Remembering the legendary Walter Tull 106 years on

Today, 24 March, 2024, marks 106 years since the legendary Walter Tull (170) fell at the Battle of the Somme.

A player for us in between 1909 and 1911, Walter might have only made 10 appearances in total for us but his name and his endeavours will never go understated as he was a trailblazer in the English game.

Becoming the first outfield black player in the English Football League when he stepped out at Roker Park as we faced Sunderland on 1 September, 1909, in our first ever match in England's top flight, he broke down barriers, opening doors for aspiring black footballers.

After two seasons with us, the inside forward moved to Northampton where he played under our former fellow inside forward Herbert Chapman (124) before the Great War ultimately brought an end to Walter's footballing career.

On 21 December, 1914, Walter became the first Northampton player to join the 17th (1st Football) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, nicknamed ‘The Diehards’. He served with another ex-Spur, the legendary Vivian Woodward. Walter’s brother, William, also enlisted.

The battalion became part of the 33rd Division, 100th Brigade and was sent to the front line in France on 18 November, 1915, where they fought in the infamous Battle of the Somme between July and November, 1916 - only 76 men returned from the battalion of 400.

A sergeant and later a second lieutenant, he became the first British-born black combat officer in the British Army, fighting in Italy before returning to France for the second battle of the Somme in the spring of 1918.

Valiant and steadfast, he was leading his men in ‘No Man’s Land’ when 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.

For whom the bell Tulls

Our former Press Officer and Club Historian, John Fennelly, put together a special feature on Walter Tull in Hotspur Magazine back July, 2009 - marking a century since he'd signed for Spurs. Detailing Walter's life, the feature also looked at his family and what life in Tottenham was like in 1909, both on and off the pitch.

The feature is a reference point for Walter Tull - and can be read by using the link below.