Black History Month - Charlie Williams

Black History Month: 22 October 2020

 

Charlie Williams was one of Britain's first post-war professional black footballers who later found even greater fame as a popular comedian and entertainer. His father, also Charles, had come to Britain in 1914 from Barbados, and enlisted in the Royal Engineers. Charlie was brought up in Yorkshire and after the Second World War, he turned professional, and signed for Doncaster Rovers in 1948.

 

Following his retirement from football in 1959, Williams tried his hand as a singer in local working men's clubs but decided to move into comedy full-time. He eventually became Britain's first well-known black television comedian. He reached the pinnacle of his comedy career in the early 1970s. In 1972, he spent a six-month season at the London Palladium. Williams was appointed an MBE in 1999 for his charity work. He was also given a lifetime achievement award at the Black Comedy Awards in 2000.

 

Want to find out more about Charlie Williams? Click here for more information, or here for a video of some of Charlie's comedic work.

Football Through Time

In honour of the World Cup Semi Finals this Tuesday, I thought I would give you all a quick lesson on the history of organised football!

There is evidence that ball games have been played since 300 BC, with FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) claiming the ancient game of “cuju” to be the first official football-type sport.

“Cuju” was a militaristic game played in 2^nd Century BC China, with very different rules to modern football but a similar player formation and crescent-shaped goals creating a pitch.

This game has since evolved worldwide, and today has many different variations across the globe.

The UK variation became popular in the Middle Ages. This new “football” game may be familiar with some of you already – called “mob football” and played between villages, a pig’s bladder was inflated and used as a ball. Played to celebrate occasions such as Christmas, it was very popular with communities.

Historians are not sure whether or not the ball was kicked at this stage, as although the game was known as “foot” ball, accounts describe players hitting and throwing the ball rather than just kicking it.

Over time, the “mob” element of British football was eliminated and through the English Private School system, football became an organised team sport.

Modern football was established around 1519, with more defined rules than previous variations, although still constantly changing, with the first offside rule introduced in the late 1700’s.

Schoolchildren were still at the forefront of developing modern football, as 1780 marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the UK, and with most adults working full time, only children at school could play lengthy sports. However, the Industrial Revolution brought benefits for children in other ways too, inter-school competitions occurred more often as rail travel had improved making it easier for matches between schools to occur.

The first official organised Football Association was formed in 1888, the Football League. Teams in England were officially documented and football became a more professional sport.

In 1922, the top 22 clubs in the Football League split to form the Premier League, the most renowned football competition in the UK. It is currently the most watched league in the world, and broadcast in 212 countries.

FIFA was founded in 1904 to bring the world together to play football in one “World Cup”. This idea was well received and in 1930, the first world cup was held in Uruguay.

As the organiser of the world championships, FIFA reserves the right to change or pass judgement on the modern football rules and regulations. When world football was suggested, all the different variations of the sport had to be taken into account to create one ultimate football game. The current game is based quite heavily on the old English football rules, established at Cambridge University in 1862, which in turn evolved from medieval football, however there are still elements of the game from other world cultures.

I hope you enjoyed this (slightly longer than I intended) history of football, so now go and enjoy the World Cup!  

K. Z. 

Snow, Football, and the Media

Passing a newsagents in snowy Chessington this morning, Nonsuch HP noticed the headline in the Daily Express, "NOW FOOD IS RUNNING OUT". Does this seem to anyone just a little bit irresponsible? The media has indeed got a duty to report events and the not insignificant problems the bad weather has caused, but the tone of a headline like this was surely excessive.

There is obviously plenty of grumpiness about the failure of the World Cup bid this morning, with some of the blame being put on the Panorama investigation into dodgy dealings in Fifa, which followed up a similar report in the Sunday Times a few weeks ago. These reports were specifically referred to by Sepp Blatter just before the vote, and do appear to have had some influence. Is this another example of poor judgement by the media (The Guardian's coverage of the Wikileaks data could possibly be another) or do the media have a duty to expose stories like this whenever they wish? Please add your comments below!

History of Slovenia

It seems appropriate to consider the History of Slovenia this week, so here is some interesting information about the country. It was mainly ruled by Austria-Hungary until 1918 - although it was was briefly liberated by Napoleon and remains fond of the Emperor. It contained an important front during World War 1, when Italy and Austro-Hungarian troops fought bitterly in very difficult conditions. More recently it was an influential region of Yugoslavia, but was one of the first to demand independence in 1991. This led to a 10 day war at the end of which it broke away from Yugoslavia and joined the EU a year later. It's well worth a visit!

PS: Here is a list of famous Slovenians...

Football North Korean Style

North Korea have not had the best of days after losing 7-0 to Portugal, but this article provides a fascinating insight into the team and its devoted followers. The dominant team in the North Korean League is known as "April 25" - the founding date of the Korean People's Army who effectively run it and supply many of the players for the national side. Interestingly, Jong-Tae-Se, the team's star player (known for his tearful performances during the national anthem) was born in and plays in Japan but chose to represent North Korea, where his family (and many other Korean immigrants in Japan) originally came from. North Korea has one thing in common with England - both countries are nostalgic about 1966. England may have won the World Cup, but North Korea scored an impressive victory against Italy and reached the Quarter-Finals, only just losing out to Portugal. Sadly they didn't get the chance to avenge that match today...

De Gaulle's broadcast

President Sarkozy is in the UK today to commemmorate the 70th anniversary of General De Gaulle's broadcast from the BBC studios in London to the French just before France's surrender to the Germans in 1940. The French resistance was inspired by his words - "Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished" - and De Gaulle's leadership was an important feature of the Second World War. See the BBC's report and the Guardian's report at the weekend of a new biography which uncovers Britain's suspicion of De Gaulle. France's celebrations of events during the Second World War tend to be more muted than Britain's due to its Nazi occupation so it is particularly important for it to promote De Gaulle's and the French Resistance's activities.

PS: Here is a fascinating comment from the head of BBC History on the significance of the speech - it is a really important event for the French and Nicolas Sarkozy himself has said 'We are all the children of the 18 June' Here is further comment (in French) from L'Express.

PPS: June 18 also marks the 70th Anniversary of Churchill's "Finest Hour" speech, the third of 3 famous speeches given during his first month as Prime Minister. The Sun have made the most of this occasion as you can see below...