David Gleave

David Gleave's latest book, 'Sarah Woodbine - A Black Nurse in Victorian Britain' was co-authored with Neasa Roughan (Royal College of Nursing archivist) and John D Ellis (social and military historian). It tells the remarkable story of Sarah Woodbine, a Black nurse in Britain over fifty years before the birth of the NHS. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1871, Sarah came to Britain as a teenager with the express intention of training to be a nurse. She achieved her objective but, along the way, experienced prejudice and opposition because of the colour of her skin. The authors have pieced together the story of her time in Britain and established how she, a British citizen, came to be living in Argentina. It is a story that traces Sarah's heritage to the plantations of Jamaica. Her inspirational story is important as so few Black nurses from before 1900 are known to us. The name of Sarah Woodbine can now be added to what is a very short list. The authors will donate royalties from the book to 'NHS Charities Together'.

Previously David was co-author (with Bill Hern) of 'Football's Black Pioneers', a book which reflects their shared interest in black British history and football. Described by Paul Hawksbee (TalkSPORT) as "an incredibly timely release...now more than ever this is an important book."

Other reactions include:

• "A vivid human reference point that's useful in all of today's discussions about race and prejudice in football."(When Saturday Comes)

• "Here writ large in often agonising detail, is racism, prejudice and the loneliness of going where others have not yet been." (The Independent)

• "If you like sport and want to find out about ‘Football’s Black Pioneers’ I can promise you a book which will enlighten you on Black British social history and the barriers the players had to overcome. All of them were pioneers to the England heroes of today, the like of Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford and the rising talents of Jadon Sancho, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Bukayo Saka." (Stephen Wallis, CragsRadio)

• “The human stories are pretty unbelievable. Really, really fascinating to read.” (Nick Hatton, BBC Radio Leeds)

• “There are always stories that crop up that make you scratch your head

and think, really? Is that what was going on back in the day?” (Jules Bellerby, BBC Radio York)

• “Learn about the unsung black trailblazers of the game. 'Football’s Black Pioneers' profiles the first black player at each of the 92 league clubs.” (Kick it Out)

• "This is a celebration of Black British (and sporting) history and much credit must be given to the two authors for the meticulous research they have undertaken in producing this work." (Andrew Fontenelle, Amazon review)

• “Looks as though 'Football’s Black Pioneers' is going to have a huge impact in bringing to the surface the story of black footballers in the UK.” (Stanchion Books)

• “Highly recommend this… features a chapter on Jack and other great stories, and the authors have been incredibly helpful to the campaign.” (the Jack Leslie Campaign)

• “Your book comes in a timely fashion given everything that’s being discussed. Empire has played a huge role in shaping quite literally the world that we live in but also the country that we live in. I for one think it’s a travesty that it isn’t taught, warts and all, in the school curriculum to help young children understand why the world looks the way that it does and why England and the UK looks the way that it does.” (Gul Nawaz Hussain, BBC Radio Leeds)

• "'Football’s Black Pioneers' book is amazing. Four years of research went into finding the history of every first black player to play for each football league club. This book should be in every school and family home.” (FootballShorts.org)

• "Just got my copy of the book, it’s a great read …. Congratulations, it’s quite an achievement. Great timing too, with the current interest in Black Lives Matter." (Jon Martin, grandson of pioneering footballer, Willie Clarke)

"Writing a book about the first black player at each of the 92 English Football League clubs seemed an ideal way to reflect our shared interests," said David Gleave "What surprised us when we started researching in 2016 was the wide variety of stories we uncovered. There have been black players in the EFL every decade since organised football started, the book therefore covers over 130 years of the black contribution to British society. At a time when racism is on the rise again and there is an ongoing debate about Black Lives Matter, the book seems especially timely, more so than we could have realised when we started our work four years ago."

David has also written, also with Bill Hern, 'What About the Princess? The Life and Times of Mona Baptiste'. Mona was passenger No.7 on the Empire Windrush when it made its historic voyage to England in 1948. From humble beginnings on Trinidad, Mona went on to became a star in Europe featuring as vocalist on numerous popular songs, appearing in stage shows and revues and appearing in films with the likes of Josephine Baker. A huge star in the 1950s and 1960s, Mona is largely forgotten now, something the authors hope to put right!

'The Walker Brothers and their legacy' (co-authored with Maria Downer) tells the story of three Black brothers who served in the British Army in the First World War. One, Maria's father, survived, one of her uncles died and is buried in Marseilles, while the other uncle survived the war and made his life in the USA. The role of Black soldiers in the World War One has, until recently, largely gone under the radar and been overlooked, this story plays a small part in addressing that omission.

David is also the author of a series of books for children ('Fern and Kate Meet ...') and is a member of the Clerkenwell Writers Asylum, contributing short stories to three of their anthologies.

If you are interested in black British history you can find more of David's work at: http://historycalroots.com/