Tag: Black soldier

Thomas Crawford (c1772 to 1836): Soldier, Husband and Father

There are a number of historians who make it their business to improve our understanding of British history by documenting the contribution of Black and mixed heritage men and women. We are honoured to have two of them, Audrey Dewjee and John Ellis, as regular contributors to this site.

Today it is the turn of John Ellis, who has given us a short article about Thomas Crawford, a man who served his country with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars.  Born in Africa (Guinea) in about 1772, Thomas was buried at St. Cuthbert’s church, Darlington on 27th February 1836.

St. Cuthbert’s church, Darlington

You can read John’s article here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/trumpeter-thomas-crawford-of-the-4th-dragoons/

Sean Creighton

Sean Creighton was another of the dedicated band of historians who sought to re-balance British history. Sadly, Sean died earlier this year but he was someone who enhanced our knowledge in many ways and John Ellis particularly asked me to mention him in the context of this latest article. Sean attended Durham university, he continued to take a keen interest in the history of the area up to his death and Thomas Crawford was someone he knew of and wrote about. We acknowledge Sean’s own contribution and are glad that we had the privilege of knowing him.

     

Peter Bishop: A Black veteran of Waterloo

One job I had in the past was to work with others across government to look at the causes of homelessness and try to come up with solutions. For a while I think we had some success but some problems never really go away and the case of Peter Bishop illustrates that there is nothing new under the sun.[1]’The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.’ … Continue reading

I remember being surprised at the disproportionate number of ex-service people to be found among the homeless. We discussed the causes of that. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been shocked, making the transition from a job involving strict discipline with, possibly, periods of intense adrenaline rush, to a life with neither order nor excitement, is bound to be difficult. It isn’t just those who have served in the Forces who experience this, professional footballers, to cite just one example, face similar issues, but perhaps military service is an extreme case.

In the 19th century much of the support that might be available today to those leaving the Forces simply didn’t exist. True, if you were lucky, you might get a pension or even a place in the hospital at Greenwich (Navy) or Chelsea (Army) but not everyone was lucky. Peter Bishop, who served at the Battle of Waterloo,  was one of the unlucky ones. Peter Bishop also happened to be Black in an overwhelmingly White society. You can read about him in John Ellis’ latest article for Historycal Roots:

Peter Bishop, 1792-1851: Soldier of the 69th Foot and Veteran of Waterloo

While I’m here, I really should mention a lovely little update to another of John’s articles. It’s always great when a descendant spots a story on Historycal Roots about a relative and makes contact, sometimes they are able to add additional information. Since writing his article about Roy Van Twest, John has been in contact with Roy’s grandson and we have added an ‘afterword’ to the original piece:

A Cingalese machine gunner at the Somme – Sergeant Roy Van Twest

References

References
↑1 ’The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.’ Ecclesiastes, 1:9 (King James Bible version); even more appropriate, perhaps, is the New Living Version of the same passage ‘History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.’