51.5071° N, 0.1297° W

LONDON

Most Famous People Born in London, United Kingdom

Notable people
15,663
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1919
Most distinctive
Novelist 2.6×

Nine centuries of the British public eye. London's notables fan out across a longer continuous span than almost any other anglophone city, from medieval peers and antiquarians through Georgian solicitors and impresarios to a postwar wave of actors, footballers, and singers. The court and the stage have always been within walking distance of each other here, and the dataset shows it.

Standouts

What London Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is London's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (2,038).

London over-indexes on novelist 2.6× the global rate.

London under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Actor 2,038 2.5×
  2. Politician 1,102 0.6×
  3. Painter 769 1.9×
  4. Writer 646 1.3×
  5. Football 600 0.3×
  6. Singer 424 1.3×
  7. Film 350 1.8×
  8. Music 340 1.5×
  1. Novelist 163 2.6×
  2. Actor 2,038 2.5×
  3. Painter 769 1.9×
  4. Film 350 1.8×
  5. Composer 318 1.5×
  6. Music 340 1.5×
  1. Football 600 0.3×
  2. Politician 1,102 0.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of London's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550 1600 1650 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Other
All15,663
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Showing 937 of 15,663 notable people

0012 MONARCH

Elizabeth II

Born 1926

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0060 ACTOR

Jean Simmons

1929 - 2010

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0092 ACTOR

Roddy McDowall

1928 - 1998

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0107 ACTOR

Peter Lawford

1923 - 1984

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0114 POLITICIAN

Tony Benn

1925 - 2014

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0144 THEATRE

Peter Brook

Born 1925

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0157 ACTOR

Honor Blackman

1925 - 2020

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0167 MATHEMATICIAN

Michael Atiyah

1929 - 2019

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0173 FILM

John Schlesinger

1926 - 2003

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0185 ACTOR

John Osborne

1929 - 1994

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0224 DRIVER

Stirling Moss

1929 - 2020

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0264 PAINTER

Richard Hamilton (artist)

1922 - 2011

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0285 ACTOR

Ron Moody

1924 - 2015

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0308 PHILOSOPHER

Antony Flew

1923 - 2010

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0312 WRITER

Len Deighton

Born 1929

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0334 FILM

Richard Johnson (actor)

1927 - 2015

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0350 ACTOR

John Neville (actor)

1925 - 2011

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0358 SINGER

Clive Dunn

1920 - 2012

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0364 FILM

Gerry Anderson

1929 - 2012

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0370 BUSINESS

Vidal Sassoon

1928 - 2012

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0375 FILM

Michael Anderson (director)

1920 - 2018

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0376 BIOLOGIST

John Maynard Smith

1920 - 2004

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0406 ACTOR

Joss Ackland

Born 1928

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0426 FILM

Lewis Gilbert

1920 - 2018

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0445 PEER

John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer

1924 - 1992

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0451 PHILOSOPHER

Michael Dummett

1925 - 2011

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0468 ACTOR

Freddie Bartholomew

1924 - 1992

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0475 FILM

John Guillermin

1925 - 2015

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0478 PHILOSOPHER

Stephen Toulmin

1922 - 2009

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0507 LAWYER

Peter Benenson

1921 - 2005

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0521 PRIEST

John Stott

1921 - 2011

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0530 WRITER

Anita Brookner

1928 - 2016

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0589 ACTOR

Pat Hitchcock

Born 1928

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0602 FILM

Andrew V. McLaglen

1920 - 2014

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0604 ACTOR

Marina Berti

1924 - 2002

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0664 BIOGRAPHER

George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood

1923 - 2011

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0783 ACTOR

Anthony Steel (actor)

1920 - 2001

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0797 LINGUIST

Basil Bernstein

1924 - 2000

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0812 ACADEMIC

Stafford Beer

1926 - 2002

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0835 ENGINEER

Colin Chapman

1928 - 1982

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0842 ACTOR

Frank Thornton

1921 - 2013

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0858 FILM

Peter R. Hunt

1925 - 2002

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0873 LINGUIST

John Chadwick

1920 - 1998

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0911 ACTOR

Kathleen Byron

1921 - 2009

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0957 FOOTBALL

Jimmy Hill

1928 - 2015

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0969 TEACHER

John M. Allegro

1923 - 1988

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0975 WRITER

Nina Bawden

1925 - 2012

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0978 PRINCESS

Galyani Vadhana

1923 - 2008

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0989 ACTOR

Geoffrey Palmer (actor)

