History hero – HistoryExtra https://www.historyextra.com The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed Sun, 09 Apr 2023 06:57:06 +0100 en-US hourly 1 My history hero: Tim Dunn chooses John Betjeman (1906–84) https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/my-history-hero-tim-dunn-chooses-john-betjeman/ Mon, 27 Mar 2023 07:47:39 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=226473

John Betjeman: in profile

Sir John Betjeman was an English poet – appointed Poet Laureate in 1972 – writer, and broadcaster. Best known for his poetry celebrating the Britain of the past, he was also an architecture expert, becoming a founding member of the Victorian Society to preserve 19th-century buildings. In the 1960s, he helped save St Pancras Station from demolition. He died in 1984, aged 77, and was buried at St Enodoc’s Church, Cornwall.

When did you first hear about Betjeman?

As a child, I was absolutely transfixed by his 1973 BBC documentary, Metro-Land. What made it so memorable was this erudite, grandfatherly figure, who told the story of how the north-west London suburbs around the Metropolitan Line developed in the early 20th century. That was where I grew up, but thought it rather uninteresting until Betjeman immortalised it.

What kind of man was he?

Sometimes he would wear his heart on his sleeve, as he did in some of his poetry – for instance, talking about the women he admired from afar. But in other respects, he was a private character and something of a snob, as he himself admitted, who enjoyed being seen as part of the upper set.

What made him a hero?

His unassailable devotion to celebrating the world around him; his quest for the joy in everyday life; and his ability to take people with him on that journey. He did this primarily through his poetry and prose, which was nostalgic for English culture slightly out of reach in time. If he was alive today, he might well be making references to things like Blockbuster Video.

I admire him for trying to save historic British buildings – becoming the public face of the modern conservation movement – and for being a friend of the LGBTQ community at a time when we had few allies. Lastly, I love how gentle yet exceptionally naughty he was. On being asked in old age, “Do you have any regrets in life?” he replied, “Oh yes… I haven’t had enough sex!”

What was Betjeman’s finest hour?

Culturally, it would have to be Metro-Land, a BBC collaboration with director Edward Mirzoeff, in which he took the idea of looking at an area, examining the mundane he found and celebrating it. There was another finest hour too: his public campaign to save St Pancras – but for that, the train station would almost undoubtedly be long gone. There’s a statue of him there, and the coattails of his jacket are an exact replica of the roof above him. I think he’d be saddened by the demolition of fine old buildings and their replacement by substandard modern rubbish.

Can you see any parallels between his life and your own?

I have no ambition to be a poet, but he inspired me to make the programmes I do, and I have also helped save a few buildings, such as Smithfield Market in London.

What would you ask Betjeman if you could meet him?

I’d ask him whether he would write a new set of county-by-county architectural guides. I like to think he’d be delighted and say yes, which would give us at least another 30 years of him to enjoy.

Tim Dunn is a railway historian and TV presenter. His series The Architecture the Railways Built and Secrets of the London Underground are both available on UKTV Play

This article was first published in the October 2022 issue of BBC History Magazine 

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My history hero: Monica Ali chooses Richard Burton (1821–90) https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/my-history-hero-monica-ali-chooses-richard-burton/ Mon, 20 Mar 2023 08:35:19 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=226234

Richard Burton: in profile

Sir Richard Burton was a British explorer, writer, scholar, soldier and linguist. A one-time captain in the army of the East India Company, he later explored the east coast of Africa, and was one of the first two Europeans to see Lake Tanganyika. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he was reputed to speak more than 20 languages. He was buried in London in a tomb shaped like a Bedouin tent.

When did you first hear about Burton?

Gosh – it was 25 or more years ago, when I was reading a biography of the other Richard Burton [the actor]. My then boyfriend, now husband, had a book about the explorer, which I then read. I’ve been fascinated by him ever since.

What kind of man was Burton?

He was a man with an incredible variety of interests – but at the same time you could say that in a way he was a failure. For instance, one of his ambitions was to be a great poet, and by that measure he did not succeed. Nor did he find the source of the Nile, which he set out to do. But he wanted to explore himself and his surroundings. That’s why his books are greater than his journeys – and why the man is greater than his career.

