The new name of the Tennis Stadium at Bernard Park immortalises a black Bermudian who was not only an avid tennis player but also a fighter for integration.

William E. R. Joell once helped to bring a petition to Parliament to allow black people to play on the courts.

"A group of us all got together because Althea Gibson (first black player to win Wimbledon) had come to Bermuda and we wanted to take her out and play," recalled Mr. Joell's friend Leslie Lynch, himself a black tennis player. "We had gone down to the Tennis Stadium because we had reserved a court and the lady at the desk didn't give us a hard time and she let us go through but the manager wasn't there at the time.

"When the manager did arrive back he yelled at us and told us we couldn't be on the court, because at that time there were only two times out of the year that we were allowed to play. But we didn't move and we just kept on playing and he finally left us alone," Mr. Lynch said.

After the incident, Mr. Joell decided that something needed to be done so all people could play on the court. Mr. Joell and many others met Russell Dismont who was then a Member of Parliament and they put together a petition.

"It was around 1955 and Mr. Dismont took the petition to Parliament and it was unanimously passed," Mr. Lynch said.

Mr. Joell's passion and perseverance to integrate the tennis stadium never really stopped after Parliament passed the petition for blacks to be able to use the courts.

Said Mr. Joell's grandson, Randy Stafford: "My grandfather did a lot for tennis on this Island. He was even awarded an OBE from the Queen for his contribution to tennis. His interest in tennis started very early on.

"I think the love for tennis started when my grandfather went to Berkeley Institute and the school had a tennis court but it had been built on a slope. He and another student took the time to make plans to resurface the court so it was no longer sloped."

Using money out of his own pocket, Mr. Joell would bring coaches to the Island to help students and he also sent many tennis enthusiasts to the United States.

"It was never a job for him, he never got paid for it and all of the money he used he took out of his business or from his own pocket. It was his love for the game of tennis and it wasn't a job," Mr. Stafford said.

Mr. Joell started the Bermuda Floor Craftsman and Mr. Stafford attributes the start of his own flooring business Stafford & Co. to his apprentice days with his grandfather.

"I didn't just learn how to refinish and replenish floors from my grandfather, he gave me the will to succeed regardless of the barriers," Mr. Stafford said.

When Mr. Stafford speaks of his grandfather persevering, he is also reminded of how his grandfather ran 19 times for councilman for the City of Hamilton and four times as an independent. He never won the seat, but never gave up, Mr. Stafford said.

Mr. Lynch recalls that in the late 1940s, before his political challenges, Mr. Joell built a tennis club on a piece of marsh land near the Bermuda Electric Light Company.

"My grandfather gave everyone the opportunity to play tennis when he opened the Rainbow Tennis Club. My aunt didn't understand why he would call it that but it was obvious he called it that because he allowed people of all colours to play there," Mr. Stafford said.

He added: "My grandfather died in 1985 but he played tennis up until his 80s. He was never a tennis champion but his devotion to the game never stopped."

Today, Sports Minister Randy Horton and Premier Jennifer Smith will unveil and officially rename the stadium the W. E. R. Joell Tennis Stadium.