After the consultation of people across the UK was done, the winner of the new £50 note (the UK's largest denomination) will now feature Alan Turing, for his work in cracking the 'Enigma code' during World War Two, which is estimated to have shortened the war by two years and saving an estimated 14 million lives and for his work into the development of early computers as well.
Records of course were classified until the mid 1970s. As a student of history and the news, I grew up learning about this as I was interested. Younger and modern audiences will know him from films like 'The Imitation Game' and the tragic circumstances that ended his life too early and before his role during World War Two, was known to the rest of the world.
He was a favourite of Winston Churchill and was given a Royal Pardon in December 2013. Today, a conviction he would never have received and shouldn't have then either, in many people's opinions.
If you want to learn more about the man and the story of him and what happened with the enigma machine, World War Two and his tragedy that befell him after the war, 'The Imitation Game' is a good film to see, if you don't to read about it.
The £50 note will be going polymer in 2021 as well and will be the last of the current British bank notes to go 'plastic'. The £20 note will go polymer (plastic) in 2020, £5 and £10 have already done so.
For more, see Pardon (in Turing (the man on
