22 Black Country Heroes who made us love our region more, according to locals

In the four metropolitan boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton you will meet incredible characters.

We asked our readers to name the locals they most admire in the Black Country – and we’ve been inundated with nearly 1,000 responses as we prepare for an exciting new awards event called Black Country Heroes, as the Express & Star celebrates 150 years.

A glittering ceremony will be held in their honor at Molineux on September 23 and you have until Sunday June 23 to nominate your hero for one of the 12 awards.

The categories are: Child of Courage Award, Future Star, Young Star, Volunteer of the Year, Community Champion, Environment Award, Fundraiser of the Year, Hero in Uniform, Outstanding Courage Award, NHS Hero Award and Champion for Wellbeing and Health mental.

You can find out more and nominate your hero here: Black Country Heroes

Before the awards, let’s take a look at the 21 Black Country heroes according to our readers:

1) Duncan Edwards – the footballer from Woodside in Dudley who played for England in the 1950s and was ranked as one of the toughest of his time. Duncan was one of the Busby Babes and died in the Munich air disaster.

2) Blind Dave Heeley – a father-of-three from West Bromwich who is the first blind person to complete the seven marathon challenge.

3) Billy Spakemon he won accolades for his charity work and more.

4) Robert Edwards and Jan who runs Sgt Pepper’s Friends Group at Wall Heath Community Center – which is a popular group for the over 60s in Dudley

5) Steve Bull – the Tipton-born Wolves star who has been capped 13 times for England. Bull holds the club’s goalscoring record with 306, including 18 hat tricks.

6) Manny Singh Kang – a Wolves supporter who has won plenty of plaudits for raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for Dementia UK, including the 2024 London Marathon and walking the 195 from Wolves to Newcastle with his son Jeevan.

7) Robert Plant – the singer from West Bromwich, who rose to fame as the lead singer of Led Zeppelin.

8) Bed Cowdell – born in Smethwick, the former boxer challenged twice for the WBC featherweight world title in the 1980s.

9) Clova Court – the athlete moved from Jamaica to Dudley aged 17 and went on to represent Team GB at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as well as the World Championships, European Indoor Championships and Commonwealth Games.

10) Frank Skinner – The West Bromwich comedian has hosted several TV shows, an unknown for co-writing the lyrics to the Three Lions football anthem.

11) Lenny Henry – born in Dudley, Lenny began his career as a stand up comedian and impressionist in the 1970s and is now one of the most recognizable faces in the media, with awards for acting, singing and presenting. He also co-founded Comic Relief.

12) Jeff Astle – the West Brom star, who won five England caps, was known as ‘The King’ at The Hawthorns, where fans still mourn his death in 2002.

13) Jude Bellingham – born in Stourbridge, Bellingham is one of the most successful young British footballers today.

14) Tipton Slasher – The champion boxer, whose real name is William Perry, died in Bilston in 1880 and his legendary fighting career continues with a calendar recently produced by Tipton Town Libraries Local History Group – featuring the slasher portrayed as knitted figures.

15) Noddy Holder – born in Walsall, Noddy is famous for his hits with Slade, one of the most successful bands of the 1970s with that festive hit, Merry Christmas Everybody

16) Ronnie O’Sullivan – born in Wordsley in Stourbridge, the professional snooker player is widely recognized as one of the most talented players in history.

17) Dorothy Round – won the Wimbledon singles title in 1934 and 1937 and was born in Dudley.

18) Dolly Allen – comedian, singer and performer, Dolly was born in Wordsley Workhouse in Staffordshire in 1906. She died aged 69 in 1975 and continues to win admirers.

19) Michael Rutter – also born in Worsdley in Staffordshire, the biker nicknamed The Blade has gained a legion of fans.

20) Dawn Astle – Daughter of West Brom legend Jeff Astle, Dawn has played her part in a new fund to support players with dementia.

21) Kelly Groucutt – from Clseley in Staffordshire, Kelly is best known as the bassist and second vocalist of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra from 1974 to 1982.

You can read the full Express & Star Facebook post here – don’t forget to nominate anyone you think deserves a Black Country Hero award at the Express & Star awards ceremony at Molineux on September 23rd. The deadline for nominations is June 23. Full info here: Black Country Heroes Nominations.