With voting about to close, time is nearly up to vote for your favourite to win a Southwark Blue Plaque – here is a reminder of all the nominees.
For over twenty years, the News has been proud to have been one of the founders of the Blue Plaque scheme here in Southwark.
Last year’s winner was ‘exceptional’ Walworth tailor, George Dyer who impressed locals and celebrities with his craftsmanship and became renowned across the UK for his custom-made suits and kindness to all.
His plaque is currently being prepared and there will be more information regarding the unveiling soon.
The nominees for 2024 are:
1. John Davis – Missionary for American Civil War veterans
A sailor who ran a missionary in Bermondsey where he helped the less fortunate and got pensions for American Civil War veterans has been nominated for a blue plaque.
2. Francis Rossi OBE – lead singer of British rock band Status Quo
The lead singer of one of Britain’s most successful rock bands ever, Status Quo, has been nominated for a blue plaque.
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE was born in Forest Hill in 1949 and since then has never moved away from South London.
Whilst at school in Lewisham, he formed a band called The Scorpions with some classmates. They performed their first gig in Dulwich.
During its early stages, The Scorpions went through various rebrands – first The Spectres, having found drummer John Coghlan, then Traffic, Traffic Jam and finally in 1967 the group became Status Quo.
To date, the band has sold over 128 million albums worldwide and toured the globe.
Over the years they raised more than £3 million for causes Nordoff Robbins, the Prince’s Trust and the Heart Foundation, as well as opening at Live Aid.
To vote for Francis Rossi OBE for a Southwark Blue Plaque, please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk.
3. Apsley Pellatt & Co – pioneering glass-works
A Blackfriars-based company that famously made lots of pioneering developments in glass-making has been nominated for a blue plaque.
Born in 1791, Apsley Pellatt was the son of a well-known glass manufacturer, based at the Falcon Glass Works on Holland Street – which no longer exists.
After his father died, Pellatt inherited the Southwark glass factory, renaming it Apsley Pellatt & Co.
Most notably he developed an innovative process for embedding ceramic figurines into the sides of paperweights, jugs, and decanters – known as cameo incrustations.
Over thirty of these works, made between 1815 and 1891, are displayed in the V&A Museum in Kensington.
Apsley Pellatt & Co. became the most famous and successful producer of such things in the country until the mid-century, its only rival being Baccarat in France.
To vote for Apsley Pellatt & Co. for a Southwark Blue Plaque, please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk.
4. Stock Aitken Waterman – legendary songwriting trio
One of the most successful songwriting trios in the world, who launched Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley into stardom, has been nominated for a blue plaque.
Between 1984 and 1993, British pop producers Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman were responsible for over 200 million records sold worldwide.
All their songs reportedly began at a little backstreet studio in Southwark – The Vineyard in Sanctuary Street.
It was there, known as ‘The Hit Factory’, that they famously launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, with ‘I Should Be So Lucky,’ and Rick Astley with ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’
They also made chart successes for Bananarama, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney and many more.
Lesser celebrated feats are their charitable ventures, including the three records that raised millions for various causes.
To vote for Stock Aitken & Waterman for a Southwark Blue Plaque, please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk.
5. Zdenka Pokorná – powerhouse anti-Nazi campaigner
A Dulwich-based woman, who stood up against tyrannical regimes that dominated her homeland, has been nominated for a blue plaque.
Originally from Czechoslovakia, Zdenka Pokorná was born in Moravia in 1905 and lived until she was 101.
After the Nazi invasion of Czech lands in 1939, she bravely guided Czech men across the border to exile abroad. Some went on to fight Nazism as part of the Czech contingent of the RAF.
This led to her being arrested by the Gestapo – secret Nazi police – and imprisoned in Poland. Ms Pokorná was sent to a death march and survived.
In 1948 she was exiled from her country and moved to England to work as an NHS nurse.
Although she lived over half of her life in Dulwich, on Desenfans Road, Ms Pokorná never forgot her roots and continued her campaigning from afar.
She was hailed on her 90th birthday as the ‘living conscience of the century’ by the Czech government.
To vote for Zdenka Pokorna for a Southwark Blue Plaque, please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk.
6. James Henderson – trailblazing newspaper founder
A Dulwich-based newspaper owner, who founded the South London Press over 150 years ago, has been nominated for a blue plaque.
James Henderson (1823-1906) started working for his local paper and became a key figure in developing the popular press and comics in Britain.
Most famous for founding the weekly paper South London Press in 1865, he also launched the UK’s first daily penny newspaper and London’s first-ever halfpenny evening paper.
Despite being from Scotland, half of his life was spent in East Dulwich, where he lived from 1864 until shortly before he died.
After arriving in England he was appointed manager of the Leeds Express, followed by the Manchester Guardian, and in 1861, he set up The Weekly Budget. This paper was the first to combine stories with daily news.
It was so popular that he transferred his offices from Manchester to Fleet Street in London, and by 1865 the Budget claimed to have the largest provincial circulation of any newspaper in the UK.
As if he didn’t have enough strings to his bow already, Henderson was also a noted horticulturist (his gardens were open to the public), property developer and even stood as Liberal MP for Dulwich, though he lost to the Tory candidate, John Blundell Maple.
To vote for James Henderson for a Southwark Blue Plaque please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk.
7. Brian Catling – groundbreaking multi-talented artist and sculptor
An esteemed artist and sculptor, who famously created a memorial for the Tower of London, has been nominated for a blue plaque.
Brian Catling RA, a ‘lover of the strange,’ seemed to excel at any art he tried his hand at.
Born in 1948, he was abandoned and then adopted by a working-class family and raised on the Old Kent Road in tenements – affordable housing for low-income families.
Brian exhibited his work internationally since 1975 and became known for his unconventional style.
Largely in a lane of his own, in 2006 he entered the mainstream when he was asked to create a memorial to the Site of Execution at the Tower of London.
It still stands today as a popular attraction for visitors.
Some of Brian’s other notable works and performances included: Cyclops at South London Gallery (1996), Quill Two at Matt’s Gallery, Dilston Grove (2011), Vanished! A Video Seance made with screenwriter Tony Grisoni (1999), and Antix at Matt’s Gallery (2006.)
An award-winning poet and author, he wrote around 23 novels in total, including the well-known fantasy trilogy, The Vorhh.
In many of his books, just like in his art, he appeared to laugh in the face of picking a genre and would often cross boundaries.
To vote for Brian Catling a Southwark Blue Plaque please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk.
8. William Pullum – Olympic weightlifting trainer and champ
A Camberwell man, who is said to have ‘revolutionised the world of weightlifting’, has been nominated for a blue plaque.
William Albert Pullum was born in Camberwell on April 8, 1887. After observing weightlifters, he noticed that many traditional strongmen did not have a proper technique.
It was this that drove him to devise a set of rules that would become the ones the sport still abides by to this day.
By nineteen years old, Mr Pullum had set up a school of physical culture in Camberwell named the Lothian Club. In 1907, this world-famous gym was relocated to number 5 Church Street, Camberwell (now a Cheeky Burger.)
It became a hub for aspiring weight trainers from around the country – including the world’s richest man John Paul Getty who was once trained by him.
Not only did he work behind the scenes – going on to help set up the British Amateur Weightlifters’ Association in 1910 – he was also a famous athlete in his own right.
Between the years 1911 and 1915, he won 192 British and world weightlifting records, 15 British championships and 53 gold medals. He would later coach the 1948 British Olympic Team, long after having retired from competing himself – proving how integral he was to the sport.
To vote for William Pullum for a Southwark Blue Plaque please email isabel@southwarknews.co.uk