than 23 years in custody, with just weeks to go before his name could finally be cleared, that he has died. It is a tragedy". Tony O'Connor In 1967 the local education authority covering Smethwick appointed the first Black headteacher in the United Kingdom, Tony O'Connor (1918-2006), at Bearwood Primary School, close to where Hallam lives. The appointment was greeted by racist daubing on the school walls and threatening letters to the Chief Education Officer. However, O'Connor proved to be a very effective and popular headteacher, respected by children, parents, and colleagues. On the fiftieth anniversary of the pioneering appointment in 2017, David Hallam announced that he would start a campaign to research the life of O'Connor with a view to erecting a blue plaque on the school walls to mark this important milestone in British educational history. In popular culture When Hallam was elected as an MEP in 1994 he was in the same congregation at City Road Methodist Church, Birmingham as hymn writer Martin Leckebusch. Leckebusch's hymn "Called by Christ to be disciples" has been included as hymn number 660 in the UK's Methodist Church hymnbook, Singing the Faith, published in 2013. According to the website supporting the new hymnbook "Martin found himself asking the question: What’s it going to be like for David as an MEP in Europe? How will he be a Christian disciple in that new role?.... Martin started to reflect on the different roles that individual members of a congregation fulfil in their 'day jobs' and how these may become part of their Christian calling". Hallam's book Taking on the Men: the first women parliamentary candidates 1918 provided the basis for the December edition of ITV's political programme in the Midlands, Central Lobby. Hallam provided an interview and background material. Hallam appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain in July 2016 to speak about City Road Methodist Church, Birmingham becoming a Pokémon Go gym. Publications Taking on the Men, the first women parliamentary candidates 1918 Taking on the Men: the first women parliamentary candidates 1918, Bewdley 2018. The first General Election after British women won the right to vote in 1918 was almost an entirely male affair. With just days to spare before the old Parliament dissolved, legislation was rushed through that enabled female candidates to stand. Women scrambled to be nominated, but only seventeen made it onto the ballot paper. Three were in the