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...
‘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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
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”....
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:...
I have been researching the social history of the West Country for 45 years. During this time I have collated information on a wide range of people living and working in the West Country including miners, ethnic minorities, petty criminals, sailors, tommies, benefactors, brassmakers and many more.
The thing that I find amazing is that ordinary people always lived extraordinary lives. I hope you like my blog that brings together my lifetime of research.
Wanton Wenches/Incorrigible Rogues Chapt.3 The Bristol First Fleeters. Now posted. Anyone out there related to these 'Founders of a Nation'? https://www.bristolhistory.co.uk/2022/05/04/wanton-wenches-
Another Bristol Life: 'Uncle Norman'. Norman Mounter, was park keeper at Perrett Park, Knowle, but aged 19 was a POW of the Chinese in Korea, 'The Forgotten War. https://www.bristolhistory.co.uk/2022/02/20/uncle-norman-