Category: 20th Century

Black sailors in the Royal Navy in World War One

John Ellis has struck a rich vein recently and several new pages have been added to the site. In each case the men were identified as being ‘of colour’ on their official records and John has been able to identify the ships they served on. The men have in common their Caribbean (or Bermudan) heritage and that they served during the War, in some cases almost nothing more is known about them (always frustrating). But, in the past, we have been contacted by descendants of people discussed on this site, it is always gratifying and rewarding when this happens.

John’s recent articles are about:

  • Samuel Adolphus Clarke;
  • Edgar Jesse Forbes;
  • George Alexander Bartholomew Green;
  • William Edmund Smith; and
  • Cyril Waite.

Their experiences varied considerably – one died at sea when his ship was sunk, another survived when he was rescued after his ship hit a German mine,  he and the three other men survived the War. You can read about them via the index page of this site:

https://www.historycalroots.com/a-z-index/

If you recognise any of the names and can add to their stories do please use this site’s contact form to get in touch and share your knowledge:

https://www.historycalroots.com/contact/

 

Families on the Windrush

You might expect ‘The Oxford Companion to Black British History’ to be an authoritative source. You might… However, it’s entry for the Empire Windrush has this to say:

‘when the Empire Windrush sailed on 24 May, there were 492 passengers (and six stowaways) on board.’

The only correct part of that is the date she sailed – but only if you ignore the departure from Trinidad on 20th (24th was the date she left Jamaica).

A common myth is that the ‘492’ were all men and all Jamaican. The ‘Companion’ doesn’t fall into that trap, it says that ‘most of the passengers were young adult men’ which is true, ‘most’ were. But it does gloss over the presence of many women (over 250, almost 25% of the passengers), a fair number of children (80) and some family groups.

Let’s be charitable and point out that the ‘Companion’ was first published in 2007, things move on (even history!) and we learn more. We know a lot more now than we did fifteen years ago.

Our latest contribution on the subject talks about some of the families on the Windrush, you can read about them here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/families-on-the-windrush/

[Published August 2022]

Mona Baptiste

Apologies, we got so carried away with the lovely new photo of Mona Baptiste that this morning’s post contained the wrong link for the separate website about her. This is the correct link: https://mona-baptiste.com/. 

Still, it gives an excuse to send you a cropped version of the photo with the full original (incorrect) caption – she was 22!

A passenger on the HMT Empire Windrush is 21-year-old Miss Mona Baptiste from Trinidad. She arrives to sing blue’s numbers on the radio and in night clubs. Tilbury, 22 June 1948

Mona Baptiste on board the Empire Windrush

Mona on board the Empire Windrush at Tilbury, 22nd June 1948 ((c) topfoto.co.[1]https://www.topfoto.co.uk/groupitem/68/)

We recently came across this photo of Mona Baptiste on board the Empire Windrush. Mona had celebrated her 22nd birthday the day before this was taken and was getting ready to disembark and start her new life in England. We have no particular excuse for posting it today, but we make no apologies for doing so, it’s a lovely picture that captures the hope and optimism that many Windrush passengers would have felt.

You can read about Mona’s life in our book ‘What about the Princess? The life and times of Mona Baptiste’. Since publishing the book we continue to find fresh snippets of information and we publish these on our sister site https://mona-baptiste.com/, if you are interested in Mona why not take a look there?

References

References
↑1 https://www.topfoto.co.uk/groupitem/68/

Meet Evelyn Wauchope!

We have long been intrigued by the story of Evelyn Wauchope, the female stowaway on the Empire Windrush. We were able to find out quite a lot about her and in July 2019 published what we knew (we have now updated the article):

What became of the Windrush stowaway, Evelyn Wauchope?

But we were left with two big frustrations.

  • firstly, although we reached out (admittedly in a slightly random way) to various organisations in White Plains, New York, in an effort to find out more about her time living in the community there we, essentially, drew a blank;
  • secondly, we had no idea what she looked like.

Until now!

Evelyn Wauchope, photographed on arrival at Tilbury Docks, June 22 1948 ((c) topfoto.co.uk)

We are grateful to Audrey Dewjee for drawing out attention to a fantastic trove of photos on this site: https://www.topfoto.co.uk/groupitem/68/ and also to Ioan and Flora for licensing the photo to us at a reduced rate. 