What made him a hero?

First and foremost, the fact that he was such a polymath. He had such a diverse career, with such wide-ranging interests. He was a soldier, an explorer, an archaeologist, a writer and poet, a translator – he translated One Thousand and One Nights and the Kama Sutra (he was deeply interested in sex and sexuality) – a botanist, a zoologist and the most amazing linguist. It’s pretty breathtaking to have that insatiable curiosity and thirst for life.

What was Burton’s finest hour?

Firstly, for me it was founding the Anthropological Society of London in 1863. He was a pioneer in the study of anthropology. Secondly, the three major expeditions he undertook – to Harar in Ethiopia, to Somalia, and through east Africa – any one of which would have been enough to establish his fame and fortune. Thirdly, the 43 volumes he produced about his expeditions, writing with incredible detail about things such as Bedouin life and the role of women in societies.

Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about him?

He may have been devoted to his wife, Isabel, but it’s a relationship that’s hard to forgive by today’s standards. She was always left to “pay, pack and follow” whenever he got the urge to relocate – which was often. Isabel was an extraordinary character in her own right, but her needs and desires were always subjugated to his.

Can you see any parallels between his life and yours?

Well, we’re both writers. He never felt truly English, having been brought up in France and Italy, and I too have a mixed heritage that complicates my sense of identity. But I wouldn’t have made a good explorer – unless there was a soft bed with clean sheets every night!

What would you ask him if you could meet him?

I’d ask him about his experiments with monkey languages – and where he got that insatiable sense of curiosity.

Monica Ali’s debut book, Brick Lane, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Love Marriage, her most recent novel, is out now. You can read more about her work here

This article was first published in the February 2023 issue of BBC History Magazine

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My history hero: Phil Tufnell chooses Denis Compton (1918-97) https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/history-hero-phil-tufnell-chooses-denis-compton/ Mon, 13 Mar 2023 12:25:07 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=225930

Denis Compton: in profile

Denis Compton was one of England’s greatest-ever cricketers, as well as enjoying a successful footballing career. 

A Middlesex legend, he played in 78 Test matches and is one of only 25 cricketers to have scored more than 100 centuries in first-class cricket. As an Arsenal player, he was a member of the League Cup and FA Cup-winning teams in 1948 and 1950. The Denis Compton Oval is named in his honour.

When did you first hear about Compton?

As a boy, from my father. I grew up in a sports-mad household, and my dad was a massive Middlesex and Arsenal fan – as I am. When I wasn’t playing cricket in the back garden, knocking the heads off roses, I’d be listening to the family talking about Denis Compton. I suppose I just inherited my dad’s love and admiration for the great man.

What kind of man was Compton?

The son of a painter and decorator, he grew up in north-west London. While still a boy, he scored a century as captain of an Elementary Schools XI. He was a handsome chap, adding a touch of glamour to the game – “a bit of a one”, as they say, with a twinkle in his eye. He wanted to win, but never took things too seriously. If things didn’t work out as he’d hoped on the day, he’d just pick himself up and look ahead to the next match.

What made him a hero?

First and foremost, his extraordinary ability as a cricketer. A first-class batsman and bowler, he scored his first Test century aged just 20. One Aussie opponent, Sir Don Bradman – another legend – said that he was one of the greatest cricket players he’d ever seen, which is praise indeed. Second, he played for my beloved Arsenal; nowadays it’s hard to imagine a great cricketer also playing for a football team in the top division. Third, there was a real joie de vivre about him – he loved his cricket but he also loved life. He was the sort of chap people just wanted to be around.

What was his finest hour?

Where to start? He hit nearly 2,500 runs in 1939 alone, including 120 against the West Indies at Lord’s. Like other sportsmen of his generation, he lost some of his best years to the Second World War – he served in the army in India – but went on to thrill fans with his magnificent batting for country and county in the late 1940s and early 1950s, scoring famous centuries against the Aussies and South Africans. He had numerous finest hours!

Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about him?

Nothing springs to mind.

Can you see any parallels between his life and your own?

