As the year began, a city worker who was diagnosed with cancer just weeks after his best friend and mother died of the disease has made history by achieving the feat of conquering the South Pole.
Rob Smith, 43, from Harpenden, reached the South Pole on January 9, making him the first British explorer to pioneer a new route and successfully ski to the South Pole.
Tributes were also paid to an off-duty prison officer who died in the early hours of Christmas Day.
Father-of-two Nick Medlin, 57, formerly of Park Street, died following an alleged assault outside a pub on the Isle of Wight.
A special Olympics gold medallist from St Albans, Matt Dodds, 24, was chosen to help take the ethos of the groundbreaking tournament to the world after being chosen as a ‘global change ambassador’.
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