FORMER celebrity photographer Duncan Raban is on a mission to celebrate the everyday people who are Britain’s real heroes.
After 20 years as a jet-setting snapper to the stars, Duncan, 55, decided to focus instead on the general public.
He has spent the past five years driving all over the country, capturing some 1,500 complete strangers on camera.
All this week we will bring you the inspirational stories behind the people he has met.
Hugo Reece
HUGO’S Superman costume aptly sums up what Duncan thinks of the three-year-old. Duncan says:
“Hugo is a true superman. He is in the top five of the 1,500 wonderful people I have met.
I first met him in Great Ormond Street Hospital when he was six weeks old.
Tough ... Hugo, seen here with mum Claire, has been in and out of hospital since birth
Duncan Raban
It turned out he had a rare condition called CHARGE Syndrome.
He was partially blind, had heart problems, breathing problems, growth problems, genital abnormalities and he was deaf.
He had little chance of survival but, to cut a long story short, he is now three.
Hugo is still blind and deaf and has other problems but he is living proof that great things do happen in the NHS.
TOP photographer reveals Britain's 'ordinary people' are the motivation behind his latest pictures
He spent his first five months in Great Ormond Street Hospital but most weeks since, he has had a series of routine hospital appointments.
The only time it gets him down is when they take blood samples, because he can’t see or hear the needle coming.
I recently went to see his incredible parents Claire and John and I bought him a Superman outfit.
He can only walk about four feet, because he can’t see very well or balance, but I managed to capture a frame of him as he ran towards me in the outfit.”
Aldo Raffa, Natalie Temple and Bruno Massey-Silk
THREE twentysomethings joyously leaping into a fountain in Kennington, central London, turned Duncan’s head and he got talking to Aldo, 21, Natalie, 22, and Bruno, 26. Duncan says:
“I was in London when I saw these three youngsters jumping in a fountain, having a great time.
'They encapsulate the joy of youth' ... Aldo Raffa, Natalie Temple and Bruno Massey-Silk
Duncan Raban
There they were, three people in the peak of life, and I thought it summarised how truly wonderful life is.
You know how it is when you are young and you have your whole life ahead of you, without a worry in the world.
Aldo is a TV psychic and he told me, “Happiness and joy are the foundations of life. We all inherit happiness and it is not a destination we have to go to.”
Smiles ahead ... Bruno Massey-Silk shows off his face piercings
Natalie is a fashion design student and Bruno is a trainee photographer who has created a unique identity for himself with very trendy face piercings.
As they jumped in and out of the fountain I could see a magical picture so I said, “Hello gang, can we do some snaps? You encapsulate the joy of youth.”
Sylvie and John Cable
SYLVIE and John were having forty winks in their campervan during a gorgeous summer afternoon at Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. Duncan says:
“Last year I saw this camper van parked in a car park near the beach.
So in love ... Sylvie Cable with husband John, who sadly passed away three months ago
Duncan Raban
The curtains were drawn and I wondered who was in there, so I looked in and there was an old chap with a big belly asleep in in his pants. In the driving seat was a woman asleep too.
It was a lovely picture of an English couple relaxing on holiday.
I cheekily put my camera in through the window to take a photo and the chap started waking up so I knocked on the door and said, “Hello there”.
Happy campers ... every year the couple would tour the south coast in their van
Duncan Raban
I spent the next three hours talking to John and Sylvie and it was one of the happiest days of my life, just hearing of their wonderful life together. They had spent 45 years together, bringing up a family, and every year they went on holiday for five weeks, touring the south coast in their camper van, always taking the same route from Felixstowe to Bognor Regis.
The first camper van they had, John had built himself from an old bread van. He had not managed to finish it in time for the holiday so one side was painted and the other side was still “Better Bake” green.
He was such a lovely man but already quite poorly after a knee operation that had gone badly, but he never complained.
Sadly, he died three months ago, aged 85.
I’m just so glad that the gorgeous Sylvie, who is 70, now has some lovely photographs to remember him as he was.”
Geoffrey Potter
THE 84-year-old Geoffrey caught Duncan’s eye because he spurted a “fountain” as he swam. A quick chat revealed why. Duncan says:
“I love swimming daily and recently began to go to my local baths in suburban Orpington, Kent.
Fountain of knowledge ... Geoffrey spends three hours-a-day in the library reading
Duncan Raban
One morning I saw a very tall man walking along beside the pool with very high-waisted swimming trunks and I thought, “Who is he?”
He got into the pool and as he swam backwards I noticed a fountain of water coming out of his mouth. He looked like a whale.
I stopped him at the end of a length and said, “Excuse me, I’m Duncan. I noticed you’ve got a fountain coming out of your mouth.”
He said, “Oh, I’m so old, I’m leaking!” and he smiled, showing me his one tooth.
I asked him if I could do some pictures when he had finished and Geoff said, “What for?” and I said, “Why not?”
He used to be a customs officer at Dover and at Luton Airport and the wonderful thing about Geoffrey is that he is as normal as normal can be.
His passion is learning French and he goes to the library and reads for three hours a day.
I asked him if he had ever done anything silly, and he said, “No,” so I asked him if he would like to.
Suddenly he ducked under the water and came up pulling a wonderful face and waving his hands.
It just shows how wonderful our older generation are if you simply take the trouble to talk to them.
The truth is that everyone you go and talk to is interesting.
They have all got a story, especially the older generation.
If you are talking to a group of three pensioners — three 80-year-olds — that’s 240 years of wisdom.
They are our walking libraries but most of the time we ignore them.”
Stan Bembenek
WHEN Duncan spotted one-legged Stan, 63, walking “at high speed” down a high street in Surrey, he knew he had to say hello. Duncan says:
“Stan is incredible. He has only one leg but he plays golf for England.
England golf star ... Stan Bembenek had to have his leg amputated in 1987 following battle with cancer
Duncan Raban
He played in the first Disabled Golf Society International last year and is one of the best one-legged golfers in the world.
Incredible ... Stan plays off a handicap of 27
He tells everyone that no one will employ him because he’s short-sighted, deaf and only has one leg, so he runs his own electronics company in Finchampstead, near Wokingham, Berkshire.
Stan had to have a hip replacement because of cancer and his doctor told him to take up walking to keep fit. He tried golf instead.
Then, within nine months the hip failed because of the cancer and he had his leg amputated in 1987.
That would finish most people, but he took up disco dancing to get fit.
On the day he went back to the golf range for more lessons, his prosthetic leg was in for repair but they told him he played perfectly well without it.
Now, as well as being vice-chairman of Reading Town football club, he is vice-president of the Disabled Golf Society.
Apart from the obvious “handicap”, he plays off a handicap of 27.
He balances perfectly and when he takes a swing at the ball he spins around like a spinning top. But, modestly, he thinks other members of the Society, who have Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy, are much more impressive.”
More stories of Great Britons in The Sun all this week
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