I'm Rory Stewart and I grew up wanting to be a hero and I'm still fascinated by the ideas of heroism.

In my new series, I'm taking in the long sweep of history from Achilles to Zelensky and asking, what is a hero?

Simply doing your job, being a decent human being.

A true hero is someone who just kind of shines by

their own light and that light is to be recognised by others. The long history of heroism

with me, Rory Stewart. Listen on BBC Sounds. Hello and thank you for downloading the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me, Frahanna Heather.

All this week we're marking Black History Month here in the UK.

And today I'm taking you back to 1998 and the death in British police custody of a black former soldier.

Christoph Alder choked to death while lying handcuffed and faced down on the floor of a police station in Hull.

Footage showed it took him 11 minutes to stop breathing.

Good evening, a former soldier who died in police custody was unlawfully killed.

The jury members at the inquest heard that Mr Alder had died with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Today they returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

That visual picture of a black man left like a sack of potatoes, disregarded and ignored on a floor,

speaks volumes about skin colour.

Christopher Alder was 37 years old and a father of two at the time of his death.

Christopher, he was fun-loving.

He was a comedian.

He was a fantastic dancer. It was protective. It was loyal. He cared about other people. He was loyal to the country. He was a father and a brother.

Christopher Alder was born in Hull. He had a difficult childhood and he and his siblings were brought up in the

care system. He joined the British Army at the age of 16 where he served in the parachute regiment.

He was a decorated soldier and was training to work in computing. His sister Janet will never

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