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More of the Peters family story

The history of Jimmy Peters, the first black man to play Rugby Union for England, and the sketchy life of his father George is told in a previous blog. In this post, I return...
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James Peters, 1879-1954, England Rugby Union International and Gentleman

‘Peters, it may be mentioned is, as a Rugby player, English whatever his nationality proper may be.’   Western Mail, 8.9.1906. N.B. This account contains terms that are no longer acceptable, though were in common...
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Joachim Ganz or Why I love research………you never know what you’ll find next!

A few years ago, an emailer to my website asked me to help find her Jewish ancestor who lived in Bristol.  Alas I found nothing on the lady’s particular family, but after a few...
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Roy Hackett mural

A mural of Bristol civil rights hero Roy Hackett taken down by emergency services

Avon and Somerset Police were called to St Paul’s when rendering on the side of a building came loose. They then called on firefighters from Temple to join them in Byron Street after part...
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“ZULU CHIEF DIES A SOLDIER’S DEATH” – Buried at Arno’s Vale

“With military honours, a Zulu Chief who served with the South African Labour Battalion was buried at Arno’s Vale on Saturday. His name was Private Mrogoy Modlala (sic) who died at Southmead War Hospital...
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James Peters: The First Black Rugby player to represent England

Now that a breath taking Six Nations has drawn to a close I would like to shed some light on James Peters, the first black rugby player to represent England. It would be eighty...
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More Black Bristolians

My book, “Black Bristolians” was written in 1986 and I added a supplement a few years later. As with much of my output it took the form of lists in name order. The book...
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Black Bristolians of the 18th & 19th Centuries

In the mid-1950s, at the impressionable age of 18, I remember reading “The Sun is My Undoing” by Marguerite Steen, a popular historical novelist of the time, which alluded to a “Bristol slave market”....
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Black Bristolians – Addendum

Some additional Black Bristolians that I found after completing the book. Includes Pero, who is now immortalised in the name of the bridge across the Bristol floating harbour. Click the link below to download:...
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