Friday 11 July 2008 afternoon ceremony
Ken Follett
Sir David Attenborough
Ken Follett (DLitt)
Ken Follett is one of the
most popular authors in
the world.
Born in Cardiff in 1949,
he won admission in
1967 to University
College London, where
he studied Philosophy.
He has sold more than
one hundred million
books. His first success
was Eye of the Needle,
published in 1978, which
won the ‘Edgar’ award for
best novel. Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan starred in
the 1982 film.
He has since written thrillers and historical novels, all
international bestsellers, including The Pillars of the Earth,
which tells the story of the building of a cathedral in medieval
England; the sequel World Without End was published in
October 2007.
He is active in several literacy charities: he is president of
Dyslexia Action, a trustee of the National Literacy Trust and a
board director of the National Academy of Writing.
Ken is a Governor of Roebuck Primary School and Nursery
in Stevenage. He holds an honorary D.Litt degree (Doctor of
Literature) from the University of Glamorgan in his native
Wales.
He plays bass guitar in the blues band Damn Right I Got the
Blues and bass balalaika in the folk group Clog Iron. He is
married to Barbara Follett, the Member of Parliament for
Stevenage.
Listen to Ken Follett’s speech here.
Sir David Attenborough (DSc)
David Attenborough was
born in 1926. He
attended a grammar
school in Leicester and
then won a scholarship
to Cambridge University
where he took a degree
in Natural Sciences.
After National Service
with the Royal Navy, he
joined the BBC as a
trainee producer. He
produced a wide variety
of live studio
programmes before eventually specialising in natural history
and travel, both of which enabled him to travel to the four
corners of the world, filming animals.
In 1965 he was appointed Controller of BBC2, which was
less than a year old at the time. It was here that he
commissioned series such as Lord Clark’s Civilisation and
Jacob Bronowski’s Ascent of Man. More popularist
introductions included snooker coverage and the cult pop
programme, The Old Grey Whistle Test. After four years he
became editorially responsible for both BBC networks as
Director of Programmes.
In 1973, keen to return to programme making, he resigned
from his managerial duties. He produced a series on tribal
art, The Tribal Eye and then, in 1979, Life on Earth, The
Living Planet and The Trials of Life, all 12-part series
examining the natural world from evolutionary, ecological
and ethological points of view. These series were followed
by other award-winning programmes featuring birds,
mammals, terrestrial invertebrates, plants, fossils and, most
recently, amphibians and reptiles.
Listen to Sir David Attenborough’s speech here.
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