Following my visit to Greenwich Naval College visitors centre yesterday I am pleased to report that the BBC's Black and British : A Forgotten History plaque to commemorate John Blanke the black trumpeter to the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII is in deed on display. However you may miss it as it is just to the left of the main entrance, high up amongst the centre's awards from Trip Adviser, English Tourist Board and others - see images below.
The choice of location was perhaps done in haste as it not at clear as to how or why the BBC's plaque fits in with its surroundings in the Naval College visitors centre. This despite the fact the central image with Henry VIII jousting from the 1511 Westminster Tournament Roll document in which John Blanke appears is a matter of feet away, no connection is made to the Tournament Roll which made John Blanke famous.
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| Detail of information screen by the Tilting Yard exhibit (Tournament Roll highlighted)
On the Tournament Roll - total length sixty feet - John Blanke's image is close to the scene depicted - about four feet away from. It would seem to make good sense to bring the information screen (see detail below) by the Titling Yard exhibit closer to the BBC's plaque in some way, perhaps updating the information screen with John Blanke's image and why the BBC chose the Naval College as the site for its comparative plaque.
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| Detail from the Westminster Tournament Roll Highlighting Henry VIII and John Blanke |
You can follow the plaque's story through the Twitter Hashtag #JohnBlankePlaque and keep up with all things John Blanke at JohnBlanke.com