Officer Walter Tull the Soldier
Walter Tull was born on the 28th April 1888 in Kent. His dad was from Barbados and his mum was British. Tull was orphaned as a child and sent to live in an orphanage with his brother Edward Warnock Tull.
When the First World War broke out in 1914 Tull was already a professional footballer, however he enlisted in the 17th (Service) Battalion Middlesex Regiment, known as the Footballers' Battalion,. It was a unit comprised of athletes. Tull served first as a non-commissioned officer before rising quickly through the ranks, he was a natural leader. In 1917 Tull was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (which meant he held a formal appointment). Walter Tull’s achievement was
As an officer Walter, a Mixed-Race Black man, led white British troops on the frontlines in the Battle of the Somme Passchendaele and later in Italy. Remarkable. In one instance Tull led twenty-six men across a battlefield under heavy fire without losing a single soldier - and he led from the front.
On the 25th March 1918 during the Second Battle of the Somme Walter Tull was killed by enemy fire. His body was never recovered. Tull died just months before the Second World War ended. He was recommended for the Military Cross, one of the highest honours for bravery in combat. But the much-deserved recognition was not granted. And still hasn’t been.