We both played cricket for Middlesex and England; like him, I was a left-arm unorthodox spin bowler. Unlike him, I sadly never got to play for the Gunners! I’d also like to think that I had a bit of his devil-may-care attitude to the game.

What would you ask Compton if you could meet him?

Luckily, I did get to meet him when I was a young man, and I asked him if all the things my dad told me about him were true. “Most, but not all!” he chuckled.

Phil Tufnell is a former England cricketer who is part of the BBC’s Test Match Special team. His latest book, How Not to Be a Cricketer, is out now in paperback

This article was first published in the January 2023 issue of BBC History Magazine

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My history hero: Michael Rosen chooses Émile Zola (1840–1902) https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/history-hero-michael-rosen-chooses-emile-zola/ Mon, 06 Mar 2023 09:00:51 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=213348

Émile Zola: in profile

Émile Zola was a French novelist, playwright and journalist. He also played a key role in the exoneration of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer wrongly convicted of treason. Zola won acclaim for his 20-volume Les Rougon-Macquart series of novels about the history of a family during the reign of Napoleon III. He died in Paris, aged 62, from carbon monoxide poisoning, thought to have been caused by an improperly vented chimney.

When did you first hear about Zola?

In my school sixth form, when we read short stories in French. I had a wonderful French teacher, who introduced us to Zola’s L’Attaque du Moulin. One of the joys of studying a foreign language is the pleasure you get when you suddenly discover that you can read an adult story by a foreign writer in their own tongue. It’s like discovering a new set of clothes that you never knew you had!

What kind of person was he?

His family had Italian origins, so he felt rather despised as an outsider – at this time the French had a kind of racist word for people from the southern Mediterranean: “méteque”. And I think it was this that made him so desperate to get France’s highest award, the Legion of Honour. You get a sense of him thinking: “Aren’t I the most popular writer in France – don’t I deserve this?” He was also a man with a social conscience, advocating workers’ control of industry.

What made him a hero?

The stance he took during the Dreyfus Affair in the 1890s. At this moment of high crisis in France, Zola was a resolute supporter of Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer of Jewish descent who was imprisoned on Devil’s Island after being wrongly convicted of treason. The affair split France down the middle and a lot of French people proudly called themselves anti-Semites – newspapers even carried the words “the anti-Semitic newspaper” on their mastheads.


On the podcast | Simon Sebag Montefiore describes some of history’s most fascinating letters:


What was Zola’s finest hour?

The famous “J’Accuse” letter he wrote – published on the front page of a prominent Paris newspaper in 1898 – in which he accused the French army and government of obstruction of justice and anti-Semitism. Doing so endangered his career, and indeed his life. Zola exposed the conspiracy between the government and the military, incurring the wrath of many powerful people. He was found guilty of libel, removed from the Legion of Honour, and forced to flee to England, staying in London for nearly a year (where, incidentally, he was appalled by the food). In the end, he returned to France and was pardoned after it emerged that Dreyfus was indeed innocent.

Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about him?

Some might see him as a bigamist because he was in effect married to two women: his wife and his mistress, the mother of his children. But the trio tried to resolve an irresolvable situation in a modern way.

What would you ask Zola if you could meet him?

I’d ask him if he was really prepared to go to prison over his J’Accuse letter.

Michael Rosen is a children’s author, poet and broadcaster. His latest book is Many Different Kinds of Love: A Story of Life, Death and the NHS (Ebury, 2021)

This content first appeared in the December 2021 issue of BBC History Magazine

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My history hero: Reeta Chakrabarti chooses Janusz Korczak (1878–1942) https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/history-hero-reeta-chakrabarti-chooses-janusz-korczak/ Thu, 23 Feb 2023 09:05:53 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=213386

Janusz Korczak: in profile

Janusz Korczak, born Henryk Goldszmit, was a Polish Jewish educator and children’s author, and the founder and director of two Warsaw orphanages, one for Jewish children. He insisted on accompanying the Jewish children to the ghetto and then to Treblinka extermination camp, where all were murdered by the Nazis. A monument to Korczak stands in the Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa Street in Warsaw.

