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Introduction

In 2021, a new Tube map was published following a collaboration between Black Cultural Archives and Transport for London (TfL) to celebrate Black history in London.

Replacing the names of stations on the map are the names of Black people across a wide sweep of history who have contributed to London, and the UK as a whole, in many different ways.

The map includes internationally known figures like Mary Seacole and Marcus Garvey, and also includes individuals whose stories are relatively little known, but just as worthy of celebration and recognition.
 

TfL Image - TfL and Black History Archives Black History Tube Map, 2021
TfL Image - TfL and Black History Archives Black History Tube Map, 2021

Black Cultural Archives, based in Brixton, is a national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain. TfL, and its predecessor London Transport, is one of many organisations to have benefitted from the contributions of Black employees. This collaboration uses the Tube map, a regularly adapted iconic symbol of London, as a fitting backdrop to highlighting the stories of 272 individuals. 

Among the names are four London transport workers. Here we take the opportunity to spotlight these four people and their experiences and contributions in London.

Joe Clough

Joe Clough was one of London’s very first Black bus drivers. Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1887, Joe moved to London in 1906. He joined the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) in 1910, training at Shepherd’s Bush garage. Joe was also among the first drivers to be trained to drive the new motorbuses, which were rapidly taking over from horse-drawn vehicles in that period.

Joe became a regular driver on bus route 11, operating between Liverpool Street and Wormwood Scrubs. Although generally accepted by his colleagues, Joe was wrongfully suspended for speeding by a racist company official, before being rapidly reinstated. He worked as a LGOC driver until just before the First World War, when he moved to Bedfordshire after getting married.

During the First World War, Joe was one of many London bus drivers to apply their skills to service on the Western Front in France and Belgium, where he served as an ambulance driver. After being demobilised, he returned to family life in Bedford and to bus driving, later becoming a taxi driver. His story can be explored in more detail here.

Louis Bruce

Louis Bruce is thought to have been one of London’s first Black tram drivers. Following new research using discovered documents, in 2022 he was also revealed to be Britain’s first Black Olympian, having competed in wrestling at the 1908 London Olympics.

Louis was born in Edinburgh in 1875 and was brought up in Plymouth. In 1900, he was licensed to drive trams for the London United Tramways (LUT). He stands driving the tram in this photograph from 1906, in his role as a senior tram driver. Standing next to him in full regalia is the Mayor of Kingston, Alderman Henry Charles Minnitt, positioned to ceremonially drive the tram on its first journey over Kingston Bridge. Standing in front of the tram on the right is Sir James Clifton Robinson, the LUT Managing Director, who deployed Louis to drive his personal tram, No.320. 

While working for the LUT, Louis also pursued his sporting career. He lived in Teddington and was a member of the Hammersmith Amateur Wrestling Club. His prowess was demonstrated by his selection for the 1908 Olympics, where he competed in the heavyweight division of the wrestling, defeating Alfred Banbrook in the first round, but losing his next bout to Ernest Nixson. As well as being Britain’s first Black Olympian, he was also the sixth earliest known Black athlete to compete at an Olympics.

Louis was also known as a dancer, ragtime singer and comedian in tramway social events and concerts. His sporting talents also extended to winning the LUT heavyweight boxing title in 1913, and a one-mile walking handicap race at Griffin Park in 1914. Louis had married Ethel Elizabeth Dunn in 1911 and the couple had a son named Dennis. 

Louis appears to have worked on the trams as late as 1922, rising to the role of inspector – another significant achievement. By the 1930s he had changed careers, owning a newsagent shop in Sutton. Louis died in 1958, aged 82.

While the Museum was aware of Louis’ career on the trams, his fuller story has only come to light following the archival work of several researchers, including the discovery of a collection of documents connected to the 1908 Olympics at a wrestling club in Wigan. This research has uncovered a remarkable and pioneering man.
 

Blair Blenman

Blair Blenman, © Transport for London Corporate Archives
Blair Blenman, © Transport for London Corporate Archives

Blair Blenman is included in the new Black history map both as a London Transport bus driver serving London’s passengers and as a decorated international weightlifter. He was born in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1932, being one of a wave of new recruits to London Transport from the Caribbean from the late 1950s onwards, more on which can be read here.

Blair’s sporting achievements are referenced in an edition of London Transport magazine from 1960, as he prepared to compete in weightlifting at the Olympics in Rome that summer, representing Great Britain. While he did not win an Olympic medal, Blair had won the gold medal in his middleweight weightlifting division at the Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff when representing Barbados in 1958. He was selected for the Olympics after winning the British championships in Leeds, setting a new British record in the process. Remarkably, Blair’s Olympic training had to fit around his work as a London bus driver based at Peckham garage. 

Momodou Samba

Momodou Samba, © Transport for London Corporate Archives
Momodou Samba, © Transport for London Corporate Archives

Momodou Samba, born in Gambia in west Africa in 1925, came to Britain during the Second World War when serving in the armed forces. In 1947, he joined London Transport as a permanent way lengthman, working through various grades within the London Underground. Momodou worked for the Tube for a grand total of 43 years, retiring in 1990 as a relief traffic regulator.

As well as his exceptionally long service, Momodou was also decorated for saving a passenger’s life. In 1962, when working as a relief signalman at Covent Garden Underground station, Momodou noticed a man walking past his signal cabin into the path of an oncoming train from Holborn. He immediately set all signals to danger and dashed into the Tube tunnel to save the man, with the train braking to a halt only ten yards in front of them. 

For this act of selfless bravery, Momodou was awarded a commendation by his divisional superintendent, as well as a Queen’s commendation for brave conduct, cited in a supplement to the London Gazette on 23 April 1963.

Invaluable contributions

All four of these men made invaluable contributions to the workings of London’s transport system, and to the city itself. Joe Clough and Louis Bruce were pioneers in their careers in the very early twentieth century. Blair Blenman and Momodou Samba were part of an increasing number of arrivals to the UK from the Caribbean and Africa in the years after the Second World War. All of them undoubtedly encountered racism in London and Britain, yet all offered their contributions despite the challenges they faced.

To find out more about the Black History Tube Map, please visit the TfL blog.

You can buy a poster of the map from our online shop

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