Icons enter county's hall of fame as best of Yorkshire honoured
By John Roberts [Reproduced by courtesy of the Yorkshire Post]
WHETHER it is the courage of Jane Tomlinson defying cancer to raise money for charity; fiery Fred Trueman bowling his way into the record books; or Sir Ken Morrison transforming a small family business into one of the biggest supermarket chains in the country, they all represent what is best about Yorkshire.
Now these great names are among the first Yorkshire Icons to be inducted into a hall of fame to boost the region's profile and promote role models for young people.
A prestigious awards ceremony took place yesterday as William Wilberforce, Sir Ken Morrison, Dame Judi Dench, Jane Tomlinson, Fred Trueman, Sir Michael Parkinson and Ashley Jackson became the first Yorkshire icons.
Organisers want to turn the occasion into an annual event and are looking for future nominations for icons from members of the public to recognise inspirational figures from all works of life.
The Yorkshire Post joined forces with Yorkshire Bank and Yorkshire Television to help create the hall of fame which was launched last night as more than 100 guests from the world of politics, business and sport attended a gala dinner.
Mrs Tomlinson's husband Mike, Trueman's widow Veronica and Wilberforce's relatives all attended the event alongside Yorkshire Icons Sir Ken and Mr Jackson and the new minister for Yorkshire, MP Rosie Winterton.
She said: "One of the unique things about our region is that it has a name. It is not a point on a compass or a geographic description. We are not east or north, or Midlands. We are Yorkshire. Sometimes people and businesses in Yorkshire are better at getting things done than talking about them. Modesty is a virtue of course but so too is celebrating success. We have lots to be proud of in this wonderful region."
The project's director Nigel Larkman said Yorkshire Icons was created to celebrate "Yorkshire's greatest asset of all – its people."
He said: "Future nominations from the public do not have to be famous names - they could be the headteacher who has taught your children or the nurse who has cared for a relative. The seven nominations we have come up with were chosen because they are all motivational and inspirational people.
"Look at Sir Ken Morrison who grew up in Bradford and created one of the biggest supermarket chains in the country or Jane Tomlinson who overcame so much to help others by raising more than a million pounds for charity."
Mr Tomlinson said: "We have turned down a lot of things that have been offered posthumously to Jane because she didn't particularly want to be remembered but this award seemed appropriate and I am delighted Jane has been honoured. She wasn't one for having her name recognised she just wanted us to continue the charity work."
Dame Judi, who is filming the new James Bond movie and Sir Michael both sent video messages to accept their nomination into Yorkshire's Hall of Fame.
Dame Judi said: "I felt very honoured to be invited by the Yorkshire Icons community initiative to become an inaugural icon in their hall of fame. Being born in the city of York, I could hardly refuse, and I was more than happy to accept. I wish them every success with the project to motivate and inspire young people from Yorkshire to develop and to fulfil their dreams of success in whatever field they choose, so that they in turn can become icons in their own right."
Each of the Yorkshire Icons will receive membership of the Yorkshire Society and have rooms in the Yorkshire Bank's headquarters named in their honour. A website was launched last night to allow people to nominate their own Yorkshire Icons. It can be found at www.yorkshire-icons.com
Seven iconic inspirations:
- Fred Trueman is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket. He played for Yorkshire and England and was the first player to take 300 test wickets.
- Sir Ken Morrison transformed a small family business into the fourth largest supermarket chain in the country. He is still Morrisons' executive chairman and has received a CBE and been knighted.
- Jane Tomlinson raised £1.75m for cancer charities through gruelling endurance events. She completed marathons, triathlons and cycled from Leeds to Rome and across America. She died in September last year.
- William Wilberforce played a key role in the abolition of slavery. He was born in Hull in 1759 and as an MP led the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade.
- Dame Judi Dench is one of the most acclaimed actresses of the post-war period with a career which has earned her virtually every major acting award. The Shakespearian actress is known worldwide as M in the latest James Bond films.
- Sir Michael Parkinson enjoyed a successful career as a journalist and broadcaster across more than four decades. He is most famous for his chat show which ended in December last year.
- Ashley Jackson is a renowned artist who is one of the country's leading watercolourists. The Barnsley-born painter opened his first gallery in 1963 and lives in Holmfirth.
Iconic Yorkshire
A new hall of fame recognises some of the county’s great figures of past and present
Icons don’t have to be famous: they can be ordinary people doing extraordinary things
WHETHER it’s the romantic moors, the friendliness of the residents or simply the Yorkshire puddings, something inspires the people of the white rose county to great things.
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