1927 - 2020

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1017 COMPOSER

Monty Norman

Born 1928

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1023 FILM

Clive Donner

1926 - 2010

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1048 HORNIST

Dennis Brain

1921 - 1957

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1079 POLITICIAN

Henri Alleg

1921 - 2013

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1097 WRITER

Elizabeth Jane Howard

1923 - 2014

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1110 MATHEMATICIAN

Peter Hilton

1923 - 2010

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1114 ACTOR

Paul Eddington

1927 - 1995

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1147 PHYSICIAN

Alex Comfort

1920 - 2000

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1184 ACTOR

Eileen Essell

1922 - 2015

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1206 ACTOR

Valerie French (actress)

1928 - 1990

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1226 ACTOR

Douglas Wilmer

1920 - 2016

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1242 ACTOR

Percy Herbert (actor)

1920 - 1992

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1243 FILM

Charles Jarrott

1927 - 2011

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1253 WRITER

William Tenn

1920 - 2010

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1275 ECONOMIST

Antony C. Sutton

1925 - 2002

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1295 PHILOSOPHER

Richard Wollheim

1923 - 2003

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1299 ANTHROPOLOGIST

James Mellaart

1925 - 2012

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1301 PEER

Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma

1924 - 2017

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1305 MUSIC

Ronnie Scott

1927 - 1996

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1323 ACTOR

Chris Howland

1928 - 2013

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1356 HISTORIAN

Alistair Horne

1925 - 2017

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1358 ACTOR

Timothy Bateson

1926 - 2009

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1361 ACTOR

Henry McGee

1929 - 2006

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1431 GUITAR

Jim Marshall (businessman)

1923 - 2012

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1434 ACTOR

Jean Kent

1921 - 2013

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1439 PRINCESS

Angus Ogilvy

1928 - 2004

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1447 PHOTOGRAPHER

Larry Burrows

1926 - 1971

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1474 ACTOR

James Booth

1927 - 2005

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1488 CONDUCTOR

Raymond Leppard

1927 - 2019

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1491 ACTOR

Rosalie Crutchley

1920 - 1997

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1513 ACTOR

Barbara Murray

1929 - 2014

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1518 WRITER

Carter Brown

1923 - 1985

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1543 HISTORIAN

J. G. A. Pocock

Born 1924

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1549 CINEMA

Richard Leacock

1921 - 2011

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1568 HISTORIAN

Denis Mack Smith

1920 - 2017

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1570 CONDUCTOR

John Pritchard (conductor)

1921 - 1989

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1577 ACTOR

Denis Quilley

1927 - 2003

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1584 BIOLOGIST

Anne McLaren

1927 - 2007

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1585 CHEMIST

Leslie Orgel

1927 - 2007

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1587 POLITICIAN

John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch

1923 - 2007

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1605 POLITICIAN

Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu

1926 - 2015

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1629 SCREENWRITER

Harry Alan Towers

1920 - 2009

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1660 SCHOLAR

Peter Green (historian)

Born 1924

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1662 CINEMA

Alex Thomson (cinematographer)

1929 - 2007

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1675 ACTOR

Marianne Stone

1922 - 2009

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1677 PSYCHOLOGIST

Richard Gregory

1923 - 2010

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1683 HELLENIST

Kenneth Dover

1920 - 2010

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1721 DRIVER

Alfonso de Portago

1928 - 1957

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1726 PIANIST

Joyce Hatto

1928 - 2006

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1768 POLITICIAN

Bernard Crick

1929 - 2008

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1787 CINEMA

Alan Hume

1924 - 2010

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1792 POLITICIAN

Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire

1920 - 2004

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1817 AUTHOR

Brigid Brophy

1929 - 1995

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1849 ARTIST

Don Lawrence

1928 - 2003

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1895 COMPOSER

Antony Hopkins

1921 - 2014

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1897 ACTOR

Michael Medwin

1923 - 2020

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1909 ART CRITIC

Lawrence Alloway

1926 - 1990

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1927 WRITER

Leo Marks

1920 - 2001

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1955 FILM

Christopher Morahan

1929 - 2017

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1969 POLITICIAN

Norman St John-Stevas

1929 - 2012

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1974 WRITER

Lynne Reid Banks

Born 1929

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1987 PAINTER

Leon Kossoff

1926 - 2019

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2032 ACTOR

Gwen Watford

1927 - 1994

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2056 JOURNALIST

Bernard Levin

1928 - 2004

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2073 WATCHMAKER

George Daniels (watchmaker)

