Marcus Binney is one of the unsung heroes of the last 50 years. He has saved more of England’s built heritage than any other person alive. When he founded SAVE (Save Britain’s Heritage) in the mid-1970s with no more than a wing and a prayer, nobody had any idea that the organisation would become the stormtroopers of heritage. He once told me that his stepfather, a decorated soldier, had advised him: “It doesn’t matter what you do in life, whether you are a soldier, a poet or an architectural historian, the most important quality is courage.” This Marcus has had in spades, holding every secretary of state to account and perhaps, for this reason, he has never received his dues. It is good, therefore, that he recently won the European Heritage Champion Award.