1. World War I- the contribution of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities Invisible Still?

2. The Invisible Contribution Conspicuous by absence? In the region of one and a half million Indian soldiers served in the First World War, along with over 15,000 men from the Caribbean. This poster evidences how at the time the contribution of the people of the former colonies was not recognised or valued in the way the efforts of others was. This presentation will explore the many acts of bravery and the significant part BME communities played during the First World War. It will focus on the biography of Walter Tull and through his remarkable story, explore the prejudices he faced and how he came to overcome them.

3. Walter Daniel John Tull- early childhood Walter was born on 28 th April 1888 in Folkestone. His father was John Tull, a joiner by trade and son of a slave. John came to Britain in 1876 from St Thomas Parish in Barbados. John married a local girl, Alice Palmer, in 1880. Together they had six children. Walter attended North Board Elementary School. In 1895, when Walter was just seven years old, his mother died. His father re- married Clara Palmer, but in December 1897, his father also tragically died leaving the children orphaned. Clara could not manage all six children and in 1898, Walter and his brother Edward were sent to Bonner Road Orphanage, owned by the Methodist Church in Bethnal Green, London. Pictured in the photograph with four of his siblings and his father, Walter is seated in the middle of the front row.

4. A Footballing Legend During his time at the Children’s Home, Walter discovered he had a talent for football. After finishing school he served as an apprentice printer, but in 1908 he was invited to join Clapton FC (later known as Leyton Orient) and his footballing career began. In 1909 he came to the attention of Tottenham Hotspur and made his club debut soon after. Initially he received much praise from the footballing press and he was considered a star player. Not everybody however appreciated Walter’s skill and professionalism. During a game in Bristol he was targeted with a torrent of racial abuse from the Bristol fans. Thereafter, Tottenham played him almost entirely in the reserve team- fearing the reactions of fans. In 1911, Northampton Town FC recruited him to the Cobblers having witnessed him score a hat-trick during a game against Tottenham. He went on to play 110 games for the Cobblers’ first team.

5. An Officer and a Gentleman In December 1914, Walter became the first Cobblers’ player to enlist. At that time military rules had initially prevented Black people joining White regiments, but Walter fought on the Western Front in the 17 th (1 st Football) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. In 1916, having been invalided out as a result of trench fever, he was sent to Officer Cadet Training School in Scotland, even though there was an official bar on Black people exercising actual command because it was deemed “to be bad for discipline”. In May 1917, he became Britain’s first Black infantry officer, a 2 nd Lieutenant of the 23 rd Middlesex (2 nd Football) Regiment. He was sent to Italy where he twice led his company on raids without the loss of a single man. He was mentioned in dispatches for his coolness and gallantry and was recommended by his commanding officer for the Military Cross. He never received the award. Walter was killed in action during the 2 nd battle of the Somme near Favrenil in No- Man’s land in March 1918.

6. Royal Mint Honours Walter’s memory "Any person who is for the time being an alien may… be enlisted in His Majesty's regular forces, so, however, the number of aliens serving together at any one time in any corps of the regular forces shall not exceed … one alien to every fifty British subjects, and that an alien … shall not be capable of holding any higher rank in His Majesty's regular forces than that of a warrant officer or non-commissioned officer." A special announcement that appeared during WWI in The Manual of Military Law. After many year’s campaigning, there is now a memorial for Walter. Part of the text on the memorial reads: ‘Through his actions WDJ Tull ridiculed the barriers of ignorance that tried to deny people of colour equality with their contemporaries‘ Walter Tull showed that black and white men and women can live together as equals. And yet we can still see evidence today in football stadiums across the world, and almost every aspect of daily life, that there is still much work to be done to eradicate racism and bring about real equality. Walter’s story forms part of a school’s anti-racist education programme delivered by the Achievement and Equality Team, alongside other campaigns such as Show Racism the Red Card. As part of a five-year programme of remembrance, Walter will be featured on one of six £5.00 coins in the first commemorative set soon to be released.

