In the 1970s, Black Liverpudlians recovered the memory of Bermudian merchant mariner Charles Wottens murder during the 1919 Liverpool 'Racist Riots'. Details about his death, and the attacks that occurred in port towns across the nation that year, have been studied by a range of historians since. Almost a decade ago, Kristy Warren was encouraged by one of those historians, Dr Gemma Romain, to investigate Wottens life.

This talk explores the collaborative research undertaken concerning the lived experiences of Wotten and other Bermudian merchant seamen, such as Rev John William DeShield. It considers the potential and limits of official records with reference to family archives, oral history and art making.

Image credit

2024 digital art piece by Liverpudlian artist Sumuyya (Khader) using archival images of Charles Wotten and Rev JW DeShield image credit for Sumuyya.

Description supplied by the event organiser.