Michaela Morgan 

The story of Walter Tull – in pictures

Celebrate Black History Month with this gorgeous gallery about Walter Tull, the first black outfield professional footballer who then went onto be the first black officer in the British army, dying tragically in the first world war. Michaela Morgan tells the story of how he rose above prejudice on the pitch
  
  


Walter Tull: home team
Walter Tull (as imagined by Michaela Morgan): This is me in the Bonner Road school team. Bonner Road was a children’s home. I lived there (with more than 300 other children) after mum and dad died. We worked hard all day – prayers, lessons, cleaning boots, scrubbing floors and learning a trade but we had two hours free time every evening and I played football and cricket.
Photograph: Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter Tull: Clapton Orient
A scout from Clapton FC spotted me and I was given a trial match. We won 6-1! Clapton is a really good amateur team. Since I joined we’ve the Football Association Amateur Challenge Cup, the London Senior Cup and the County Amateur Cup. It’s official – we’re the best! Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter Tull: Spurs kid
Spotted again – and signed to play for Tottenham Hotspurs. I’m a professional player now. Proud of my kit! They say I’m the first black British professional out field player. Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter Tull: Football kid
My kit so I've got a shirt that is thick, warm and good for a cold day – but when it's wet it's like wearing a heavy, damp sponge. I've got my shorts - we call them "knickers. They are long and loose and they soak up the mud. I have heavy leather boots with big studs. They can really heart if you get kicked. And my ball is made of thick leather with a strong lace. It soaks up water and weight. When it's wet it's like heading a brick! Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter Tull: Spurs
For my first match with Spurs I took over from Vivian Woodward - star centre forward and Olympic champion. It was Spurs first ever Division One game. I played against Manchester United. Final score a 2-2 draw. A good start! Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter tull: Tull page 6
My football career was going well until I played an away match at Bristol and the crowd… they hissed and shouted, jeered and insulted me because of my skin colour. Racism. It was a terrible experience. They wrote about it in the newspapers. In 1911, I transferred to Northampton City Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter tull: Tull page 7
I joined the army in 1914 and marched off to the First World War as part of the Footballers Battalion. I’ve heard and seen things I could never have imagined. But I’ve heard of a miracle too – on Christmas Day we stopped fighting and played football with ‘the enemy’. It’s true up to 100,000 men stopped shooting, started talking – and we had a football match in No Man’s Land. Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter Tull: Image 8 memorial
Walter Tull was killed in action in 1918. He was 29 years old. Walter’s body was never recovered from the battlefield. He has no individual grave stone but his name is inscribed along with 35,000 others on the War Memorial in Arras. This is the Northampton Town FC memorial to Walter Tull. Photograph: Michaela Morgan
Walter Tull: Walter Tull front
Michaela Morgan's fascinating book The Walter Tull Scrapbook is available at the Guardian bookshop. Walter Tull, the grandson of a slave, overcame barriers of race, class, education and personal tragedy and became the first black professional outfield footballer and the first black British army officer. Photograph: Michaela Morgan
 

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