Walter Tull, footballer and black British war hero
Walter Tull was one of English football's first black players and the British Army's first ever black officer to command white troops.
Born in Folkestone his mother, Alice, died of breast cancer when Walter was just seven. Two years later, his father, Daniel, who had arrived in Britain from his native Barbados in 1876 having worked his way over as a ship's carpenter, passed away of heart disease.
Walter and his brother Edward were eventually taken in by an orphanage in Bethnal Green, part of an organisation known today as Action For Children, where staff encouraged Walter's love of football. Walter and his brother were separated through Edward's adoption by a couple from Glasgow.
Now alone in the orphanage, Walter excelled at sport and went on to play for amateur team Clapton FC. Spotted by Tottenham Hotspur, he was soon playing at White Hart Lane in front of crowds in the tens of thousands.
He was one of the first black players in the English game, and was subjected to terrible racial abuse. One newspaper report at the time described how, during a match at Bristol City in 1909, "a section of the crowd made a cowardly attack on him in language lower than Billingsgate".
His career at Spurs drifted following the racial abuse he suffered. Confined to the reserves, his fortunes were revived when Herbert Chapman signed him for Northampton Town in 1911 for a "substantial fee".
He went on to play 111 games for the club before the outbreak of World War One Walter enlisted with Middlesex Regiment, part of a 'Footballers' Battalion' that drew professional players from a range of clubs.
He fought extensively in the war, at one stage being sent home suffering from "shell shock" - what today would be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder. He returned to the conflict, having been made an officer, and served on the Italian Front from November 1917 to early March 1918.
Walter was cited for "gallantry and coolness" after leading a night raid with 26 men. It was here he was cited for his "gallantry and coolness" by Major-General Sydney Lawford, after leading 26 men on a night raid against an enemy position. He and his men crossed the cold River Piave into enemy territory before returning, all unharmed despite coming under heavy fire. Walter had been put forward for a Military Cross.
On 25 March, Walter was shot and fatally wounded whilst engaged in combat near Arras in Northern France, he was 29. It is reported Private Tom Billingham - a former goalkeeper for Leicester Fosse - attempted to drag Walter's body back to the British position so he could be buried. His efforts failed and Walter's body lay in the soil of northern France, like so many that fought and died in the Great War.
Walter’s name and achievements had been buried for far too long and 100 years after he has been honoured on one of the First World War centenary stamps.
Walter's life is now commemorated at the Arras Memorial, His name is engraved along with 34,785 other soldiers with no known grave, who died in the area between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918.
A lasting memorial and remembrance garden in the shadow of Northampton Town's stadium also remembers the life of one of Britain's most unknown and under-appreciated heroes.
His family are still waiting for the Military Cross to be awarded.
Credits: Richard Conway David Lockwood and Phil Vasili biographer and author of "Walter Tull - 1888 to 1918, Footballer and Officer" (London League Publications)
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/football/43504448