When did you first hear about Janusz Korczak?

I wandered into an exhibition about him in Rome, and was overcome by the heroism of this ordinary man. I say ordinary – he was actually quite well known as a children’s author and an educator, but nothing can have prepared him for the decisions he had to take.

What kind of person was he?

Korczak trained as a medical doctor, but became a children’s author and teacher. He ran two orphanages in Warsaw – one for Jewish children, the other for Catholics. A liberal and progressive thinker, he set up a children’s “republic” in the Jewish orphanage, with its own parliament, court and newspaper. He suffered deprivation and danger for the sake of the children in his care, and ultimately chose to die with them, despite being given the opportunity to save himself.

What made Korczak a hero?

His bravery and his loyalty to the children. After the Germans created the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, Korczak’s Jewish orphanage was forced to move into it. He went with the children, though he’d been offered shelter elsewhere. He stayed with them until August 1942, when he was sent to Treblinka with some 200 children and staff. They were never heard of again; it’s assumed they all perished in the gas chambers.

What was Korczak’s finest hour?

When he led the children to the train to Treblinka, described movingly by eyewitnesses. The composer Władysław Szpilman recalled that Korczak told the orphans to be glad, because they were going to the countryside and would be free of the suffocating city. He wanted to spare them the terror of death.

Does he deserve greater recognition in the UK?

Yes! Korczak should be remembered alongside people such as Sir Nicholas Winton, Raoul Wallenberg and Oskar Schindler. They managed to save lives, but Korczak sacrificed his, refusing to abandon his children on their final journey.


On the podcast | Rebecca Clifford tells the stories of child survivors of the Holocaust:


Can you see any parallels between his life and yours?

I could never conceive of being put to the same test. But I love children, as he must have done. Also, in the Ghetto, the children performed The Post Office, a play by Rabindranath Tagore, who is revered in Bengal, where my family come from. That makes me feel connected in a tenuous sort of way.

What would you ask Korczak if you could meet him?

Did he ever consider trying to save himself? What did he actually say to the children before their last journey together? Was he able to stay with them until the bitter end?

Reeta Chakrabarti is a journalist and broadcaster, and a regular presenter of the news on BBC One and the BBC News Channel

This content first appeared in the October 2021 issue of BBC History Magazine

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My history hero: Iain Dale chooses Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/history-hero-iain-dale-chooses-ronald-reagan/ Fri, 17 Feb 2023 11:40:54 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=224448

Ronald Reagan: in profile 

Ronald Reagan, Republican politician and actor, was the 40th president of the US (1981–89) who earlier served two terms as governor of California (1967–75). A radio sports announcer turned Hollywood star, as Republican leader he pursued neoliberal economic policies dubbed “Reaganomics”, and oversaw the arms build-up credited with helping to end the Cold War and hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union.

When did you first hear about Reagan?

When I was 14, and he ran against Gerald Ford [the incumbent US president] in 1976 in a bid to secure the Republican presidential nomination – and nearly beat him.

What kind of man was he?

Politically, he was never hot on the detail but he always had a vision. While governor of California, he surrounded himself with top-class people, many of whom he later brought to the White House. He was also a superb communicator and a man of great charm. Politics is about relationships, and Reagan’s personality helped him become one of the great presidents.

What made Reagan a hero?

When he became president, the US was on a downward spiral. Economically it lacked confidence, and had recently suffered the Iranian hostage crisis [in which 52 US diplomats and citizens were held in its Tehran embassy for 444 days]. President Jimmy Carter spoke about a “malaise” in the US, which was not what people wanted to hear. Suddenly, Reagan came along with his sunny optimism and, after he won the 1980 election, the mood in the country changed. His economic policy was very expansionist for a conservative. Moreover, he was a main driver of the end of the Cold War. He and Gorbachev hit it off immediately when they met. I don’t think the Cold War would have ended when it did otherwise.

What was his finest hour?

Politically, it was his landslide victory over the Democrats’ Walter Mondale in the 1984 presidential election, which gave him carte blanche to do what he liked in his second term. Another was his “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” speech in West Berlin in 1987. That galvanised the people of eastern Europe, and was a crucial moment in pushing for the end of the Cold War.

Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about him?

Sometimes his lack of attention to detail caused problems – for instance, in the Iran-Contra Affair. His failure to warn Margaret Thatcher about the US invasion of Grenada, when the Queen was head of state, wasn’t his finest hour. But if you’re president for eight years, there are always going to be things that go wrong!

What would you ask Reagan if you could meet him?

I’d ask him about his relationship with Margaret Thatcher. He relied a great deal on her for advice and took notice of what she said. I’d like to get a better understanding of their relationship.

Iain Dale is a broadcaster, political commentator and author. His latest book is On This Day in Politics: Britain’s Political History in 365 Days (Atlantic Books, 2022)

This content first appeared in the March 2023 issue of BBC History Magazine

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My history hero: Sam Naz chooses Noor Inayat Khan (1914-44) https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/history-hero-sam-naz-noor-inayat-khan/ Sat, 11 Feb 2023 09:21:40 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=224243

Noor Inayat Khan: in profile

Noor Inayat Khan was a secret agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in occupied France. Born in Moscow, she later lived in London and Paris. After the Nazi invasion, Khan escaped to Britain and joined the SOE in 1942.

A year later she was sent to France to join the Resistance, but in October 1943 she was betrayed to the Gestapo. Imprisoned until September 1944, she was then taken to Dachau concentration camp and executed. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

When did you first hear about Noor Inayat Khan?

My obsession with Noor began more than a decade ago. I spotted an article in a newspaper about some of the women of the Second World War, within which was this formidable, forgotten heroine – a Muslim woman who was a British spy! I couldn’t believe that here was someone who looked like me, yet about whom I had been taught nothing. Khan’s life, her remarkable contribution to the war effort and, ultimately, her sacrifice were not common knowledge. For me, that was the start of years of revisiting her story.

What kind of person was she?

Khan was a complex, international person. She was a descendant of Indian nobility with an American mother. Growing up in a spiritual Sufi Muslim household in England and France, she was around music from an early age, and adored playing the harp and piano. Creative to the core, she also wrote poems and children’s stories. She must have been fiercely independent to have pursued all this as a single woman back then.

What made Khan a hero?

Ultimately, she defied the odds to become the unlikeliest of spies. She pushed past being underestimated by those training her, and committed herself to one of the most dangerous jobs in the war – that of a wireless operator, where the life expectancy was just six weeks. To put her life on the line despite the prejudice she must have faced as a woman of colour is awe-inspiring.

It’s this resilience and mental strength that I really wanted to explore in my film Liberté

What was her finest hour?

Firstly, her decision to remain in Paris after the rest of her network had fallen to the Gestapo. To continue to work alone, providing that vital communication link to London despite knowing that the enemy was closing in, showed remarkable bravery. Secondly, her loyalty after being captured. She maintained her silence in the face of horrific brutality and interrogations over 10 months. It’s this resilience and mental strength that I really wanted to explore in my film Liberté.

Is there anything you don’t particularly admire about her?

I think she was perhaps a little naïve. Some reports say that she had written down information that ended up with the Nazis.

You played Khan in your film Liberté. How did you prepare for the role?

I’ve covered Khan’s story as a journalist, but this was vastly different, emotionally and physically. Portraying her authentically meant embodying the character completely, which is where I hope my extensive research delving into the archives helped.

What would you ask Khan if you could meet her?

I’d ask how she kept her silence during such desperate times in solitary confinement. What kept her going, and how did she stay so loyal?

Read more | Noor Inayat Khan: why was the British spy such an unlikely war hero?

Sam Naz is an actor, TV presenter and news anchor for Sky News. She recently wrote, produced and starred in the film Liberté about Noor Inayat Khan, available at libertefilm.com

This content first appeared in the December 2022 issue of BBC History Magazine. Jeremy Bowen was talking to York Membery

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My history hero: Jeremy Bowen chooses Vincent Sheean (1899–1975) https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/history-hero-jeremy-bowen-vincent-sheean/ Fri, 25 Nov 2022 14:54:39 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=220483

Vincent Sheean: in profile

Vincent Sheean was an American journalist, foreign correspondent and author. He reported from Palestine in the 1920s and also covered the Spanish Civil War and the Blitz. His 1935 memoir, Personal History, helped inspire Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Hollywood drama, Foreign Correspondent. 

