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Suffolk men and women including Anthea Bell and Lord Blakenham among 243 figures added to Oxford Dictionary of National Biography




Five Suffolk figures have been added to the latest update of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography which was published today.

The update added biographies of 243 men and women who left their mark on the UK and who died in 2018.

The first of the Suffolk figures to be added was Anthea Bell who, born at Creems Farm in Nayland with Wissington, achieved fame as the translator of most of the Asterix books as well as many other works from French, German, and Danish.

The Oxford DNB includes 62,079 articles in which are told the life stories of 64,431 people. Picture: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The Oxford DNB includes 62,079 articles in which are told the life stories of 64,431 people. Picture: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Anthea said she learned the lateral thinking required to translate the jokes in the books from her father who devised The Times' cryptic crosswords. Her brother, Martin Bell, is a BBC journalist and a former MP.

The second of the county's figures to make it into the dictionary is Michael John Hare, second Viscount Blakenham, of Little Blakenham.

He was the son of a prominent Conservative politician and, after an apprenticeship with other companies, he became chief executive and then chairman of Pearson, owners of the Financial Times and Penguin Books.

Somersham Road, Little Blakenham. Picture: Google maps
Somersham Road, Little Blakenham. Picture: Google maps

He is remembered for saving the Financial Times when it was threatened with takeover by Rupert Murdoch. He was also a keen environmentalist, and from 2007 to 2015 was a member of Mid-Suffolk Council, and deputy leader of the ‘Suffolk Together’ group.

Oliver Knussen, a composer perhaps best known for his collaborations with Maurice Sendak, on Where the Wild Things Are and Higglety Pigglety Pop, was also an influential artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival.

At fifteen, Knussen conducted premieres of his first symphony in London and New York and later became coordinator of contemporary music activities at Tanglewood, in the US. The Glaswegian lived for many years at Sycamore Cottage, Church Common, Snape.

The next Suffolk resident to make the list is Sir Peter Squire who, born in Felixstowe two months after the end of WWII, commanded the Red Arrows and was awarded the DFC for his leadership of RAF forces in the Falklands conflict.

He then rose rising to become commander-in-chief, Strike Command, during the Kosovo intervention, and chief of the air staff at the time of the intervention in Afghanistan and the first Gulf war.

The final Suffolk-born figure to make it into the dictionary is Sir John Cullen. Born in Bury St Edmunds, Sir Cullen worked on safety for ICI and Rohm and Haas before becoming chairman of the Health and Safety Commission.

Sir John Cullen was born in Bury St Edmunds. Picture: Abbey Gardens by Mark Westley
Sir John Cullen was born in Bury St Edmunds. Picture: Abbey Gardens by Mark Westley

His role came at a particularly challenging time, with much new legislation and the repercussions of a number of major incidents including the King’s Cross and Piper Alpha fires to deal with.

These Suffolk figures have been added alongside the likes of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking and politicians Lord Carrington, Paddy Ashdown and Tessa Jowell.

The full list can be accessed on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography website.