7. One among many….. William Tull William Stephen Palmer Tull, Walter's older brother, also lies in a war grave. He was a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, and died from tuberculosis on 12th March 1920, aged 37. He had been gassed during the war. He left a widow, Gertrude Mary Tull, from 59 Greenfield Road, Folkestone. He is buried at Cheriton, Folkestone. “When we got home, if you got a mother or father you have something, but if you're alone, you got to look for work. When I come I had nobody. I had to look for work. I had to eat and buy clothes. Who going to give me clothes? I didn't have a father or nobody. Now I said, 'The English are no good.' I went to Jamaica and I meet up some soldiers and I asked them, 'Here boy, what the government give you?' They said, 'The government give us nothing.' I said, 'We just the same.'” George Blackman talking about his experience as a Jamaican soldier in WWI Walter wasn’t the only BME soldier to show courage and a loyalty to the “Mother Country”. Many answered the call to enlist believing they were to be treated as equals on the battlefield. They were to find that this was far from the case and those that survived the war found they continued to face prejudice and open hostility in spite of the thousands that had given their lives or suffered severe injury. Those that returned to England after the war were often bitterly disappointed and like Walter their contribution remained unrecognised until only very recent times.

8. From across the globe Battle of the Somme - July - November 1916 15,000 soldiers from the West Indies Regiment saw action in France, Palestine, Egypt and Italy during the first world war 2,500 of them were killed or wounded From the Guardian newspaper, 2002

9. Propaganda poster Indians contributed over £100 million pounds to the War effort. 1,440,500 Indians fought for Britain during the first world war 47,000 were killed 65,000 were wounded

10. A sense of duty West Indies Regiment Soldiers camped on the Albert-Amiens Road “We wanted to go. Because the island government told us that the king said all Englishmen must go to join the war. The country called all of us." From a 2002 interview with George Blackman – a Jamaican man aged 105 who fought in WWI

11. Unequal partners When they arrived, they often found that fighting was to be done by white soldiers only - black soldiers were assigned the dirty and dangerous jobs of loading ammunition, laying telephone wires and digging trenches. Conditions were appalling. From an article in the Guardian Newspaper about Jamaican soldiers in WWI

12. Hard labour Troops of the Egyptian Labour Corps unloading a supply hulk off a ship moored off Tripoli, October 1918

13. Comradeship Soldiers of the South African Native Labour Corps- seen during a sports day at Dannes 24 June 1917

14. An Indian Sepoy pays a visit to the grave of two British airmen who were brought down in the desert by the enemy who erected the propeller of their machine as a memorial to them.

15. On all fronts Buglers of the 3 rd battalion Nigeria Regiment- circa 1917 Men of the 1/4 th King’s African Rifles at Njombe, German East Africa. Formed at the beginning of the century from tribesmen in British East Africa (now Kenya) and Uganda, the KAR bore the brunt of most of the fighting during the campaign.

16. Sepoy Khudadad Khan, VC, 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis, Hollebeke Sector, Belgium. First Battle of Ypres, 31 October 1914. London GazetteLondon Gazette 4 December 1914 (dated 7 December 1914) On 31st October, 1914, at Hollebeke, Belgium, the British Officer in charge of the detachment having been wounded, and the other gun put out of action by a shell, Sepoy Khudadad, though himself wounded, remained working his gun until all the other five men of the gun detachment had been killed.Hollebeke Belgium Khudadad Khan was born in Dabb Village, Punjab State, Pakistan. When war broke out he joined the Army as a Sepoy or Private soldier and served as a machine gunner. In October 1914 his regiment was sent to the front line in France. All the gunners were killed apart from Khan who was badly wounded. For his bravery in France and his involvement in preventing the German Army reaching vital ports, Khan received the Victoria Cross. He was the first native-born Indian to receive this honour.

17. A portrait of a Gurkha holding a kukri Gurkhas being photographed in Egypt

18. Everlasting appreciation? Indian troops marching towards the front- greeted by enthusiastic French women. Like their counterparts from the Caribbean, many former Indian soldiers discovered in the years that followed that their efforts were easily forgotten by the “Mother Country”.

19. Our History This presentation acknowledges the many and varied contributions of men and women across the globe during 1914-1918. It seeks not to single out any one group over any other, but simply to ensure that all those who dedicated their lives in service are not forgotten or overlooked by the record of history. Black History Month has been celebrated in the UK for many years and yet still many young people and adults are unaware of the significant contributions made by those from all backgrounds to shape the society we live in today. The communities featured in this display belong to our shared history. By overcoming the many barriers they indeed faced they began to change the attitudes of individual and British society. Although it cannot be denied that racism still exists in the UK, in raising awareness of their contributions, we aim to take a step closer to creating the society Walter and others dreamed about.