Alan is best remembered for his code-cracking work that proved vital to the Allies in World War Two.

This visionary, however, faced harassment in his lifetime when he was convicted under Victorian-era homophobic laws.

Supporters have been campaigning for long to ensure that Alan Turing receives greater recognition for his service to the nation.

Two years after choosing castration to avoid a custodial sentence, he ended his life at the age of 41 by eating an apple laced with cyanide, reported CNN.

Sex between men over the age of 21 was decriminalized in England and Wales in 1967. However the law was not changed in Scotland until 1980 and in Northern Ireland until 1982, the report further said.

Then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had apologised for the treatment given to Turning  by the judiciary of the country in 2009, media reports said.

He had even recieved a royal pardon in 2014.

The Bank of England said in a statement Turing was homosexual and was posthumously pardoned by the Queen having been convicted of gross indecency for his relationship with a man.

Meanwhile, speaking on selecting Alan Turing's image for the notes, Bank of England said in a statement: "Alan Turing was chosen following the Bank’s character selection process including advice from scientific experts. In 2018, the Banknote Character Advisory Committee chose to celebrate the field of science on the £50 note and this was followed by a six week public nomination period."

The Bank said it received a total of 227,299 nominations, covering 989 eligible characters.

The Committee considered all the nominations before deciding on a shortlist of 12 options, which were put to the Governor for him to make the final decision.

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, commented: “Alan Turing was an outstanding mathematician whose work has had an enormous impact on how we live today. As the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, as well as war hero, Alan Turing’s contributions were far ranging and path breaking. Turing is a giant on whose shoulders so many now stand.” 

The Bank further said the new £50 note will celebrate Alan Turing and his pioneering work with computers. As shown in the concept image, the design on the reverse of the note will feature:

Image: Bank of England Twitter page