Bill Hern, Author at BajanThings

Author: Bill Hern

Since retiring from the British Civil Service in 2016 Bill, from Sunderland, England, has developed a passion for researching and writing about black history.

A regular visitor to Barbados, Bill has visited and written about each of the World War I Commonwealth War Graves on the island.

“Football’s Black Pioneers: The Stories of the First Black Players to Represent the 92 League Clubs” is Bill Hern’s first major published work and has recorded sales across the world. Football’s Black Pioneers was co-authored with David Gleave.

Bill Hern and David Gleave are also co-authors of “What about the Princess?: The life and times of Mona Baptiste” – a biography of Mona Baptiste a Trinidadian singer/actress who came to England on the Empire Windrush in 1948.

Continuing on the Windrush theme Bill is currently writing a pen picture of each of the 1,027 passengers, plus stowaways, who travelled on the Windrush in 1948.

As a by-product of this work, Bill co-authored “Windrush 75 – Pioneers and Champions” with Arthur Torrington of the Windrush Foundation. E-copies of this book are available free from the Windrush Foundation’s website.

Bajan History, Bajan People, Barbados Post World War II, Black History Month

Windrush 75 – Pioneers & Champions

The HMT Empire Windrush is best remembered for bringing one of the first large groups of post-war Commonwealth citizens from the Caribbean to the UK in June 1948. The ship’s name is used to denote what in the UK is known as the Windrush Generation. These are the estimated 500,000 Commonwealth citizens who immigrated from…

10th March 2024
Bajan History, Bajan People, Black History Month

Remembering Olaudah Equiano’s time in Barbados

I have often sat on the boardwalk on Wharf Road watching tourists walking into the centre of Bridgetown. Each of them will pass a memorial. It isn’t particularly small but most people walk by without a single glance. Some slow their stride to ‘skim read’ the wording. No one ever seems to stop and study…

1st February 2024
Bajan People, Barbados during World War I and World War II, Black History Month, Remembrance Sunday

World War I Commonwealth War Graves – Barbados

On 25th August 2021 it will be exactly 100 years since the death of Wendell Valentyne Byer. Who was Wendell you may ask? A famous cricketer? A politician perhaps? No, he was none of these, Wendell was once a trainee schoolteacher in St George. He was strong and fit – 5 feet 11 and a…

24th August 2021
Bajan People, Barbados Post World War II, Black History Month

Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? The Empire Windrush story

Only five of the 1,027 passengers on board the Empire Windrush began their journey in Barbados. Bill Hern writes about them here and explodes some myths about the iconic ship and its historic journey to England in June 1948. Background:The Windrush scandal erupted in 2018 where people mainly of Caribbean descent were wrongly classified as…

1st June 2021
Bajan History, Bajan People, Barbados Genealogy, Barbados Post World War II, Black History Month

Black Bajan footballers who were English Football League Club pioneers

Thanks to a select group of pioneering black Bajan footballers, no country in the world has had a greater impact on the history of English football than Barbados. That statement might come as a shock to some. After all, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica have reached the World Cup Finals whereas Barbados has never come…

6th April 2021