the Commons was generally regarded as the beginning of the end for Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. The journalist, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, whose reporting frequently took her to some of the most dangerous parts of the world. The farmer and conservationist, Joe Henson, who founded the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Hugh Scully, who rose to fame as a television presenter through his work on 'Nationwide' and 'Antiques Roadshow'. And the composer, Alexander Faris, best known for writing the theme tune to the 1970s ITV drama, Upstairs Downstairs.

Lucy Ash on the former Labour politician Denis Healey who was Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Winter of Discontent in 70s; Catalan literary agent Carmen Ballcells known as Big Mamma to her Nobel Prize winning authors;Captain Bob Arnott, beloved by his passengers on the QE2; Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell and radical priest Reverend Kenneth Leech, who founded the homelessness charity Centrepoint.

Matthew Bannister onThe award winning Irish playwright Brian Friel, best known for Dancing At Lughnasa and Translations.Argentine General Mario Menéndez who was appointed Governor of the Falkland Islands during the invasion.Tessa Ransford who founded the Scottish Poetry Library.John Guillermin who directed movie blockbusters like The Towering Inferno, Death on the Nile, and the 1976 re-make of King Kong.And Ben Cauley, the trumpeter who was the only survivor of the plane crash which killed Otis Redding.Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onBrian Sewell, the art critic with the distinctive voice, outspoken opinions and love of dogs.Jackie Collins who sold millions of copies of her sex and showbusiness novels,Ted Smith, the conservationist who built up the UK's network of Wildlife Trusts.PJ Kavanagh, the poet who also played a Nazi loving priest in the TV comedy Father Ted.And Yogi Berra the top baseball player also known for his mangling of the English language.

Matthew Bannister onSir David Willcocks - one of the most influential choir masters of his generation. Known for his descants to Christmas carols, he was director of music at King's College Cambridge for 17 years - and led the Bach choir for 38. Merv Adelson the property developer who founded the TV company Lorimar which made hits like the Waltons, Dallas and Knots Landing.Mariem Hassan, the singer from the marginalised Sahrawi people who used her music to promote their cause.Brian Close the Yorkshire and England cricket captain noted for his courage at the crease. And Beryl Renwick who became a presenter on BBC Radio Humberside in her eighties and won the industry's top award.

Matthew Bannister onSir Adrian Cadbury - who was chairman of the family confectionery firm, led its merger with Schweppes and wrote an influential report on corporate governance. He was also an Olympic rower - and Sir Steve Redgrave pays tribute. Rico Rodriguez the trombonist who helped create ska and reggae and played with the Specials and Jools Holland, who shares his memories.Ieng Thirith - health minister of the Khmer Rouge and sister in law of Pol Pot. She was indicted for crimes against humanity.Margaret Harrison who founded the Home Start charity which sends volunteers to help parents who are struggling to cope.

Matthew Bannister onLord Montagu of Beaulieu who founded the National Motor Museum, opened his estate to the public and served a prison sentence for homosexuality. His son, who has succeeded to the title, pays tribute. Joy Beverley - one of the Beverley sisters who became close harmony singing stars in the 1940s and 50s. She married the England and Wolves footballer Billy Wright, making them the Posh and Becks of their day.The neurologist Oliver Sacks who told his patients' extraordinary stories in books like "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat".And Annette Worsley-Taylor who started London Fashion Week to promote young British designers. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe trade union official Bernie Passingham who helped women workers at the Ford Motor Company in their fight for equal pay.Medical researcher Chris Marshall who identified one of the human oncogenes which cause cancer.Wayne Carson who wrote the song Always on My Mind, which was recorded by Elvis Presley, the Pet Shop Boys and eight hundred other artists.Michael Turk, a Queen's Waterman and Swan Marker who built historic boats for film and TV.And author Marie Dobbs who completed Jane Austen's unfinished last novel Sanditon.

Presenter Lucy Ash remembers:Khaled Al-Asaad, the Syrian archaeologist beheaded by Islamic State who was famous for his in depth knowledge and love of the ancient city of Palmyra; Jazz Summers, the maverick music manager who took Wham! to China and had a reputation as a hard man;Jack Gold, multi-BAFTA winning TV director of the Naked Civil Servant and Goodnight Mr Tom; Manuel Contreras, the army general who ran Chile's brutal secret police during Pinochet's dictatorship;And Dawn Wofford, the showjumping champion who won her first competition at the age of three. Producer: Neil George.