I think we can safely say that Evelyn looks ‘pensive’ but who can blame her?! Having used her initiative to get to England she now faced the daunting prospect of making a new life for herself in a strange and, very probably, hostile environment.

Pensive, maybe, but Evelyn was a determined woman who repeatedly overcame the challenges life threw at her. She absolutely deserves to be regarded as a ‘Windrush Pioneer’ and we are so glad that we can finally see what she looked like on 22nd June 1948 as she arrived to start the next chapter in her life.

1917: From First World War to culture war

The film ‘1917’ was released in cinemas in January 2020 to generally good reviews. It scored highly on specialist film review sites like Rotten Tomatoes (it scored 89% on the ‘tomatometer’ based on 461 reviews and 88% based on over 25,000 audience ratings) and IMdB (where it scored 8.3/10 based on 529,000 reviews). The Rotten Tomatoes summary had this to say:

‘Hard-hitting, immersive, and an impressive technical achievement, 1917 captures the trench warfare of World War I with raw, startling immediacy.’

The ‘top review’ on IMdB said:

Don’t listen to the critics saying this movie is boring. This movie is one of the most tense and exciting movies I’ve seen in years. Amazing cinematography and overall amazing experience of a movie.

By way of comparison, ‘No Time to Die’, the latest film in the James Bond franchise, scored 83% on the tomatometer and 7.4 /10 on IMdB.

What has this to do with Historycal Roots you may ask? Is this now a film review site?

To answer the second question – no, it isn’t. But there were those who attempted to enlist the film into their spurious ‘culture war’ against ‘woke history’.

One of those who spoke out against the film was actor, Laurence Fox. He expressed himself unsettled by the ‘oddness of casting’  when a Sikh character appeared in the film and that this ‘broke his immersion in the film.’ He went on ‘there is something institutionally racist about forcing diversity on people in that way.’ He made these remarks on the high profile TV programme, Question Time, at a time, surely no coincidence this, when he was attempting to launch a career in politics.

When challenged, Fox admitted ‘I’m not a historian I don’t know’ (making him well suited to a career in politics some might say), which does rather beg the question why he made the comments in the first place (jumping on a passing bandwagon seems the most obvious explanation for his ill-informed remarks).

Sikh historian Peter Singh suggested that Fox should ‘check his facts’, adding: ‘Laurence Fox is incorrect with his facts as Sikhs did fight with British forces, not just with their own regiments.’

One way Fox could educate himself would be to take a look at the Historycal Roots website and in particular at articles by John Ellis’ (over a dozen of them) and Bill Hern, about black and Asian soldiers in World War One.

This post was prompted by another soldier ‘discovered’ by John. James Eversley did not make it to France but John has identified plenty of others who did. As John says ‘it seems to me that there were plenty of bullets and shrapnel flying about in WW1 and it does not seem to have been particularly discerning about the ethnicity, nationality and social class of the squaddie it hit. They all shed the same blood in the same mud.’

James Eversley

No.5130 Private James Thomas Fitz-Evan Eversley was born at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in August 1889. He was the son of Thomas Fitz-Evan and Elizabeth (nee’ Regis) Eversley, of Concord Village, Saddle Main Road, San Juan, Trinidad. Educated at St. Mary’s College, Trinidad, he travelled to Britain with the volunteers of the ‘Second Merchant’s Contingent’ in December 1915 (Private Valleton Redman was in the same contingent); subsequently enlisting at Mansion House, London, in the 4/4th Battalion, City of London Regiment, (Royal Fusiliers). He died of sickness at Brompton Hospital, London, in June 1916, and was buried with full military honours at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green (Mary Seacole is buried in the same cemetery). Whilst his grave does not have an individual marker, he is commemorated on the Screen Wall bearing the names of casualties of both world wars.

