Hidden Heroes
Throughout the history of the Isle of Wight there have been fascinating and inspiring people who’ve had a remarkable impact on the Island. Several of the Museums and Schools project partners collaborated on the Hidden Heroes project, creating resource packs for primary schools for you to use in the classroom. They contain lots of ideas to help you explore seven of the key local Heroes, bringing them to life and telling the story of the Isle of Wight, from the Dinosaur Age right through to the Facebook Age.
King Arwald
The last Jutish pagan king who ruled the Isle of Wight in the 7th century and died defending it from Anglo-Saxon invaders.
Isabella de Fortibus
The last ever independent Lord of the Isle of Wight, known as ‘The Lady of the Isle’ she was a rich and powerful young heiress who lived at Carisbrooke Castle.
Julia Margaret Cameron
Living and working at Dimbola in Freshwater in the 1860s and 70s, Cameron was responsible for turning photography into an art form, experimenting with soft focus and pioneering the first photographic close-up portraits.
The Reverend William D Fox
An influential amateur fossil hunter and collector, who worked as a curate at Brighstone in the late 19th Century.
‘Joe’ Carstairs
Known as the ‘fastest woman on the water’ in the 1920s. She was an openly gay, female powerboat racer who spent several years on the Isle of Wight.
John Ackroyd
One of the designers of the first electric car was also involved in designing and building Thrust 2, which held the land speed record from 1983 to 1997.
Andy Stanford-Clark
Master Inventor and Chief Technology Officer for IBM UK, Andy Stanford-Clark was one of the co-inventors of MQTT, the communication protocol that drives Facebook Messenger.
This audience-engagement project launched in 2018 and was funded by Arts Council England through the Museum Resilience Fund.