Walter Tull documentary

[Duke of Northumberland]

I watched this on the iPlayer last night- still there for a week I think.

I thought this was a story of pride for the club, but actually it turns out he was dropped by Spurs after suffering abuse from opposing fans, even though he played as well as anyone but instead of supporting him they didn't want all the hassle and he was left to rot in the reserves before going on to shine for Northampton. It seems more like a shameful episode from our history. He had a miserable life as well in spite of his achievements- it was a depressing watch!

I guess any tributes now are welcome and help make amends but its not a good story for us.

 

[0v3rl0r9]

Jumping onto this if you're interested on what Walter got up to during the Great War there is a fantastic episode of Bruce Crompton's amazing war stories that goes into detail about it. The entire 6 episode series is a fantastic listen that tells some amazing stories and it's very well made anyway but I had never actually heard anything about Walter other than he was the first black officer in the British army and played for us before the war but after listening to this he actually got handed a really shit situation during the German spring offensive and faced some terrible odds but didn't shy away from his duty. Respect to him.

The Striker of The Somme - A Remembrance Day Special | Amazing War Stories

Incredible new evidence about Walter Tull's Resting Place

www.amazingwarstories.com

 

[rez9000]

I watched this on the iPlayer last night- still there for a week I think.

I thought this was a story of pride for the club, but actually it turns out he was dropped by Spurs after suffering abuse from opposing fans, even though he played as well as anyone but instead of supporting him they didn't want all the hassle and he was left to rot in the reserves before going on to shine for Northampton. It seems more like a shameful episode from our history. He had a miserable life as well in spite of his achievements- it was a depressing watch!

I guess any tributes now are welcome and help make amends but its not a good story for us.

Jumping onto this if you're interested on what Walter got up to during the Great War there is a fantastic episode of Bruce Crompton's amazing war stories that goes into detail about it. The entire 6 episode series is a fantastic listen that tells some amazing stories and it's very well made anyway but I had never actually heard anything about Walter other than he was the first black officer in the British army and played for us before the war but after listening to this he actually got handed a really shit situation during the German spring offensive and faced some terrible odds but didn't shy away from his duty. Respect to him.

The Striker of The Somme - A Remembrance Day Special | Amazing War Stories

Incredible new evidence about Walter Tull's Resting Place

www.amazingwarstories.com

Thanks for sharing, guys.

 

[Duke of Northumberland]

Jumping onto this if you're interested on what Walter got up to during the Great War there is a fantastic episode of Bruce Crompton's amazing war stories that goes into detail about it. The entire 6 episode series is a fantastic listen that tells some amazing stories and it's very well made anyway but I had never actually heard anything about Walter other than he was the first black officer in the British army and played for us before the war but after listening to this he actually got handed a really shit situation during the German spring offensive and faced some terrible odds but didn't shy away from his duty. Respect to him.

The Striker of The Somme - A Remembrance Day Special | Amazing War Stories

Incredible new evidence about Walter Tull's Resting Place

www.amazingwarstories.com

He got orphaned as a kid, worked his way up to a top football club only to be abused and then sidelined, signed up for the war, got shell-shocked, sent home and went back to the front and got killed!

 

[ralphs bald spot]

I have seen it - I think its a strange response thinking that Tottenham come out of it badly - never even thought about that its a good story and he must been quite a strong bloke to be able to get where he did in the British Army at that time - I am sure at that time he would have been a bit of a mystery as a footballer - but you have to remember football would have been a very different sport and crowds to what we have today

In fact if you stuck most of the crowd from today back into the seventies they would struggle to recognise the game and the supporters

 

[hellava_tough]

Walter Tull - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

An interesting read.

It's a real shame the club didn't persist with him; as the OP said, it could have been a proud moment for Spurs...plus, by the sounds of things, he might have won a cup or two for us

On another note, no doubt there was fierce racial prejudice in the Edwardian period. But it was also interesting to read in the wiki entry how the racial abuse was criticised by the local sporting paper. Further to that, his commanding officer put him forward for a military honour.

We can sometimes forget that there are good people, in their own way, in every era.

 

[hellava_tough]

He got orphaned as a kid, worked his way up to a top football club only to be abused and then sidelined, signed up for the war, got shell-shocked, sent home and went back to the front and got killed!

WT had serious character, there's no doubt.

I've studied history all my life and something that strikes me instantly is how hard the average person's existence has been, throughout the ages. We're all totally pampered by comparison. Even our pandemic is second-rate

Seriously though, war, famine, disease, back breaking labour, drafty shelters, no running water, no labour rights...I could go on. 90% of all humans who ever lived experienced these things. But they just got on with it, as there was no other choice.

 

[Nayim60yards]

Thanks for the heads up. I have now downloaded it to watch later.