1926 - 2011

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2074 SCREENWRITER

Robert Fuest

1927 - 2012

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2111 AUTHOR

John Richardson (art historian)

1924 - 2019

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2132 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Colin Turnbull

1924 - 1994

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2149 ACTOR

Michael Flanders

1922 - 1975

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2162 POET

Martin Seymour-Smith

1928 - 1998

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2163 PHILOSOPHER

Peter Winch

1926 - 1997

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2201 FILM

Douglas Hickox

1929 - 1988

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2243 POET

Al Alvarez

1929 - 2019

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2258 HISTORIAN

George Albert Wells

1926 - 2017

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2263 POLITICIAN

Ian Gilmour, Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar

1926 - 2007

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2268 PIANIST

Stan Tracey

1926 - 2013

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2275 ACTOR

Sheila MacRae

1924 - 2014

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2307 SCREENWRITER

Richard Gordon (English author)

1921 - 2017

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2312 ECONOMIST

Wynne Godley

1926 - 2010

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2342 PRODUCER

Dick James

1920 - 1986

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2345 ACTOR

Terry Kilburn

Born 1926

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2355 CHEMIST

Ronald Gillespie

Born 1924

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2369 IMMUNOLOGIST

Robin Coombs

1921 - 2006

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2371 ACTOR

Fenella Fielding

1927 - 2018

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2401 WRITER

Nicolas Freeling

1927 - 2003

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2461 FILM

Michael Carreras

1927 - 1994

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2470 PEER

David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie

Born 1926

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2485 BIOLOGIST

John H. Edwards

1928 - 2007

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2487 FILM

Eric Till

Born 1929

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2488 VIROLOGIST

Michael A. Epstein

Born 1921

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2493 CINEMA

Gerry Fisher

1926 - 2014

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2494 PHOTOGRAPHER

John Coplans

1920 - 2003

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2501 ACTOR

Lee Montague

Born 1927

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2589 QUEEN

Margaret Rhodes

1925 - 2016

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2599 SCENOGRAPHER

Peter Lamont

Born 1929

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2605 ART HISTORIAN

Francis Haskell

1928 - 2000

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2606 CHOREOGRAPHER

Jill Johnston

1929 - 2010

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2610 CLARINET

Gervase de Peyer

1926 - 2017

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2624 ACTOR

Ronnie Stevens (actor)

1925 - 2006

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2651 COMMUNIST

Albert Meltzer

1920 - 1996

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2653 ACTOR

Philip Locke

1928 - 2004

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2654 PEER

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond

1929 - 2017

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2674 ACTOR

Eleanor Summerfield

1921 - 2001

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2678 DESIGNER

Kenneth Grange

Born 1929

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2700 WRITER

Kenneth Bulmer

1921 - 2005

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2707 FILM

John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne

1924 - 2005

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2715 ACTOR

Derek Royle

1928 - 1990

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2717 SKATER

Cecilia Colledge

1920 - 2008

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2729 PHYSICIAN

Julian Tudor Hart

1927 - 2018

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2732 THEATRE

John Barton (director)

1928 - 2018

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2750 ASTRONOMER

Alexander Dalgarno

1928 - 2015

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2752 NOVELIST

Evelyn Anthony

1928 - 2018

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2793 COMPOSER

John Lanchbery

1923 - 2003

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2807 ACTOR

Maxine Audley

1923 - 1992

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2875 SCENOGRAPHER

John Box

1920 - 2005

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2892 TEACHER

Ivan Morris

1925 - 1976

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2897 ACTOR

Walter Sparrow

1927 - 2000

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2951 POLITICIAN

Lowell Thomas Jr.

