A special moment for Ed, Walter Tull's great nephew

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, the annual celebration of the UK's black history and heritage, we bring you a wonderful moment from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Ed Finlayson followed in the footsteps of his great uncle, the inspirational Walter Tull, and talked history with Dele...

For a moment, on the ground where his great uncle blazed a trail for black footballers 111 years earlier, Ed Finlayson was struck by emotion.

Ed is Walter Tull’s great nephew and to paint a picture, he was pitchside at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after meeting Dele, TV presenter Alison Hammond and our Club Historian, John Fennelly, for an ITV special, Alison Hammond: Back to School, where Alison travelled up and down the country discovering some of the black figures who have been hidden from Britain's history.

A video montage played over the huge video screens, and the sheer scale of what Walter achieved in his life, a life tragically cut short at 29, hit home.

“That moved me a great deal,” said Ed, who travelled down from the family base in Scotland. “I really appreciate it. I know it’s not White Hart Lane, it’s not the same ground technically he played at, but I really thank Spurs, the supporters, the players, the Club, for the very kind honour and acknowledgement that you have to my great uncle on that day, and, yes, it was very moving.

“I thank you all for your appreciation of Walter and his story. I’m sure he and my grandfather would be delighted in terms of what you have done to honour his life.”

Here at Spurs, we proudly know Walter’s story well. Born in Folkestone, Kent, later orphaned and sent to London Children’s Home and Orphanage in Bethnal Green, east London, with his elder brother Edward - Ed’s grandfather - Walter excelled at football, shone for Clapham, was signed by Spurs in March, 1909 and on 1 September, 1909, started our first-ever fixture in English football’s top flight, the old Division One, at Sunderland. In doing so, he became the nation’s first black professional outfield player.

Walter moved to Northampton in October, 1911 and played over 100 times for the Cobblers, but in 1914, World War One meant life changed forever. Walter was one of the first footballers to sign up, went to the front line in 1915 and fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He was commissioned as second lieutenant on 30 May, 1917 - contrary to regulations, Walter had now become the first British-born black combat officer in the British Army.

He fought in Italy in January, 1918 before returning to France to fight in the second Battle of the Somme. That’s where he was shot and killed instantly on 25 March, 1918, at the age of 29. Walter was posthumously awarded the British War and Victory Medal. He was also recommended for the Military Cross, but never received it.

As we always say, Walter’s story transcends football.

Ed added: “We’re delighted if Walter’s story helps inspire people, gives them hope about resilience in the face of adversity, delighted on Walter’s behalf, delighted on my grandfather’s behalf, his older brother, and delighted as a family. And we thank you as a club for what you are doing in that respect and what I learned you’ve been doing quietly for a long time, actually, in terms of recognising and honouring Walter’s story.”

So, one final, somewhat obvious question. Walter was a trailblazer, but we wonder what would he have made of football today? “It’s interesting you ask that,” said Ed. “You probably know I had the great honour of meeting Dele, and that was a delight and an honour, what a gentleman he is.

“I thought afterwards to myself exactly that. You can only speculate. Your historian, John Fennelly, says what strikes him is that in any photographs he’s seen of Walter, he always seems to be smiling, very relaxed, at ease.

“I suspect Walter would be absolutely delighted to play in your squad today, surrounded by many mixed heritage and other black footballers. I’m sure he would have been delighted to play with a player such as Dele, and many others.

“So, you are right, I have thought about that over these years, he would be coming into a different set up. But, there is part of my mind that also says... look, we know what (Raheem) Sterling said, (Marcus) Rashford said, and so many other players have had to speak out, so, while it’s encouraging we have far greater integration in terms of teams, a great mix of people, we know that the challenges are still there, and, sadly, the issues of racism, inequality and prejudice remain with us.”