Building record 1160/0/447 - Walter Tull Memorial

Memorial by Paul Mason unveiled in 1999 to Walter Tull. Tull was of Afro-Caribbean descent and played for Northampton Town Football Club and was a British Army Officer. He was killed in WWI. The memorial comprises a freestanding concrete wall with nine grey, black & white marble tablets attached to each side. There is an inscription by Phil Vasili on each side of it.

{1} Memorial unveiled in 1999 to Walter Tull. By Paul Mason. It comprises a freestanding concrete wall with nine grey, black & white marble tablets attached to each side. There is an inscription by Phil Vasili on both sides. The inscription on the south-facing side reads: Through his actions W. D. J. Tull / ridiculed the barriers of ignorance / that they to deny the 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. / This memorial marks an area of / reflective space as a Garden of Remembrance. The inscription on the north-facing side reads: Walter Daniel John Tull born 28 April 1888 / 1909 - Tottenham Hotspur F.C. / 1911 - Northampton Town F.C. / 1914 - enlisted into 17th / Battalion, 1st Football. / 1917 - The first black Briton to be commissioned a combat officer. / 1918 - He was killed at the / second battle of the Somme. He was awarded the 1914 - 15/ Star and British War and / Victory Medals.

<1> Imperial War Museum, Imperial War Museum Register, https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/38194; Accessed 03/10/2024 (Website). SNN110774.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 7:33PM