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Watch: The life of Walter Tull

Watch this animation for a short summary of Walter Tull's life and career.

Walter Tull was both a professional footballer player and a soldier during World War One.

Walter had to give up his career as a footballer to help out in the war, but he then became recognised as the first black officer to lead white British soldiers into battle.

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Walter Tull鈥檚 family

Walter Tull as a child pictured with his family

Walter Tull was born in Folkestone, Kent on the 28 April 1888.

Walter came from a mixed-race family. His mother, Alice, was a Folkestone local. His father, Daniel, moved from Barbados to England. He married twice and had six children.

After Daniel's death in 1897, Walter's stepmother had to move Walter and his brother Edward to an orphanage in East London.

The city was busy and noisy. It was very different to the farms and countryside Walter was used to.

Walter Tull as a child pictured with his family
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Walter鈥檚 life as a footballer

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Walter Tull's orphanage football team, Walter discovered a love for football at an early age While at the orphanage Walter played a range of sports, including football and cricket. He is pictured here with the orphanage football team. He would go on to play professionally for Tottenham Hotspur.
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Walter becomes a soldier

Walter Tull in uniform

Walter had a successful career during the war.

He was quickly promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the Football Battalion.

In 1916 Walter moved back to England and began training as an Officer.

At this time, only a white, British-born person could be trained to be an Officer.

Walter became an exception to these rules and was allowed to continue his training.

Walter Tull in uniform
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Walter the officer

German soldiers in No Man's Land
Image caption,
This image shows German soldiers preparing and loading their weapons in No Man's Land.

In May 1917 Walter was 鈥榗辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别诲鈥 to the rank of Officer.

Walter was highly praised for his role in battle, notably for leading soldiers over a river in Italy.

On the 25 March 1918, Walter led an attack on German trenches.

They had to cross 'No Man's Land', which was open ground and under fire from German machine-guns.

Walter was hit and killed. His body was never found.

German soldiers in No Man's Land
Image caption,
This image shows German soldiers preparing and loading their weapons in No Man's Land.
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How do we remember Walter?

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 3, Walter Tull's name is inscribed on the Arras Memorial, Walter's name is on the Arras Memorial The Arras Memorial in France commemorates around 35,000 servicemen who lost their lives between the spring of 1916 and the 7 August 1918, who had no known graves.

At the time, Walter鈥檚 death didn鈥檛 gain much media attention. Only recently has his story been told including a campaign to have him awarded the Military Cross medal.

It鈥檚 important to understand that he wasn鈥檛 the only Black British officer that served during the war but he was the first to lead soldiers on the front line of the conflict.

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Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Walter Tull's life

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Activity 2: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about World War One.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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