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Man not colour

The spurs poet

Monday, April 29th, 2013

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Walter Tull
Date of birth 28 April 1888
Place of birth Folkestone, Kent, England
Date of death 25 March 1918 (aged 29)
Place of death Pas-de-Calais, France

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 If I said Walter Daniel John Tull
Who played for the super Spurs
Would you even bat an eyelid
At this ex football player of ours

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 He joined in and around 1909
And stayed for about 3 years
He was brought up in an orphanage
Parents died …terrible fears

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 He also served in the First World War
And fought in the battle of the Somme
He was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant
He gained praise and awards with aplomb

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 But fate was not kind for Walter
As on a mission somewhere in France
He was killed in the line of duty
Body never found …well that was the stance

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 So what makes Walter so special
Well the reason is so topical you see
first outfield Afro-Caribbean player
To play in the top league did he

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 He was also the first to be an officer
In a force that excluding Negroes and Mulattos
This is why he was so special
he stood side by side to fight off foes

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 He only played 10 times for Tottenham
And scoring 2 goals in his time
His confidence shook as he was dropped
As racist abuse hit its prime

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 He had agreed to sign for Rangers
When he was meant to come back from the war
Few years ago we played the Scots
And for Walter the game it was for

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 In a way I could have just done a poem
And not mentioned the colour of his skin
But respect to the man for not hiding
In this hate driven world we live in

11 Leave a comment on verse 11 0 So no matter what colour or nation
Or if my beliefs are different than yours
You wear the shirt of Tottenham
You will always be known as one of ours

12 Leave a comment on verse 12 0 More importantly he was a human being
Doesn’t matter what colour of your skin
Treat others the way you would like to be treated
The real person comes from within

13 Leave a comment on verse 13 0 Coys …..respect …..

14 Leave a comment on verse 14 0 © Thespurspoet 2013 All rights reserved no part of this document may be reproduced without consent of author

© © Thespurspoet 2013

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/man-not-colour/