About Us

We are Historycal Roots. Our aim is to raise awareness of the black and mixed heritage people who have played a part in shaping the way society looks today. We are particularly interested in those whose role has been overlooked, people who have not been given the credit they are due but who have played their part in British history.

David Gleave and Bill Hern are both retired civil servants with a passionate interest in black history. David has written a number of books aimed at children and a short biography of three black brothers who served in the British Army in World War One. Bill and David collaborated on a book about pioneering black footballers. The third member of the team, herself a member of the Windrush generation with many years in the teaching profession, prefers to maintain her privacy but provides invaluable support.

You can find our website here: https://www.historycalroots.com/, in addition to our own material we feature contributions from John Ellis (a specialist in British military history in the 18th and 19th centuries) and Audrey Dewjee (a researcher who has helped bring many forgotten figures back into the light).

You can find details of our book, ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ (and much more besides) here: https://footballs-black-pioneers.com/

What About the Princess? is the latest addition to our catalogue and reflects our keen interest in the story of the Empire Windrush, the passengers on board and those who followed.

Welcome to our site(s). please feel free to have a look around, we hope you will find plenty of things of interest.