VOTE: Cast your vote for the greatest Janner
THE final shortlist of those in the running to be crowned the greatest Janner has been revealed – and voting is now open.
From artists to explorers, readers have uncovered a wealth of local heroes in our quest to find the greatest Plymothian.
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VOTE: Cast your vote for the greatest Janner
Online voting is now open and we want you to chose our winner.
Over the past few weeks we have been asking you, the reader, to name your favourite Plymothian and the names put forward couldn't have been more diverse, with people from the worlds of politics, science, sport, art, comedy and the military all receiving nominations.
Alongside the "usual suspects" were names from the past like John Chard, VC, the hero of Rorke's Drift and the 18th century explorer Tobias Furneaux.
Among those to make the shortlist is current Miss England Charlotte Holmes, who was also Face of Plymouth and a finalist in Britain's Next Top Model.
Elizabethan sea captain and former Mayor of Plymouth Sir Francis Drake, also made the grade, having received a number of online nominations.
Drake's legendary exploits made him an English hero – but a pirate to the Spaniards.
He was responsible for bringing a clean water supply from Dartmoor into the heart of Plymouth.
His name sits alongside the likes of former Labour Party leader Michael Foot and the comedian Dawn French, best known for her role in The Vicar of Dibley.
Others in the realm of entertainment to be shortlisted include Plymouth's ballet-dancing son Wayne Sleep.
Born in the city, Wayne went to Hyde Park Junior School and then went on to become a star of stage and screen, even having a film role alongside Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland.
In 1973, Sleep established a world record by doing an entrechat-douze – a jump with twelve beats of the feet. This record still stands.
Painters Robert Lenkiewicz and Beryl Cook have also made the shortlist as has film-score composer Ron Goodwin.
Other contenders are Lady Nancy Astor, the Plymouth MP who was the first woman to take a seat in the House of Commons; Robert Falcon Scott – Scott of the Antarctic; and local Olympian Tom Daley.
The poll comes after Plymouth City Council last year asked you to choose from a shortlist of 13 who should be celebrated with their own bench in the city.
And it follows the launch of a fund to raise money for a memorial to Plymouth politician Michael Foot.
29 Comments
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by paperlantern
Friday, February 08 2013, 4:24PM
“BettyD - Darwin set sail from Plymouth in the Beagle. There is a plaque at Devil's Point as that was where he departed. He stayed a while in Durnford Street. He did not like Plymouth apparently as it rained all the time he was here - no change there then.”
by Bulletpaul
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 1:02PM
“If Tom ( Wonder boy ) Daley wins Greatest "Janner" I will give up the will to live.”
by UrbanPirate
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 9:40AM
“cmon, HIS NAME IS LARRY SPEARE, HE COME FROM DOWN YOUR WAYYYY”
by sidewinder
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 7:49AM
“VOTE WEBB”
by burger
Friday, February 01 2013, 6:22PM
“chris webb ? lol oh god really? what a joke! we cant stand him at breakwater!”
by HeraldNews
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 12:14PM
“Apologies - due to a glitch you may not have been able to vote for all the nominees in the first 24 hours of this poll. The list is now complete and, even if you have cast a vote before, you can now vote for any of the famous Plymothians who were nominated.”
by mart9911
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 12:06PM
“Drake must be the greatest. A genius of a navigator around the world-treated his sailors fairly-brought a fresh water supply to Plymouth when the people needed it so badly and possibly the greatest of his efforts along with Hawkins was to create a chest of money for the surviving sailors and their families from the success of defeating the Spanish Armada when the queen insisted the British ships stay out at sea afterwards so she could save money (knowing that half the sailors would die of disease at sea). A long legacy created out of Drake and Hawkins anger with the queen.”
by Devonview
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 10:51PM
“Come on Herald! Pull your finger out. Why isn't Cap'n Jasper on the list!?”
by BettyD
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 10:04PM
“Errrr can someone tell where it says Darwin was ever anywhere near Plymouth,as far as I can tell the word Plymouth isn't mentioned once and the nearest he got to Plymouth was Falmouth
http://tinyurl.com/jsp4g”
by jabbathebutt
Tuesday, January 29 2013, 9:53PM
“I just tried to vote for the same person twice ( as an experiment only ) to see if the vote could be rigged . It let me do it .
This thing is not going to be a fair result . It needs IP addresses to cancel cheating .”