Cov legend could be face of new £50

ARCHIVISTS at Coventry University are behind a bid to put a hero of the city’s industry on the new £50 note.

The university, formerly the Lanchester Polytechnic, has started a campaign to honour engineer Frederick Lanchester by having him as the face of the £50.

Coventry University historians working in the Lanchester Interactive Archive have started the campaign to recognise Frederick Lanchester for his pioneering contribution to the British motor industry.

Jacqueline Cawston, Lanchester Interactive Archive project director, said: “Frederick Lanchester is a Coventry and a Midlands legacy.

“We want to see his name celebrated and what better way than as being the face of the new £50 note.

“He was a true genius, and pioneered so many inventions years ahead of their time, many of which are still in use today.

“Coventry was where Fred and his brothers based their motor car company and we want that heritage to be celebrated, especially as we approach the City of Culture year.”

The Coventry-based Lanchester Motor Company was founded by Frederick Lanchester and his brothers Frank and George; they built the first all-British fourwheel motor car in 1895.

The Lanchester Interactive Archive, funded through the Heritage Lottery and based at Coventry University’s Lanchester Library, is the world’s biggest collection of material dedicated to its namesake.

The permanent exhibition space has been designed to preserve and promote Fred’s legacy to students and members of the public all year round.

The Bank of England closes nominations on December 14 - it said any scientists on the list for consideration must be real and dead.

Names can be anyone who has furthered the field of science.

Steam engine builders James Watt and Matthew Boulton are on the current £50, issued in 2011.

The current bookies favourite is Stephen Hawking with odds of 5/4 at William Hill, followed by Nobel-prize winning chemist Dorothy Hodgkin 4/1.