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Ronan O'Rahilly, Sir John Houghton CBE, Sue Davies OBE, Barbara Smoker

Matthew Bannister on businessman Ronan O’Rahilly, atmospheric physicist Sir John Houghton, curator Sue Davies, atheist Barbara Smoker

Pictured: Ronan O’Rahilly

Matthew Bannister on

Ronan O’Rahilly, the Irish businessman who ran the pirate radio station Radio Caroline on a ship off the coast of Essex.

Sir John Houghton, the atmospheric physicist who was Director of the Met Office and co-chair of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change.

Sue Davies, who founded and ran the Photographers' Gallery in London, supporting the careers of many leading photographers.

Barbara Smoker, the outspoken atheist and anarchist who was President of the National Secular Society.

Interviewed guest: Ray Clark
Interviewed guest: Hannah Malcolm
Interviewed guest: Dave Roberts
Interviewed guest: Paul Hardaker
Interviewed guest: Amanda Hopkinson
Interviewed guest: Chris Steele-Perkins
Interviewed guest: Professor Anthony Costello
Interviewed guest: Denis Cobell

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Arena: Caroline 199: A Pirate's Tale, ±«Óãtv Two 01/03/1991; The Story of Pop, Radio 1 26/01/1974; Ray Clark on Radio Caroline 1987; Belief, Radio 3 10/06/2012; Interview with Sue Davies, courtesy of The Photographers’ Gallery; Seeds of Faith, Radio 4 14/07/1996; Today, Radio 4 16/12/2002.

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28 minutes

Last on

Sun 3 May 2020 20:30
±«Óãtv Radio 4

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Clip

Ronan O'Rahilly

Born 21 May 1940; died 20 April 2020, aged 79.

Last Word spoke to Ray Clark, broadcaster and author of Radio Caroline: The True Story of the Boat that Rocked.

Sir John Houghton CBE

Born 30 December 1931; died 15 April 2020, aged 88.

Last Word spoke to his granddaughter, climatologist Hannah Malcolm; his friend and fellow lay preacher Dave Roberts; and Paul Hardaker, Chair of the Board of Sense About Science and CEO of the Institute of Physics.

Sue Davies OBE

Born 14 April 1933; died 18 April 2020, aged 87.

Last Word spoke to her friend Amanda Hopkinson and photographer Chris Steele-Perkins.

Barbara Smoker

Born 2 June 1923; died 7 April 2020, aged 96.

Last Word spoke to her nephew Professor Anthony Costello and her friend, fellow humanist Denis Cobell.

Broadcasts

  • Fri 1 May 2020 16:00
    ±«Óãtv Radio 4
  • Sun 3 May 2020 20:30
    ±«Óãtv Radio 4

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  • Last Word

    Radio 4's weekly obituary programme