Last Word is presented by Reeta Chakrabarti this week. She will be remembering:The comic writer and novelist David Nobbs - we speak to his friend and fellow writer Jonathan Coe about the man who invented the 1970s anti-hero Reginald Perrin;Frances Kelsey, the scientist whose concerns about the drug Thalidomide prevented it from being approved in the US;Kyril Zinovieff, who as a child in Russia saw Rasputin, and as a spy for Britain encountered Hitler;The Italian fashion designer Elio Fiorucci, who introduced the world to skintight vinyl jeans;And the musician Harry Pitch, the harmonica player who performed everywhere from jazz clubs to opera houses.Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe singer and TV presenter Cilla Black - we go behind the scenes to discover the secret of her success on Saturday night TV.Michael Kidson who taught history at Eton for thirty years, delighting his pupils by his maverick behaviour.The Indian scientist and reluctant politician APJ Abdul Kalam, known as the "People's President".The Scottish public health campaigner Evelyn Gillan who targeted domestic violence and fought for minimum pricing for alcohol.And the actor George Cole, best known for playing Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder.

Matthew Bannister onThe Reverend Owen Chadwick, the distinguished ecclesiastical historian who was vice Chancellor of Cambridge University during student protests in the 1970s and chaired an influential commission on Church and State.Also Jon Vickers the operatic tenor best known for playing muscular roles like Samson, Otello and Peter Grimes.Yoichiro Nambu, the theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize for his ground-breaking work on sub atomic particles.Nova Pilbeam, the leading lady in early Hitchcock films who later turned her back on stage and screen.And Nick Ryman who made his fortune by building up the family stationery firm and then moved to France to become a successful wine maker.

Matthew Bannister onJoyce Bennett who was the first English woman to be ordained as an Anglican priest. It happened in Hong Kong in 1971.Prince Saud al-Faisal, who was the world's longest serving foreign minister, representing the interests of Saudi Arabia for forty years.Burt Shavitz, the American beekeeper who developed a popular range of beeswax products.Professor Michael Oliver, the physician who demonstrated the link between cholesterol and heart disease.And the publisher Ian Allan, whose books of locomotive numbers led to the hobby of trainspotting.Producer: Paula McGinley.

Matthew Bannister onActor Omar Sharif Flying squad detective Stanley Moore - always known as Steve, he helped to catch some of the Great Train Robbers. Theatre Director Jules Wright who co-founded the Women's Playhouse Trust and set up the Wapping Project arts venue. Former Russian Foreign and Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov.And the composer Ernest Tomlinson, best known for his light orchestral works.

Matthew Bannister onSir Nicholas Winton who saved 669 children from the advancing Nazis in Czechoslovakia. Also the Irish singer Val Doonican - known for his cardigans and rocking chair - he was sometimes called Britain's Bing Crosby.The Indian artist Nek Chand who created the extraordinary Rock Garden of Chandigarh. Jarvis Cocker pays tribute.The novelist and former fighter pilot James SalterAnd Lady Rozelle Raynes, the daughter of an Earl who became a stoker on a tug boat during the war.

Matthew Bannister on:The controversial Chief Inspector of Schools Sir Chris Woodhead who said he was paid to challenge "mediocrity, failure and complacency".The actor Patrick Macnee, best known for playing the suave John Steed in the Avengers. Dame Diana Rigg pays tribute.Dame Anne Warburton who was the UK's first woman ambassador.The Fleet Street sub-editor Vic Mayhew, who was as well known for his hard drinking antics as for his headlines.And the film composer James Horner who won two Oscars for his Titanic soundtrack.

Matthew Bannister onMorris Beckman - the East End Jewish activist who co-founded the 43 Group to fight against post-war British fascists.Ornette Coleman - the pioneering saxophonist who developed free jazz improvisation.Tanith Lee - the prolific science fiction author who also wrote episodes of the TV series Blake's 7.Süleyman Demirel - who was seven times Prime Minister and then President of Turkey.And the American tennis player Doris Hart - who won three Wimbledon titles in one day.

Andrea Catherwood on film star Christopher Lee, internationally famous for his villainous, on screen roles. Cookery writer and broadcasting pioneer Marguerite Patten, explorer Major 'Roy' Homard who made the first crossing of the Antarctic, German born band leader and purveyor of 'Happy Music' James Last and actor Ron Moody, best known for playing Fagin in Oliver.

Andrea Catherwood on Iraqi politician Tariq Aziz, former Leader of the Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy; Oscar winning costume designer Julie Harris; flamboyant Australian property developer and entrepreneur Alan Bond and violinist Peter Cropper who founded the Lindsay Quartet.