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Walter Tull, Army Officer
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| Tottenham Hotspur 1910-1911 Walter Tull first row, far right |
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Crossing the White Line: Walter Tull, Orphan, Footballer & Soldier
Just opened here at the museum is a display about the life of Walter Tull, the second black football player in the top division (following Preston North End's Arthur Wharton) and the first black officer in the British Army. ‘Crossing the White Line’ which has already been on show at the National Army Museum will be here until Sunday 22 February. Talks and object handling sessions about Tull will take place on Saturday 24 January and Saturday 14 February. The centrepiece of the display is a large mural painted by young people from Action for Children organisations around the country.
Walter Tull was born in Folkestone in 1888 to a Barbadian father and an English mother. When his parents died he was placed in the Children’s Home and Orphanage in Bethnal Green, London. In 1908 he joined Tottenham Hotspur and made his home debut against FA Cup holders Manchester United. The Daily Chronicle wrote: ‘Tull’s display on Saturday must have astounded everyone who saw it. Such perfect coolness…such accuracy of strength in passing, I have not seen for a long time…Tull is very good indeed’. During his football career he was the subject of racist abuse and while playing Bristol City a journalist commented that Tull suffered ‘a cowardly attack on him in language lower than Billinsgate’. After this he soon stopped getting first team games and was dropped as some Spurs officials felt embarrassed by the racist treatment and the publicity it brought.
When the First World War broke out in 1914 he quickly enlisted and was promoted twice before becoming Lance Sergeant even though it was technically illegal for black soldiers to become officers until the Second World War. Walter Tull was killed in battle on 25 March 1918. His body was never found.
More information about Walter Tull and the Crossing the White Line project can be found at www.crossingthewhiteline.com
The display has been put together by the City of Westminster Archives.Supported by Kick it Out and the Heritage Lottery Fund. From 2 March - 30 April it will be at the Scottish Football Museum, Glasgow and between 8 May - 29 June at Maision Dieu House, Dover.