Year 6 explored World War 1 this term. During the topic they learnt about Walter Tull.
Walter Tull was both a professional football 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.
The children learned about Walter Tull’s family, his life as a footballer as well as his role in the army.
Tull was born in Folkestone Kent. He was the son of a carpenter Daniel Tull, who was from Barbados and Kent-born Alice Elizabeth Palmer. Due to the death of both of his parents when he was 9, Tull was brought up in the (Methodist) Children’s Home and Orphanage (now known as Action for Children) in Bethnal Green, London.
Walter started his career in football at Clapton, then signed for Tottenham Hotspur. When stationed in Scotland he signed for Rangers.
Legacy
On 11th July 1999, Northampton Town F.C. unveiled a memorial wall to Tull in a garden of remembrance at Sixfields Stadium, Northampton. The text, written by Tull’s biographer Phil Vasili, cited the following passage:
Through his actions, W. D. J. Tull ridiculed the barriers of ignorance that tried to deny people of colour equality with their contemporaries. His life stands testament to a determination to confront those people and those obstacles that sought to diminish him and the world in which he lived. It reveals a man, though rendered breathless in his prime, whose strong heart still beats loudly.
“2nd. Lieutenant W. D. J. Tull – Wall Tablets – War Memorials Register – Imperial War Museums”. Ukniwm.org.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
A road behind the North Stand (The Dave Bowen Stand) at Sixfields Stadium is named Walter Tull Way. On 28 July 2004, Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers contested the “Walter Tull Memorial Cup”. Rangers won the Cup, defeating Spurs 2–0.
Walter had a successful career during the war. In May 1917 Walter was ‘commissioned’ to the rank of Officer. When Tull was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 30 May 1917, he became one of the first mixed-heritage infantry officers in a regular British Army regiment.
Walter was highly praised for his role in battle, notably for leading soldiers over a river in Italy.
Below are some of the drawings the children completed. The year 6 Art curriculum includes looking at proportion. The children used this objective with the aim of making the picture complete.