Sources: Trinidad 1919 Year Book. (West India Committee, 1919). Trinidad-1919-Year-Book-extract.pdf (westindiacommittee.org) caribbeanrollofhonour-ww1-ww2.yolasite.com/army-ww1.php#E Lives Of The First World War 1914-1918. Findmypast.co.uk Soldiers Died in the Great War database © Naval and Military Press Ltd 2010. www.cwgc.org

For Private Valleton Redman see: https://www.historycalroots.com/private-valleton-redman/

Two new pages

We bring a very productive year to a close (34 new pages by my reckoning) with two new pages on very different subjects. Before introducing them, I must thank our contributors for their efforts. John Ellis is responsible for a lot of this year’s new content. John’s remarkable work is casting new light on the black presence in the British Army and Royal Navy in the 19th century and also in the trenches during World War One.  But others, Audrey Dewjee and Bill Hern, have played their part too. Audrey can take particular pride in her work on the story of Bertie Robinson, the black servant at Harewood House who featured in a major exhibition there. Bill and I helped with an exhibition too, it celebrated some of the London Borough of Newham’s pioneering black footballers – it’s surprising how much black history you can work into a talk about football!

John Ellis’s latest discovery is the story of a black Royal Navy sailor called John Johnson. His marriage certificate, dating from 1846, cites  his father’s occupation or profession as ‘negro slave’ – a very unusual entry on an English certificate. The marriage ended in tragic circumstances. John doesn’t speculate as to the underlying cause of the argument that led to the death of Mary Johnson but I can’t help but wonder whether racism played a part. Read the article and make up your own mind:

https://www.historycalroots.com/john-johnson-of-guadeloupe-and-greenwich/ 

The second new page features Horace Halliburton, a man of the Windrush generation (although, in fact, he arrived on these shores before the Windrush). Horace played a leading role in the Causeway Green riots of 1949, as a peacemaker. You may not know about the Causeway Green riots and it’s very unlikely you will have heard of Horace. I started researching him hoping to discover an unsung hero and, to an extent, I did, but his life story turned out to be much more complicated than I expected. You can read about Horace here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/horace-william-halliburton/

Best wishes for 2022 to all who read this.

‘Woke history’ – is there such a thing?

If history consists of facts, then the role of historians is to present the facts. But there are so many facts that historians must choose which ones to present (or omit) and, in making their choice, they create a narrative. The nature of the story they tell is of necessity influenced by their interests.

The question in the title of this post is prompted by John Ellis’s latest contribution to Historycal Roots where he comments that he is playing his part in  ‘showing that the presence of such men [of colour] was more widespread than critics of attempts to recognise  their  contribution would have people believe.’ John is one of a number of historians (he cites Stephen Bourne and Ray Costello as two examples) who are seeking to redress the balance by researching hitherto untold stories of the black contribution to British history.

There is little doubt, as John suggests, that not everyone is happy with this approach and the epithet ‘woke’ would be tossed in their direction as a criticism. I don’t doubt that ‘woke’ can be defined in a variety of ways. One definition I have seen is that woke is ‘a concept that symbolises awareness of social issues and movement against injustice, inequality and prejudice.’  Personally, if I was ‘accused’ of peddling ‘woke history’, I would be happy to accept the ‘charge’. 

I recently had the pleasure of eavesdropping on a presentation that David Olusoga gave to a group of black educators (he was on zoom and I happened to be in the room when a legitimate participant was listening – these things happen!). I am always impressed when I hear David speak and I was intrigued by his discussion of the abuse he is subjected to on social media. Clearly this must be an unpleasant experience but he said he regards it as a sign of success – people are hearing a different version of history to the one they are used to and they don’t like it. The message that British history is not and never has been exclusively white is getting across. David said he was confident that the arguments would be won and that, in the future, people would wonder what the fuss had been about.

This reminded me of a short film I saw at the BFI (British Film Institute) on London’s Southbank when I popped in for an hour or two to shelter from the rain. The film, dating from 1958, featured interviews with a range of people discussing the then vexed topic of mixed marriage. Some of the views expressed were predictably repulsive but the last contributor, Lord Stanhope, opined that in fifty years’ time people would wonder what all the fuss had been about and that mixed marriages would be seen as entirely normal. Perhaps I am unduly influenced by living in London, but my perception is that Lord Stanhope has been proved correct while the repugnant views  (extreme even by the standards of the time) expressed in the film by James Wentworth-Day, have pretty much returned to the primeval sludge where they belong.  Although the film can be viewed free if you visit the BFI it seems you have to pay to view it online:

https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-mixed-marriages-1958-online

You will need a strong stomach if you choose to watch it.