1923 - 2016

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2955 NOVELIST

Simon Raven

1927 - 2001

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2968 PRIEST

Derek Worlock

1920 - 1996

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2972 DIPLOMAT

David Kimche

1928 - 2010

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2973 WRITER

John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham

1924 - 2001

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2990 COMPOSER

Peter Racine Fricker

1920 - 1990

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3007 PSYCHIATRIST

Anthony Storr

1920 - 2001

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3073 WRITER

Prince Nikita Romanov

1923 - 2007

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3080 ECONOMIST

Ungku Abdul Aziz

Born 1922

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3095 PHYSICIST

Brian Pippard

1920 - 2008

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3100 POLITICIAN

Edmund Dell

1921 - 1999

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3101 ACTOR

Mark Eden

Born 1928

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3110 WRITER

Colin Kapp

1928 - 2007

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3126 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Rodney Needham

1923 - 2006

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3151 PAINTER

Roberta Leigh

1926 - 2014

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3172 WRESTLER

Kenneth Richmond

1926 - 2006

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3193 ACTOR

Patricia Cutts

1926 - 1974

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3197 FILM

Desmond Davis

Born 1926

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3209 ACTOR

Joyce Howard

1922 - 2010

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3227 ARTIST

Erich von Götha de la Rosière

Born 1924

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3228 MUSIC

Joseph Kerman

1924 - 2014

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3232 SINGER

Tony Hiller

1927 - 2018

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3257 PHYSICIST

Cyril Domb

1920 - 2012

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3260 PUBLISHER

Rayner Unwin

1925 - 2000

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3265 LAWYER

Tony Honoré

1921 - 2019

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3278 ART CRITIC

David Sylvester

1924 - 2001

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3307 MATHEMATICIAN

Ian G. Macdonald

Born 1928

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3310 COSTUME DESIGNER

Julie Harris (costume designer)

1921 - 2015

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3313 ACTOR

Hughie Green

1920 - 1997

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3314 COMPOSER

Ronald Smith (musician)

1922 - 2004

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3315 PAINTER

Joe Tilson

Born 1928

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3325 SINGER

Dickie Valentine

1929 - 1971

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3329 LINGUIST

Eric P. Hamp

1920 - 2019

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3338 ECONOMIST

Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross

1924 - 2006

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3344 PRIEST

Hugh Montefiore

1920 - 2005

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3383 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Lorraine Copeland

1921 - 2013

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3411 WRITER

Donald G. Payne

1924 - 2018

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3459 MONK

John Main

1926 - 1982

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3488 PHOTOGRAPHER

Marti Friedlander

1928 - 2016

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3502 BANDLEADER

Jack Parnell

1923 - 2010

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3504 CINEMA

Robert Paynter

1928 - 2010

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3510 ACTOR

Terence Morgan

1921 - 2005

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3525 COSTUME DESIGNER

Phyllis Dalton

Born 1925

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3552 PHYSICIST

Felix Pirani

1928 - 2015

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3561 DANCER

Joan Jara

Born 1927

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3595 POLITICIAN

Richard Marsh, Baron Marsh

1928 - 2011

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3614 ACTOR

David Peel (actor)

1920 - 1981

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3615 ACTOR

Digby Wolfe

1929 - 2012

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3618 NOVELIST

Gwendoline Butler

1922 - 2013

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3640 POLITICIAN

Maurice Macmillan

1921 - 1984

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3678 WRITER

David Chavchavadze

1924 - 2014

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3682 ACTOR

Gerald Harper

Born 1929

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3690 PEER

James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

1929 - 2015

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3707 ACTOR

Jill Balcon

1925 - 2009

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3711 MATHEMATICIAN

Oliver Selfridge

1926 - 2008

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3720 HISTORIAN

R. W. Davies

Born 1925

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3748 PRODUCER

Peter Bryant

1923 - 2006

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3774 MUSIC

Tony Crombie

1925 - 1999

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3796 ARISTOCRAT

Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner

1926 - 2010

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3798 POET

U. A. Fanthorpe

1929 - 2009

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3806 WRITER

William Stevenson (Canadian writer)

1924 - 2013

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3809 BANDLEADER

Cab Kaye

1921 - 2000

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3855 MILITAR

Frank Kitson

Born 1926

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3860 ACTOR

Peter Hammond (actor)

