Historycal Roots

Black History Month (October 2025) may be coming to a close but we have several new articles for you to enjoy. And, for us, every month is Black History Month so the next one (November 2025) is only days away!

New articles - Black History Month 2025 We have new articles this month from regular contributors, John Ellis and Audrey Dewjee. The fact we are in Black History Month is purely coincidental, at Historycal Roots, every month is Black History Month! John tells us of three more Black soldiers in World War One. I know that John was

Today, 15th August, is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. A superstar of the classical music world in the early years of the 20th century, his music fell out of fashion for several decades. Recently he has come back strongly and works by him regularly feature in concert programmes (his music features twice in this year's BBC Prom concerts). The attached article talks about his connection with the Three Choirs Festival and a recent recital in Hereford Cathedral:

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor at the Three Choirs Festival We don't write about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor as often as we should, he featured in one of our first posts (in 2016) and a few since, but he was one of our main inspirations when we started Historycal Roots and we welcome any excuse to write about him again. Although he has never been 'hidden history

We were so sad to hear that Ray Costello has died after a long illness. Ray was an absolute hero of ours and we have published two tributes to him on the Historycal Roots website:

https://www.historycalroots.com/ray-costello-historian-author-friend-1945-2025/

https://www.historycalroots.com/in-memory-of-dr-ray-costello-1945-2025/

R.I.P.

A free event celebrating the life of Benjamin Zephaniah at Brunel University tomorrow:

Festival of Rhythm, Unity and Revolution Honouring Benjamin Zephaniah Join us for an unforgettable celebration of art, poetry, music and more, as we honour the life and legacy of the late Benjamin Zephaniah

Churchyards across the country have many stories they could tell. St. Cuthbert's in Darlington is the final resting place of Thomas Crawford. Thomas was born in Africa (Guinea) in about 1772 he served in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars before settling in the north-east of England. He was laid to rest on 27th February 1836. Thanks to the efforts of John Ellis and the late Sean Creighton, Thomas is not entirely forgotten. You can read his story here:

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