INSPIRATIONAL people from North Yorkshire’s history are being celebrated in a new campaign.

Great North Yorkshire Sons and Daughters will draw on artefacts from the county’s archives and local history groups to tell the stories of incredible characters from the past.

The public is being invited to nominate the figures who helped shape their communities. Ten life stories will be featured before they are put to a public vote to find the greatest son or daughter.

The campaign will celebrate the values, qualities and achievements that were born here and that continue to influence the county and the rest of the world.

First in the limelight is Miss Ursula Lascelles, a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, born into privilege in Sheriff Hutton in 1890. She tended to injured and dying soldiers from all over the world and kept in touch with survivors until she died aged 102. Enlisted to the British Red Cross Hospital in Swinton Grange, Ursula walked away from home comforts to provide help and companionship to the injured in their darkest hours in Britain and France during the First World War.

Margaret Mackinder, Slingsby Local History Group Coordinator, said: “I met Ursula when I moved to the village with my husband in 1978. Ursula had a dominant role in the village, she was a forceful character and highly respected because of that.

“She was a very lively little old lady, probably quite eccentric. Her impact on people in the village was strong. I think she had a great impact on North Yorkshire and she brought a huge contribution to the record of North Yorkshire.”

Ursula’s impact on the world is clear through the tokens of gratitude from soldiers. One of the most prominent records held is a poppy, which was taken from the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and added to Ursula’s autograph book in 1918 by Sergeant Raymond L Piper: “La Signy Farm ‘Somme’, Very Sincerely Yours”.

Chief Executive of North Yorkshire County Council Richard Flinton said: “It is the people who make the place and our values of resilience, honesty and community spirit were Made in North Yorkshire but exported all over the world through the impact of people like Ursula.

“One of the early Red Cross volunteers, she continued to give of her time to the charity all of her life, no doubt inspiring many others to do likewise. And we still have a thriving volunteer army today running our libraries and responding in emergencies.

“But we are also a place of innovation with global influence – did you know the first glider and artificial hand were made right here?

“We would love the public to get involved with Great North Yorkshire Sons and Daughters, so if there is someone who you feel made a difference to your community then get in touch.”

Nominations can be made to MadeInNorthYorkshire@northyorks.gov.uk

Read Ursula’s story and more about Made in North Yorkshire at www.northyorks.gov.uk/made-in-north-yorkshire