Blue Plaque Unveiled for Britain's First Black Olympian

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Louis Bruce competed at the London Games in 1908

Cllr Emma Apthorp unveiling Louis Bruce's blue plaquee

A ceremony was held recently to unveil a blue plaque in Hammersmith for Britain’s first ever black Olympian.

The marker has been placed at 7 St Peter’s Grove, the former home of Louis Bruce who competed in the 1908 Olympic Games which were held in The Great Stadium in Shepherd’s Bush.

During the Olympics, he competed as a heavyweight wrestler and was the oldest competitor in his sport at 32-years-old. Despite this, he finished fifth overall, reaching the second round of the 73kg freestyle division.

He trained at the Hammersmith Amateur Wrestling Club Cambridge Road less than a mile away from his home and lived less than a mile away in St Peter’s Grove.

Louis’ status as Britain’s first Black Olympian was only revealed in 2022 after the discovery of forgotten documents stored away at the Snake Pit wrestling club in Wigan. This included entry forms and lists from the 1908 Olympics, with full names and addresses of all 53 British wrestlers who took part in the games.

The discovery confirmed to researchers that Louis had historically been misnamed as Lawrence Bruce, which is why he’d been excluded from the record books. In other official and journalistic documents Louis had only been referred to as L Bruce, further adding to the mystery.

Before this research it was believed that sprinter Harry Edward, who competed in the 1920 Antwerp Games, held the record. It is now known that Louis is the sixth earliest known Black athlete from any nation to ever compete at the Olympics.

Louis isn’t only an Olympic record-breaker as the wrestler was also one of the first Black tram drivers in Britain.

Born in Edinburgh in 1875 and raised in Plymouth by a single mother, Louis moved to London as an adult. At the age of 25, he was licensed to drive trams for the London United Tramways (LUT) in 1900. Louis was promoted as personal tram driver for Sir Clifton Robinson’s, the LUT Managing Director.

Louis eventually rose to the role of inspector before changing careers in the 1930s to run a newsagents. He died in 1958, aged 82.

Wormholt Park pupils look at Louis Bruce's blue plaque

Cllr Sharon Holder, H&F Cabinet Member for Public Realm, who unveiled the plaque on Tuesday 25 April along with members of the Nubian Jak Community Trust. The celebration was also attended by pupils from Wormholt Park Primary School, local residents, history and sports fans.

Dr Jak Beula, CEO of the Nubian Jak Community Trust said, “Every day we are learning more and more about Britain’s rich and diverse past. To that we can add the name of Louis Bruce who was representing Britain in Olympic competition 40 years before the arrival of the Windrush."

Cllr Emma Apthorp, Mayor of H&F (centre), and Cllr Sharon Holder, Cabinet Member for Public Realm (second from the left), with residents and members of the Nubian Jak Community Trust at the unveiling

Cllr Sharon Holder, said afterwards, “Louis was a sporting pioneer who helped pave the way for British athletes competing at every level.

“His involvement in the 1908 Olympic games would have been an inspiration to so many and it is only right that we recognise his impact by memorialising his achievements with a blue plaque.”

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May 2, 2023