History re-written as Edinburgh-born wrestler Louis Bruce revealed as Britain's first Black Olympian

An Edinburgh-born wrestler has been revealed as Britain’s first black Olympian after a major piece of detective work rewrote the history of the games.

Louis Bruce pictured at the front of the tram. Photograph: London Transport Museum

Louis Bruce was born in Edinburgh in 1875 but a series of documents which wrongly recorded his name ensured his achievements were hidden for more than 100 years.

The long-forgotten heavyweight reached the second round of the 1908 Olympics in London, where Bruce had moved to become a tram driver, reaching a senior rank within his day job.

Now, his performance in the ring has also been rightly credited after researchers from Canada sought to re-examine the history of Olympians and came across a box of key records at a wrestling club in Wigan.

The British Olympic Association acknowledged the significance of the discovery.

Scott Field, the BOA’s director of communications, told the Guardian: “This is a fascinating new body of research and we’re excited to learn of Louis Bruce’s story in being the first reported black British Olympian. The diversity of British Olympians is to be celebrated and something we are incredibly proud of.”

Louis Bruce McAvoy Mortimore Doney was born in Edinburgh to Jane Elizabeth Doney, who is believed to have been white. His father is not named.

Following his birth, his mother, a widow, moved back to the Plymouth area, where she had raised six daughters, with her son.

Last year, Louis Bruce was already recognised as one of the first black tram drivers in London but anomalies in records listed with the first name Lewis. Some sporting history books referred to ‘Lawrence’.

His sporting credentials were then unravelled by two researchers from Canada, Connor Mah and Rob Gilmore, who contribute to the Olympedia.org website, started to review athlete records from London 1908.

Their findings rewrite the history of the games given that sprinter Harry Edward, who won two bronze medals at the 1920 Antwerp Games, was long recorded as Britain’s first black Olympian.

The discovery of Louis Bruce’s endeavours in London push the title back 12 years.

According to the newspaper, Mah suspected Bruce had been misnamed and found that a Louis Bruce was in Hammersmith around the same time as the 1908 London Games.

A wrestling advertisement in a newspaper the following year recorded a bout featuring Ernest Nixson and a “Darkey” Bruce, as well as multiple clippings describing him as “coloured”.

A breakthrough was reached when they were directed to the Snake Pit wrestling club in Wigan, which held a collection of old wrestling documents, including a set of records from the 1908 Olympics.

They included entry forms and lists, which included the full names and addresses of all 53 British wrestlers in the competition. It was established that Louis Bruce lived at 76 Princes Road in Teddington – the same as the tram driver Louis Bruce listed in the 1911 UK census.

Mr Mah told the newspaper: “Over the few months of digging we were able to make significant progress, but it was the set of documents at the Snake Pit club that provided the breakthrough.”

Researchers found that Bruce also performed in entertainment acts as a dancer, ragtime singer and comedian in tramway social events and concerts. He married, ran a newsagent shop in Sutton and had a son. Louis Bruce died in 1958, aged 82.

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