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Watch: The life of Walter Tull

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

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Childhood

Walter Tull as a child pictured with his family

Walter Tull was born in Kent in 1888.

Walter came from a mixed-race family. His mother, Alice, was from Kent. His father, Daniel, moved from Barbados to England. He married twice.

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

Walter Tull as a child pictured with his family
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Walter the 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 goes to war

Walter Tull in uniform
  • Walter joined the Football Battalion and was quickly promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
  • In 1916 Walter went back to England to train as an Officer.
  • He became the first black officer to lead soldiers on the front line.
Walter Tull in uniform
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What happened to Walter?

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 commissioned to the rank of Officer.
  • On the 25th March 1918, Walter led soldiers in an attack on German trenches.
  • The German machine-guns opened fire and Walter was shot dead.
  • His body was not 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.
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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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