In the Stone Gazette, Campaign for R. J. Mitchell to appear on new £50 note.

Looks great. Though I’ve been a bit dubious about this ‘call to nominate’, as I suspect the final decision will be political. They may even already have someone lined up who ticks all the boxes.

Locally, our scientist can’t be Sir Oliver Lodge, great as he was — because he also wrapped himself up in a whole lot of spiritualist nonsense for decades. To use him would be interpreted by the literal-minded outrage-junkies as an endorsement of spiritualism, and journalists desperate for click-bait would then stir up a unwanted media ‘debate’ and hoo-haa about it.

But R. J. Mitchell is a strong choice. A bit too much of an engineer rather than a scientist, perhaps, in terms of what they seem to want on this £50 note. But he should certainly be put forward strongly, in the hope he might be filed away for use on future notes.

It would also be nice to see Staffordshire’s Erasmus Darwin so honoured, at some point in the future.