When did you first hear about Sheean?

Several years ago, when I came across his memoir in a second-hand bookshop. It’s a rather dated work in some respects but it’s still an interesting period piece, and lifts the lid on what was quite a heroic period in terms of foreign correspondents reporting from the world’s trouble spots.

What kind of man was he?

He was clearly an adventurous sort of guy and spent a lot of time travelling the world. He witnessed the Spanish Civil War, and also wrote an account of being in England during the Battle of Britain called, slightly melodramatically, Between the Thunder and the Sun.

What made Sheean a hero?

I’m not really one for hero worship – we all have feet of clay – but I can’t help but admire Sheean and his peers in that golden age of journalism: such as Gareth Jones, the Welshman who first reported on the Holodomor [Great Famine] in Ukraine, and the BBC’s Stanley Maxted who was given a seat on a glider plane and reported from the battle of Arnhem. Foreign and war reporting was in its infancy but people like them were poking their noses into places where sometimes they weren’t wanted. It’s a bit of a cliché, but they were writing the first draft of history.

Foreign correspondents had to take boats to get around, and once you’d reached somewhere you’d often be there for months

What was Sheean’s finest hour?

I was very taken by his comments about Jerusalem because it’s a city I know well. He wrote first hand about events that happened a century ago, such as the massacre of religious Jews in Hebron by Arabs in the 1920s, which people still talk about today. In the end, rather like me, he was enchanted by the city on one level, but found the level of hatred rather overwhelming. His comments about the Balfour Declaration, which he condemned for its contradictions, were perceptive.

Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about him?

Not really, although after reading this someone will no doubt unearth some appalling things he said which these days would get him cancelled.

Can you see any parallels between Sheean’s life and your own?

We’re both journalists and foreign correspondents, although it is very different now to what it was like in his day. Back then, foreign correspondents had to take boats to get around, and once you’d reached somewhere you’d often be there for months.

What would you ask him if you could meet him?

I’d ask him about his everyday life. And I’d love to have had a drink with him at Fink’s, a legendary Jerusalem watering hole dating back to the 1930s, which has sadly now gone.

Jeremy Bowen is international editor for BBC News. His latest book, The Making of the Modern Middle East, is out now (Picador)

This content first appeared in the Christmas 2022 issue of BBC History Magazine. Jeremy Bowen was talking to York Membery

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My history hero: Paterson Joseph chooses Ignatius Sancho (c1729–80) https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/history-hero-paterson-joseph-chooses-ignatius-sancho/ Wed, 05 Oct 2022 09:33:00 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=216969

Ignatius Sancho: in profile

Ignatius Sancho was an abolitionist, writer, composer and shopkeeper. Born on a slave ship, he was kept enslaved in Greenwich until he was 18, when he escaped to become 
a butler for the Duchess of Montagu. On her death he received an annuity of £30 which enabled him to open a shop in London and become a property owner. Sancho is the first black Briton known to have voted in 
a British election.

When did you first hear about Sancho?

I was chatting to Tilda Swinton while filming The Beach in Thailand and mentioned that I’d always wanted to find out more about the black Britons who lived in the UK before the Windrush generation – my parents’ generation. That led me to Gretchen Gerzina’s book Black England and it was there I learnt about him. He was a strange, amazing figure and needed to be written about, hence my novel.

What kind of man was he?

He was physically obese and referred to himself as “Sancho the Fat”. He also suffered from gout. But despite being a one-time slave, he moved freely in society and had friends among all classes, even the nobility. He also had a kind of vanity about him which you could see in his deportment, and the way he dressed and spoke. He was erudite and loved to show off his education, while his letters show he was determined to be British.

What made Sancho a hero?

His determination not to be cowed by the conditions that his people faced at the time. Born a slave, the fact he was able to rise above that status and become a shop owner who could vote, makes him an extraordinary black Briton. I also admire his determination to be creative – for instance, he wrote catchy dance tunes.

