Alan Turing OBE.

Turing was a genius - simple as that. He was the leading light in the team of decrypters who worked secretly at Bletchley Park in WW II and who played a big part in winning the war - particularly the Battle of the Atlantic. He is considered the father of the modern computer. Unfortunately he was a homosexual at a time when this was not only socially unacceptable, but also illegal. When this fact came out in 1952, he was prosecuted and as an alternative to imprisonment agreed to undergo "chemical castration". Shortly after, and probably as a result, he committed suicide. This has been a blot on the national copybook ever since. The Prime Minister has finally offered an apology for the shameful way he was treated. Not before time.