To mark Black History Month, we’ll be blogging each week in October with an exciting story, piece of artwork or artefact relating to early Black History in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

For the final blog of the Their Stories series, we look at VC Alfred Smith who received the prestigious Victoria Cross.

This second-to-last ‘Making Woolwich’ blog focuses on one of the most famous of Woolwich’s military figures. Though he was not a Gunner, this man was regarded as one of the great figures of his age and is still memorialised to this this day.

This blog is focused on a man who was a pioneer in a field that is more relevant to the modern Military and Police Forces than ever: bomb disposal and forensic investigations involving explosives.

This blog focuses on one man who served with the Royal Artillery, but also is about two other men, both of whom were Gunners. They are all in some way connected to a single person in Woolwich, Mrs Barbara Robinson, showing just how numerous the connections to the RA in this area can be.

Sometimes just one member of a family can serve with a particular Regiment in the Armed Forces. But, sometimes, it can become a family tradition to serve, with multiple members and generations signing up to serve. It is just such a family that is the focus of today’s blog.

Many great inventors and engineers have been part of the Royal Regiment or Artillery, or worked on the famous Royal Arsenal site in Woolwich. This blog looks at perhaps the most famous of them all.

A number of local people in Woolwich came forward, during the ‘Making Woolwich’ project to share their family member’s stories about their service in the Royal Regiment of Artillery (RA).  The story of Francis Smith is one of the more unusual of how men came to joining the RA.

As well as the many stories of heroism that were shared with us during our public engagement in the ‘Making Woolwich’ project, there were also other, more tragic stories. The story of Jack Jones is just such one.

A number of local people in Woolwich came forward, during the ‘Making Woolwich’ project to share their family member’s stories about their service in the Royal Regiment of Artillery (RA). The third story is of Terence Alan “Spike” Milligan,  legendary 20th Century comedian, writer and poet.