Against all odds

Walter Tull would have been a remarkable individual no matter when he had been born, but to achieve what he did, during the time that he did, makes him even more remarkable.

He was an orphan at just six years of age, and despite not wanting to, his step mother had no choice but to place him and his elder brother into a children's home in the East End of London.

Walter's sporting prowess saw him play for top local amateur side, Clapton Football club, signing for them in 1908, but it was to be a short lived affair, as by the following year he had signed as a professional Tottenham Hotspur, making his first team debut against Manchester United.

In October 1911 Walter was transferred to Northampton Town Football Club, where he would go on to play over one hundred first team games, before the First World War brought a premature end to his career as a professional footballer.

This work tells his story.