What was Sancho’s finest hour?

First, escaping from the three Greenwich ladies who treated him like a pet when he was a boy and a young man.

Second, becoming a musician of such quality that he was able to write a book on the theory of music and dedicate it to Princess Charlotte. Third, opening a grocery shop.

And lastly, becoming the first black Briton to vote, in 1774; in 1780, he voted for the Whig politician Charles Fox, a proto-abolitionist and a customer at his shop. But his entire life was a finest hour when you consider the barriers he had to break through.

Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about him?

Yes, the fact that he was such an ardent monarchist. 
I think “class” is still a big problem in this country and a lot of that 
is down to us having a feudal-type system with a monarch.

Can you see any parallels between Sancho’s life and your own?

Yes, in the way that we both had humble roots, overcame obstacles to achieve success and became proud black Britons.

What would you ask Sancho if you could meet him?

I’d ask him what his early life was like when he was kept as a slave by the ladies in Greenwich. That’s still a mystery.

Paterson Joseph is an actor who has appeared in Peep Show, Noughts + Crosses and Vigil. His debut novel, The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, is out on 6 October (Dialogue Books)

This content first appeared in the November 2022 issue of BBC History Magazine. Paterson Joseph was talking to York Membery

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My history hero: Adam Henson chooses Robert Bakewell (1725–95) https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/history-hero-adam-henson-chooses-robert-bakewell/ Tue, 27 Sep 2022 09:35:46 +0000 https://www.historyextra.com/?p=213373

Robert Bakewell: in profile

Robert Bakewell was an English agriculturalist who pioneered the systematic selective breeding of sheep, cattle and horses. Born in Leicestershire, he is best known for his breeding of sheep with superior wool, such as the Lincoln Longwool, which led to the creation of many modern breeds.

When did you first hear about Robert Bakewell?

My father was a farmer, like me. He was interested in the history of animal breeding. To showcase rare breeds he opened the Cotswold Farm Park in 1971 and would tell me about this man who did so much to shape British agriculture. Dad set out the Farm Park livestock displays so they suited periods of history, from the Iron Age to the modern day. To help represent the agricultural revolution paddock, we had a 20ft Foamex board cut-out of Bakewell sat on a horse, so I’ve been aware of him for years.

What kind of person was he?

He was a real trailblazer when it came to improving livestock. He was also one of the first people to start selective breeding, coupling the best rams with the best ewes, and the best bulls with the best cows. He was quite a large man, so he didn’t just understand the importance of the quality of food, he obviously ate well too!

What made Bakewell a hero?

The vital role he played in the development of British farm breeds and, in particular, regional breeds. Bakewell played a key part in the development of early breed selection, which has helped give so many areas of the country an identity – be it Hereford or Angus, which are famous for their cattle, or the Cotswolds, which is famous for its sheep. These regional breeds are part of what makes Britain what it is today – and they have been taken all over the world by those who settled in places like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

What was Bakewell’s finest hour?

In my view, it was the creation of the Leicester Longwool Sheep, with its long, lustrous fleece, which was created by mating ewes and rams with high-quality wool. We sometimes forget that the wool trade – which was built, to a large extent, on longwool breeds with fabulous fleeces – had a huge impact on the nation’s wealth.

Can you see any parallels between his life and your own?

Yes, we both worked with livestock. One of my favourite aspects of farming is selecting the correct bull or ram to go with a herd or flock and looking forward to how the offspring turn out!

What do you think Bakewell would make of modern farm-animal breeding?

I think he would regard some modern selective breeding as a step too far. Due to breeding-in traits like double muscling, Belgian Blue cows often can’t give birth and have to have a caesarean. After around three caesareans, a cow will not be able to breed any more. Pushing so hard for production in livestock can cause welfare issues, and I’m not sure that would have sat easily with Bakewell.

Adam Henson is a presenter on BBC Countryfile. He also runs the Cotswold Farm Park and wrote a children’s book, A Year on Adam’s Farm (Penguin, 2021)

This content first appeared in the November 2021 issue of BBC History Magazine

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