1923 - 2011

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3866 JOURNALIST

Basil Copper

1924 - 2013

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3890 WRITER

Eric Hill

1927 - 2014

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3896 JOURNALIST

Derek Jameson

1929 - 2012

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3900 POLITICIAN

Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth

1923 - 1981

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3925 ACTOR

Gerald Campion

1921 - 2002

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3955 PHOTOGRAPHER

Marilyn Silverstone

1929 - 1999

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3974 MEDIEVALIST

Susan Reynolds

Born 1929

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3996 MILITAR

Bill Gunston

1927 - 2013

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4029 ACTOR

Nosher Powell

1928 - 2013

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4058 PHYSICIST

John Clive Ward

1924 - 2000

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4104 POLITICIAN

Stanley Clinton-Davis, Baron Clinton-Davis

Born 1928

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4106 ACTIVIST

Carmel Budiardjo

Born 1925

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4110 WRITER

John Warrack

Born 1928

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4121 ACTOR

John Abineri

1928 - 2000

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4130 BALLET

Beryl Grey

Born 1927

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4147 HISTORIAN

Geoffrey Ashe

Born 1923

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4158 DAUGHTER

Tina Onassis Niarchos

1929 - 1974

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4170 WRITER

Denis Gifford

1927 - 2000

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4180 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Roger Pearson (anthropologist)

Born 1927

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4183 FOOTBALL

Bedford Jezzard

1927 - 2005

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4192 ACADEMIC

Michael Goulder

1927 - 2010

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4200 ACTOR

James Grout

1927 - 2012

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4236 SINOLOGIST

Denis Twitchett

1925 - 2006

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4255 ACTOR

Conrad Phillips

1925 - 2016

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4266 ACTOR

Ursula Howells

1922 - 2005

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4284 PAINTER

John Christoforou

1921 - 2014

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4294 ASTRONOMER

Ewen Whitaker

1922 - 2016

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4323 MUSIC

Ivor Raymonde

1926 - 1990

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4357 MUSIC

Ralph Sharon

1923 - 2015

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4364 CONDUCTOR

Arthur Oldham

1926 - 2003

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4382 ACTOR

David de Keyser

Born 1927

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4396 WRITER

Nicholas Fisk

1923 - 2016

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4412 ACTOR

Norman Rodway

1929 - 2001

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4420 ACTOR

Aubrey Woods

1928 - 2013

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4431 PHYSICIST

Edward Thomas Hall

1924 - 2001

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4441 THERAPIST

Helen Bamber

1925 - 2014

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4443 SOVRANO

Andrew Bertie

1929 - 2008

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4457 ACTOR

Michael Bryant (actor)

1928 - 2002

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4474 JOURNALIST

Robin Day

1923 - 2000

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4498 COMPOSER

Geoffrey Bush

1920 - 1998

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4532 NEUROSCIENTIST

Geoffrey Burnstock

1929 - 2020

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4547 PHOTOGRAPHER

Peter Jackson (biologist)

1926 - 2016

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4588 ACTOR

Michael Sinelnikoff

Born 1928

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4609 SCREENWRITER

Jack Pulman

1925 - 1979

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4610 FILM

John Krish

1923 - 2016

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4622 PRIEST

Peter Milward

1925 - 2017

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4628 ROYAUME

Prince Nikola of Yugoslavia (1928–1954)

1928 - 1954

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4683 SPY

Eileen Nearne

1921 - 2010

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4684 EPIDEMIOLOGIST

Basil Hetzel

1922 - 2017

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4687 EMPEROR

Prince Andrew Romanov

Born 1923

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4690 VOCALIST

Bryan Johnson (singer)

1926 - 1995

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4711 EXPLORER

Tom Bourdillon

1924 - 1956

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4720 ACTOR

Maria Charles

Born 1929

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4730 ACTOR

Robert Arden

1922 - 2004

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4735 SOCIOLOGIST

A. H. Halsey

1923 - 2014

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4740 SINGER

Brenda Wootton

1928 - 1994

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4763 ACTOR

John Woodnutt

1924 - 2006

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4792 PRODUCER

John Hawkesworth (producer)

1920 - 2003

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4803 CONDUCTOR

Cyril Ornadel

1924 - 2011

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4807 SINGER

Alexander Young (tenor)

1920 - 2000

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4819 DAUGHTER

Rosalind Shand

1921 - 1994

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4823 ENTOMOLOGIST

Norman W. Moore

1923 - 2015

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4829 CHEMIST

Alan R. Katritzky

1928 - 2014

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4845 FILM

Michael Birkett, 2nd Baron Birkett

1929 - 2015

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4867 MAYOR

Paul Ilyinsky

1928 - 2004

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4873 JUDGE

Denys Roberts

1923 - 2013

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4891 DANCER

Walter Laird

1920 - 2002

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4894 FILM

Louis Marks

1928 - 2010

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4895 ARCHITECT

Owen Luder

Born 1928

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4924 MUSIC

Kenny Clare

1929 - 1984

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