Remarkable Liverpool figures immortalised in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

The latest update of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB) adds biographies of 238 people who left their mark on the UK, and who died in the year 2021, including notable Liverpool figures.

Among them is singer-songwriter, musician, and television personality Gerry Marsden (1942–2021), who led the iconic rock band Gerry and the Pacemakers until the members parted ways in 1966. Born at Liverpool Maternity Hospital, Marsden’s family lived at 8 Menzies Street in Toxteth at the time of his birth.

Here in Liverpool, he will forever associated with the Mersey Ferries through the classic song ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’. He was even given the honorary Freedom of the Ferries award in 1985 in recognition of this special connection and, following his death, Liverpool’s Pier Head Ferry Terminal was renamed The Liverpool Gerry Marsden Ferry Terminal.

Janice Long (1955–2021) has also been added to the Oxford DNB. She was the first woman to present a daily music show on BBC Radio 1, and the first regular female presenter on Top of the Pops. She was also born at Liverpool Maternity Hospital. At the time of her birth the family lived at 280 Marsh Lane, Bootle, but soon moved to 74 Cedar Street, Bootle. She saw Liverpool as a ‘progressive’ and modern city for women compared to London in her youth.

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Also joining the list is the striker Roger Hunt (1938–2021), who played with Liverpool FC for eleven seasons and scored 285 goals, setting the club’s scoring record until it was surpassed by Ian Rush.

The biography of gold Olympic medallist Jeannette Altwegg (1930–2021) has been added to the Oxford DNB. The figure skater earned the top prize in the ladies’ singles event at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, in 1952.

She had won the bronze medal in the same category at the previous winter games in St Moritz, Switzerland, in 1948. At the age of six Jeannette Altwegg learned to skate at the Palace Ice Rink, Liverpool. Her family lived in Merseyside and then Glenisla, Blundell Road, Hightown.

April Ashley (1935–2021), born George Jamieson, spent a lifetime advocating for transgender rights and was made an MBE in 2012 for services to transgender equality. Jamieson was born at Sefton General Hospital, 126 Smithdown Road, Liverpool.

Liverpool made Ashley a citizen of honour in 2015, and an exhibition, ‘Portrait of a Lady’, ran for twelve months in the same year at the Museum of Liverpool before transferring to London. She has now been added to the Oxford DNB.

The exquisite stained glasswork of Patrick Reyntiens (1925–2021) and his frequent collaborator, John Piper, can be found in parish churches and cathedrals across Britain, including in the Great Hall of Christ Church, Oxford. Reyntiens designed the stained-glass window for the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool; at the time (1963–7), it was the largest-ever religious stained-glass commission.

They join around 4,000 people with Liverpool connections in the dictionary including Beatles musician John Lennon and the novelist Beryl Bainbridge.