Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC1. The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick, and George in a trench in Flanders during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid death under the misguided command of General Melchett. The series references famous people of the time and criticises the British Army's leadership during the campaign, culminating in the ending of its final episode, in which the soldiers are ordered to carry out a lethal charge of enemy lines.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a British composer and conductor. Of mixed-race descent, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white musicians in New York City as the "African Mahler" when he had three tours of the United States in the early 1900s. He was particularly known for his three cantatas on the epic 1855 poem The Song of Hiawatha by American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Coleridge-Taylor premiered the first section in 1898, when he was 23. He married an Englishwoman, Jessie Walmisley, and both their children had musical careers. Their son, Hiawatha, adapted his father's music for a variety of performances. Their daughter, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, became a composer-conductor.
The Spaghetti House siege took place between 28 September and 3 October 1975. An attempted robbery of the Spaghetti House restaurant in Knightsbridge, London, went wrong and the police were quickly on the scene. The three robbers took the staff down into a storeroom and barricaded themselves in. They released all the hostages unharmed after six days. Two of the gunmen gave themselves up; the ringleader, Franklin Davies, shot himself in the stomach. All three were later imprisoned, as were two of their accomplices.
Ira Frederick Aldridge was an American-born British actor, playwright, and theatre manager, known for his portrayal of Shakespearean characters. James Hewlett and Aldridge are regarded as the first Black American tragedians.
Linda Ann Bellos is a British businesswoman, radical feminist and gay-rights activist. In 1981 she became the first woman of African descent to join the Spare Rib collective. She was elected to Lambeth Borough Council in London in 1985 and was the leader of the council from 1986 to 1988.
Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge, also known as Amanda Ira Aldridge, was a British opera singer and teacher who composed love songs, suites, sambas, and light orchestral pieces under the pseudonym of Montague Ring.
Earlston Jewett Cameron, CBE, known as Earl Cameron, was a Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. After appearing on London's West End stage, he became one of the first black stars in the British film industry.
Kenrick Reginald Hijmans Johnson, known as Ken "Snakehips" Johnson, was a swing band-leader and dancer. He was a leading figure in black British music of the 1930s and early 1940s before his death while performing at the Café de Paris, London, when it was hit by a German bomb in the Blitz during the Second World War.
Gwendolen Avril Coleridge-Taylor was an English pianist, conductor, and composer. She was the daughter of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and his wife Jessie.
Francis Sydney Dove MM was a British boxer who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1920 he was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the heavyweight class after losing his fight to the upcoming silver medallist Søren Petersen. After the outbreak of World War I, Dove joined the British Army and won the Military Medal for bravery during the Battle of Cambrai (1917).
Elisabeth Margaret Welch was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were "Stormy Weather", "Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was American-born, but was based in Britain for most of her career.
Douglas Geoffrey Bridson, commonly known as D. G. Bridson, was a radio producer and author who became the "cultural boss of the BBC".
Variety in Sepia is a television Variety special that was filmed live on 7 October 1947 at the RadiOlympia Theatre, Alexandra Palace, London, and was aired on BBC TV.
Evelyn Mary Dove was a British singer and actress, who early in her career drew comparisons with Josephine Baker. Of Sierra Leone Creole and English parentage, Dove is recognized as a "trailblazing performer": in 1939, she made history as the first black singer to feature on BBC Radio, building a solid reputation not only through her work in Britain but also internationally, travelling to France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, the United States, India and Spain. She was featured as a Google Doodle on what would have been her 117th birthday in 2019.
George Arthur Roberts was a Trinidadian soldier, firefighter, and community leader in Great Britain.
Josephine Esther Bruce was a British seamstress living in London. Her autobiography, Aunt Esther's Story published in 1991 and co-authored with her adopted nephew Stephen Bourne, was one of the first books to document the life of a black working-class woman in Britain.
Freddie Crump, also referred to as Freddy Crump, Fred Crump and Rastus Crump was a drummer from the United States. He performed in various vaudeville productions including with Gonzelle White in Cuba, performed in Europe, and was featured in several films. He was African American.
Kinnerton Street is in the district of Belgravia in the City of Westminster, London, England. It had modest origins as a service street for wealthy areas of the Grosvenor Estate and was originally occupied by the animals, servants, shopkeepers and tradesmen who served their richer neighbours. The small side streets on its west side end at the Ranelagh Sewer which was not covered over until 1844. The street was the site of a medical school where the dissecting was carried out for Gray's Anatomy. Later, the street was gentrified.
Josie Woods was a Black British dancer, choreographer and activist.
Cassandra (Cassie) Walmer was a British singer, dancer and comedian who performed in music halls and variety theatres in Britain, Australia and New Zealand from the 1890s until 1947. After 1919 she appeared in a duo act with Frank O'Brian under the name of Janice Hart, co-creating several revues with him, including Birds of the Night. She made successful tours of Australia in 1906–07, 1913, 1928–1930 and 1935, two of which also included New Zealand. She also appeared on BBC Radio from 1944 until 1952.
