Over the course of seven years one intrepid explorer from Kent secured his place in the history books after walking 19,019 miles from one end of the Earth to the other.

That accolade belonged to none other than British adventurer, teacher and campaigner George Meegan.

In 1977, George set off from the southernmost point of South America - Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, and headed towards the northernmost point of the globe - Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

His epic journey took him more than six-and-half-years to complete and during his travels he appeared on various US talk shows and news channels while traversing the States - even landing up at the Georgia home of former US President Jimmy Carter.

Now, following his death at the age of 71 in January this year, family and friends are fundraising for a memorial plaque to be placed in his home town - Rainham.

Spearheaded by George’s daughter Ayumi, whose name means walker in Japanese, they believe while the intrepid British adventurre has been recognised abroad, he has not received the credit he deserves in this home country.

They are raising money for a fitting permanent tribute for him in the place he grew up, was educated and lived on and off between here and Japan for many years. Click here to contribute to the fundraiser.

Mum-of-three Ayumi, who last weekend attended a memorial service for her late father at St Margaret’s Church in Rainham, where his ashes were scattered, said despite travelling the world, he was still very much a ”Rainham boy”.

The 45-year-old, whose mum is Yoshiko, George’s wife, said: “What he achieved was recognised in America and Japan. He had to go to America to get his book published.”

George’s taste for travelling started after leaving Rainham Boys School at the age of 16 and joining the Merchant Navy to be a navigator.

Seafaring took him to more than 100 international ports of call, including Hong Kong, Bombay, Calcutta, Melbourne, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Antwerp, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.

It was when he retired from the service in 1976 that he embarked on what he described as his “odyssey” - an unbroken walk of the Western Hemisphere from 1977 to 1983.

He notched up 41 million steps in the challenge, wore out 12 pairs of hiking boots, married his Japanese sweetheart and fathered two childrenm Ayumi and son Geoffrey.

On the downside, he was shot at, survived a knife attack and was beaten up by drug dealers.

From the Arctic, he returned home to England to write up thousands of handwritten notes penned en route to compile his memoir “The Longest Walk”.

Surprisingly, major housing publishers turned his manuscript down and he was forced to take a job as a courier for DHL to earn a living.

However, once he had saved up enough, he flew to New York and Paragon Press acquired the rights to the title. It sold well and was translated into Italian and Japanese.

George went on to become an associate professor at Kobe University in Japan and toured giving lectures on his passion for the indigenous communities he had encountered on his travels.

His friend of 40 years, Jim Hattersley, who lives in Rainham, said: “George developed a warmth for humanity generally.

“He used to stay at his brother’s house in Rainham and we would go to visit places around the town.

“He was worth more fame than he got. He deserves a permanent memorial somewhere people can see, like the station or in the precinct.”

While in Rainham, he dabbled in politics, representing the Green Party in a local council by-election in 2016.

He previously stood as a Medway Independent Party candidate in the Gillingham and Rainham constituency in the 2010 general elections, polling just 109 votes.

In his latter years, he developed Alzheimer’s and moved to Marlborough House care home in the High Street.

About two years ago he moved to Burnley in Lancashire where Ayumi and her young family live.

He died in hospital there on January 10.

George’s gargantuan trek, which took 2,426 days, is still recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest journey of the Pan-American highway on foot.