Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy.

My name's Will Wilkin and I Commission Music Podcast for the BBC.

It's a really cool job, but every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs,

moments and movements, stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous.

And the BBC's position, at the heart of British music

means we can tell those stories like no one else.

We were, are and always will be right there at the centre of the narrative.

So whether you want an insightful take on music right now

or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous and infamous moments in music,

check out the music podcasts on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

You're about to listen to a brand new series of History's Heroes. New episodes will be released

weekly wherever you get your podcasts. But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes

a week early, first on BBC Sounds. September 1914. In the oppressive heat of the afternoon

sun, an unlikely pair sailed down a river in German East Africa. The dark waters were filled with dangerous animals.

And particularly the crocodiles who are terrifyingly close to the boat,

sort of oozing out of the water at various points.

The woman, a British Methodist missionary, seemed prim but had a taste for adventure.

She was arguing with the man, a rough-edged Canadian seemed prim but had a taste for adventure.

She was arguing with the man, a rough-edged Canadian machinist.

And she's wearing this high-necked sort of cotton shirt-waist type dress.

This outfit is soon mucky and sweat-ridden and damp and tore. The two were attempting to reach a large lake where a German gunboat was patrolling.

...