1919 race riots in Britain
Britain’s 1919 race riots started at the end of the First World War starting with an outbreak of violence in Glasgow in January, race riots happened around the United Kingdom …
UK race riots – The murder of Charles Wotten
Charles Wotten was a 24-year-old ship’s fireman from Bermuda who was murdered by an angry white mob during the Liverpool race riots of 1919. What led to Charles Wotten’s murder? …
Air pollutions was a factor in the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah
Ella Addo-Kissi-Debrah is the first person in the UK whose death certificate lists air pollution exposure as a cause of death. The inquest into her death comes after her mother, …
Queen Nzinga of Angola
Queen Anna Nzinga was a 17th-century African ruler who ruled the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in Angola and fought against the slave trade and European influence …
Olaudah Equiano – Writer and abolitionist
Olaudah Equiano (c.1745-1797) was an eighteenth-century African writer whose experiences as a slave prompted him to become involved in the British abolition movement. Early years Equiano was born in c1745 …
Protests against Lewisham road closures
On Saturday (October 3), a crowd gathered outside Lewisham library to voice their concerns about the traffic calming measures introduced by Lewisham Council. The low traffic neighbourhood scheme (LTN), a …
Adele blasted for wearing Bantu knots
In August 2020, national treasure, Adele got herself into hot water when she posted a picture on her social media channels, in honour of Notting Hill Carnival. The caption read …
History of Notting Hill Carnival
What is Notting Hill Carnival? Notting Hill Carnival is a 3-day annual event that takes place on the streets of Notting Hill during late August bank holiday weekend. It’s a …
Claudia Jones – Activist and Mother of Caribbean Carnival in Britain
Claudia Jones was a feminist, political activist, pioneering journalist, and visionary. She is known for being the ‘Mother of Caribbean Carnival in Britain’. Early years Claudia Jones was born on …
The Battle of Lewisham
The London Borough of Lewisham is a multicultural borough with a large Black and Asian community as many of the Windrush generation settled in Lewisham from the late 40s onwards. …
Lewisham Council sneaks in Low Traffic Neighbourhood measures
During the lockdown, Lewisham Council took the opportunity to introduce emergency measures claiming to help the public stay safe whilst walking and cycling. These measures, called low traffic neighbourhoods (LTN), …
BAME TV Task Force set to meet with Netflix and Amazon following letter for change
The UKs Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic TV Task Force has held talks with the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and is preparing for meetings with Netflix and Amazon just …
How to beat the boredom blues: 10 new hobbies to try
The lockdown has been hard on all of us. We are used to going out and seeing our friends, family, and colleagues, but now we are stuck at home with …
Lewisham has London’s first coronavirus patient
Lewisham is in the unfortunate position of having the first Coronavirus case in London. After falling ill, a woman took an Uber taxi and presented herself at Lewisham Hospital on …
Notting Hill Riots of 1958
The Notting Hill Race riots were the result of a campaign of attacks on the Caribbean residents in a bid to drive them out of their homes and ultimately out of Britain. …
The murder of Kelso Cochrane
A 32-year-old black man from Antigua named Kelso Cochrane was brutally murdered in a racist attack in the early hours of 17 May 1959. After receiving treatment at Paddington Hospital …
Dora Saint aka Miss Read
Miss Read (17 April 1913 – 7 April 2012) Miss Read was the pen name of Dora Saint, who wrote over thirty books from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s. Dora …
Sybil Phoenix OBE – community leader
Sybil Phoenix is a community leader who has devoted her life to helping other people, especially in Lewisham, the town she made home. Early years She was born Sybil Theodora …
Norman D’Alquen amateur photographer of Sunderland Road, Forest Hill
When I was writing about the Catford Broadway Theatre I was lucky enough to get into an email conversation with the daughter of Norman D’Alquen, a local Forest Hill businessman …
Rosa May Billinghurst – suffragette and women’s rights activist
Lewisham’s famous women: Rosa May Billinghurst ( 1875 – 1953) Rosa May Billinghurst (commonly known as May Billinghurst) was born on 31 May 1875 at 35 Granville Park, Lewisham. She …
#Vote100 – A vote of her own
6 February 2018 marked 100 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918 – the act which allowed some women in the UK the right to vote. This was …
Edith Lanchester – socialist and feminist
Lewisham’s famous women: Edith Lanchester (1871-1966) Many people know of famous Catford born actress Elsa Lanchester, but what do you know of her socialist and feminist mother, Edith? Edith ‘Biddy’ …
#Vote100 – Women’s suffrage movement
In the nineteenth century, women had no place in national politics. They could not stand as candidates for Parliament. They were not even allowed to vote. It was assumed that …
Clemence Dane (Winifred Ashton) – Novelist and playwright
Lewisham’s famous women: Clemence Dane (1888-1965) Clemence Dane was born Winifred Ashton on 21 February 1888 in Westcombe Park Road, Blackheath. In 1897 the family moved to 22 Westwood Hill, …