All of this is a rather long preamble introducing you to John Ellis’s latest contribution to Historycal Roots which you can read here: https://www.historycalroots.com/a-sri-lankan-in-the-die-hards-private-cyril-lorenz-mellonius-a-somme-veteran-of-the-middlesex-regiment/. Using Cyril Mellonius as its starting point, the article tells the story of the black presence in the Middlesex Regiment at the Battle of the Somme.

Cyril Mellonius

I should also draw your attention to another recent article by John tracing the naval career of John Addoo from Africa to his final resting place in Brockhurst, Hampshire. A career that encompassed the transition from sail to steam: https://www.historycalroots.com/from-sail-to-steam-john-addoo-1795-1855-an-african-in-the-royal-navy/ . It was remiss of me not to mention this article at the time of its publication.

I hope you enjoy reading both of John’s new contributions.

A rich tapestry

This post alerts you to two new pages, both articles by John Ellis, that have been added to our site recently. These two articles illustrate the rich diversity of the black contribution to British history (as does virtually all the content on the site!).

In reverse chronological order, this article https://www.historycalroots.com/admired-very-much-cyril-stuart-1895-1915-an-old-salopian/ tells the story of Cyril Stuart, a young man of mixed heritage who attended one of the best public schools in England. He lost his life in the First World War.

Cyril Stuart in 1914, standing, far left (1)

Jumping back over a century, John reports on a clutch of black soldiers who served in the 18th Hussars regiment, including several who were involved in the thick of the action at the Battle of Waterloo https://www.historycalroots.com/black-soldiers-of-the-18th-hussars-1799-1821/.

John’s painstaking research continues to shine a fresh light on neglected areas of British history.

Doing Bertie proud

If you visit Harewood House without the advantage of a car, be warned, it is a fifteen minute walk from the main entrance on the A61 Leeds to Harrogate road before you reach the house itself – that gives you an inkling of the scale of the estate. As I approached, I found myself wondering how many enslaved people you would have had to own to be able to afford to build a house like this?

The answer to my question seems to have been about 3,000 judging by the information made available inside the house and viewable online: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vT832jImba4qExHhFfovMtwopd7DmO4QIp_NBFAyi1rSyYy6ERG5y4Uj8c6uPgpnrvRf66e9OgArPLO/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=60000&rm=minimal&slide=id.g8c2f059153_0_208

The house was completed in 1771 when the family moved in.

At the time of emancipation in 1833, the 2nd Earl of Harewood claimed compensation for 1,277 enslaved people and received over £3 million at today’s prices. That Harewood House owes its very existence to profits from the trade in enslaved human beings is beyond question.

Not all the owners of country estates are willing to be open about the roots of their family fortune but the present Earl does not shy away from his family’s history:

“I believe very strongly that we can change things in the present, but for better or for worse there is nothing that any of us can do about history and the past.” 

David Lascelles, Earl of Harewood

In ‘the present’, the Harewood House Trust supports a wide range of educational projects and it was one of those projects that prompted my visit.

If you are a regular follower of Historycal Roots you will be aware of Bertie Robinson, the black footman at Harewood House. Until the 22nd October an exhibition about Bertie will be on display at the house.

My photos are intended to place the exhibition in their setting in the house, there is far more information in the excellent digital guide that you can view here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vT0g6Bd-FHcP80k8R4CqtkNZ10pfkKxLlE8rlYEGOFhVdI78zajlyO03rbbzmW0ZN2bgEN9mHOajVAQ/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=60000&rm=minimal&slide=id.gd794bdbe71_0_0

The digital guide doesn’t include any images of ‘downstairs’ at Harewood, an area of the house that Bertie would have been very familiar with.

  • The kitchen range
  • The downstairs dining room

The exhibition was researched by members of the Diasporian Stories Research Group based in Leeds. The principal researchers were Audrey Dewjee and Allison Edwards with support from David Hamilton. Members of staff at Harewood threw themselves enthusiastically into the research, finding all sorts of things in Harewood’s own archives that enhanced Bertie’s story (‘they throw nothing away here’ as one of the volunteers on duty when I visited said). A former Harewood House Trust Director, Terry Suthers, helped too. It was a real collective effort which has paid handsome dividends.

Nothing can quite beat seeing an exhibition ‘in the flesh’ so to speak and there is plenty more to see and do at Harewood. Although I resisted (just) the temptation of a cream tea on the terrace overlooking the grounds designed by Capability Brown, there is no reason why you should!