I know, I can hear you saying "Who?", and that is exactly why it is unfair. Grandad Frederick, 1888-1954, was an inventor, but huh! No blue plaque for him.

You've heard of Dyson and his cleaner, you've heard of Kirby and his grip, the ball pen invented by Kenny or Michael, but no, nothing for poor old Fred.

It was 1944 when I first found out. Actually on my seventh birthday.

Grandad Fred had bought me a present, Meccano 5A. For those that are too young to remember Meccano it was a boys construction toy with lengths that could be fixed together with nuts and bolts that allowed the "young constructor" to build models of cranes, trains, cars etc, namely, an errection set.

At the previous Christmas I had received Meccano set number 5 and by Christmas day evening I had a partially completed model of a railway engine, unfortunately to build that engine required Meccano set 6. Set 5A contained the extra parts that made set 5 up to set 6, I could finish the model.

Grandad Fred was there to help and as the final wheel was fitted to the undercarriage he said to me, "Not many people know this, but, when I was your age I invented the wheel".

Even at that time I thought it was pretty smart of him at only 7 years old to invent something as important as that, but you know, he has never been given the credit. That is a bit unfair.