Walter Tull

Walter Daniel John Tull (28 April 1888 – 25 March 1918) was an English professional  footballer. He played as an inside forward for Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton Town. He was the second person of mixed race to play in the top division of the Football League. He was the first mixed-race British outfielder in the top division of English football. His professional football career began after he was spotted while playing for his local amateur club, Clapton F.C..  He began playing for Clapton in 1908. Within a few months he had won winners' medals in the FA Amateur Cup, London County Amateur Cup and London Senior Cup. In March 1909 the Football Star called him "the catch of the season".

Tull was brought up in a National Children's Home orphanage in Bethnal Green, London, along with his brother. They were placed there following the death of their parents. He joined Tottenham in 1909 and transferred to Northampton Town in 1911, where he made 111 first-team appearances.

During the First World War, Tull served in the Footballers' Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. He fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Tull was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 30 May 1917. This was in spite of the fact there was a ban on black people being given that status.

Tull fought in Italy in 1917–18. He was noted for his "gallantry and coolness" while leading his company of 26 men on a raiding party into enemy territory. He returned to France in 1918. Tull was killed in action on 25 March during the Spring Offensive. His body was never recovered.

Campaigners have called for a statue to be erected in his honour. Northampton South MP Brian Binley has campaigned for Tull to be posthumously awarded the Military Cross. He was honoured with a commemorative plaque in London placed close to where he lived. A Walter Tull commemorative coin is part of a set of £5 coins released by the Royal Mint.

 References 

Category:1888 births
Category:1918 deaths
Category:British military personnel of World War I
Category:English footballers
Category:Military people killed in World War I
Category:People from Folkestone
Category:Sportspeople from Kent
Category:Sportspeople from London
Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players