Naming and listing famous people from Chester is an historically popular twitter thread, up there with “best Indian restaurant” As a heritage city you’ll will find the odd plaque /dedication to influential architects or historic events, but what I want to know is, after my suggestion of “Happy Atmosphere Square” as a name for the Northgate’s public space was overlooked, where is our Russ Abbot street art??

A quick browse of Wikipedia reveals the usual well known famous Cestrians, Daniel Craig, Michael Owen, Beth Tweddle etc. Less well known is that “Norris from Coronation Street” was born here, as well football commentator Martin Tyler. Hugh Lloyd, I remember doing a presentation on the pitch at Chester City in the late 90s and wondering who he was. Later in my life as my comedy knowledge increased I realised who I’d seen that day. The legendary comic actor known for his roles with Tony Hancock was once a journalist for the Chester Chronicle. Back when journalism was more about reporting local news stories than getting website hits, another ex journalist is local TV star Lucy Meacock who moved to Chester when she was 6. One person overlooked by local history is Diana Beck (born 1900 in Hoole, died 1956), the world’s first female neurosurgeon. One point of confusion is what actually defines a “person from Chester” – is it place of birth or residing in the area? Daniel Craig gets the medal because he was born here, but Keith Harris (1947- 2015) doesn’t seem to make the grade despite living in Vicars Cross and rising to national fame with his comedy partner Orville the Duck. As a sidestep Orville can now be seen in Blackpool’s new entertainment museum, imagine if we got him in the Grosvenor Museum. Side stepping again , if residency is the prerequisite, can we claim Ainsley as one of our own?

A hall of fame acknowledging the contributions made by Cestrians past and present is overdue. Statue wise we have got the Duke in Grosvenor Park, The cone head man on horseback and Janya the elephant. Imagine a statue of the five times voted “funniest man on television” keeping watch in the city centre. There’s no recognition of the legend in his home town, beyond (as far as I know) a small wall of framed photos of Russ, Bob Mills and others up on the wall of The Boat House pub. Perhaps they’ve updated it in recent years to include the infamous Matt Hancock or cinnamon snorter Mike Parry?

One statue we may get is of railway pioneer Thomas Brassey, with a fundraising campaign currently taking place : https://thomasbrasseysociety.org/ Brassey was born just outside the city and went on to become the “greatest railway builder in the world” during the 19th century. Chester train station, built by Brassey, celebrated its 175th anniversary last summer and hopefully we will see a statue of the pioneer who had a global impact soon, standing hand outreached to welcome people to Chester.

Statues are one option, plaques on pavements (like the Hollywood walk of fame?) another. The one on the back of Superdrug where Charles Dickens performed is a point of real interest, but what about some more interpretation based on the characters and personalities of recent years? The short lived Chester: a Life Story ( now Sick to Death) made a good effort but the scope is there to celebrate popular cultural heroes in some way and also boost tourism and cultural engagement at the same time.

Finally, any list of local heroes must include all the people doing selfless good work behind the scenes- The Soul Kitchen, The Kids Bank, The Chester Pride, The Food Bank etc etc. Over the years I’ve met a lot of these volunteers and learnt about the work they do, As deserving a place in the line up as anyone.

Next time: recognising an important Cestrian