Forgotten Hero

Giovanni Valetti, born 1913. He is the most forgotten champion in the history of Italian cycling. He began as an amateur in 1933, during fascist times, under Mussolini's dictatorship. A time when cycling meant sweat, dusty roads, solitude and terrible efforts. Valetti became in a few years one of the most talented champions in Italy. He won two Tours of Italy in a row (1938-1939), defeating Gino Bartali, the strongest Italian cyclist of twentieth century. But the war interrupted Valetti's career. He ended up where he started, working as a laborer in a car factory, completely forgotten by everyone.

Walter Tull was a pioneering black British footballer and the first black officer in the British army, who died heroically fighting in the First World War and yet is virtually unheard of today.

The true story of Folke Bernadotte's heroic rescue of 30,000 prisoners during WWII

Jean-Claude Servan-Schreiber enlisted in the French army at the outset of World War II and quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant. Despite his patriotism and courage in defending his country, in which he narrowly escaped death several times, he suffered the bigotry of his fellow soldiers until he was expelled from the army for being Jewish. He sought exile in Spain and was deported and interned in a concentration camp before he managed to join the Allied army in North Africa. He eventually participated in the triumphant liberation of his homeland.