Walter Tull and Family History
It was a typically dank Remembrance Day,
When I biked out to Lydiard Millicent,
Through Wiltshire lanes and sodden yellow leaves;
I went to see Mr. Arthur Tull, a relation of my mum’s,
Who had a family tree going back, he reckoned,
To the 18th century seed drill Tull, good old Jethro.
We didn’t discuss the fact that 4% of white Britons
May well have black slave ancestry,
Nor did the TV show any West Indian or Asian old soldiers
Marching beneath the umbrellas, laying any wreaths,
And when we talked football and the good old days,
We didn’t mention Walter Tull, Tottenham inside left
Until he was traumatised by Bristol City bigots,
Back in those imperial golden days before the Great War.
Walter, the London grandson of a slave,
Transferred to Northampton Town,
Then courted by Grimsby and Glasgow Rangers,
Until he joined the 1st Football Battalion,
The Middlesex Regiment,
Fighting on the Somme and maybe meeting my footballing granddad,
Becoming a sergeant, and then 2nd lieutenant Tull,
The 2nd ever black professional footballer,
And the 1st ever black officer in the British Army.
2nd Lieutenant Walter Tull,
Once a printer, grandson of a slave, orphaned son of a joiner,
KIA 25th March 1918, aged 29,
Eulogised by his Commanding Officer,
“The battalion and company have lost a faithful officer
and personally, I have lost a friend”,
And so popular with his men,
That they repeatedly tried to get him back,
As he lay dead in No Mans’ Land,
He must have had the common touch, Walter,
Even though he was an uncommon man.
But I didn’t discuss any of this with Arthur,
How could I? I hadn’t heard of Walter 20 odd years ago –
But next season, when Swindon play at Northampton,
I’ll visit his Garden of Remembrance,
And I’ll take a poppy from me and one from Arthur,
And one from my dad and my grandad
And one from my brother-in-law,
And his dad from Bristol City,
So the future can reclaim the past
And so the past can redefine the future,
A future of comradeship way beyond the confine of colour.
About This Site
Welcome to Football Poets -- a club for all football poets, lovers of football and lovers of (alternative) poetry. Discover poets in every league from respected internationals at the top of their game to young hopefuls in the school playground.
Publish your football poems here and then discuss them with your team mates and fans. We're archived by The British Library, so your masterpieces are in the safe hands of a world-class keeper. What a result!
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Latest Poems
joe morris
4th May 2024
Crispin Thomas
2nd May 2024
joe morris
2nd May 2024
joe morris
28th April 2024
Richard Williams
26th April 2024
joe morris
25th April 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
25th April 2024
kevin halls
23rd April 2024
Alex Saynor
23rd April 2024
Crispin Thomas
22nd April 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
29th April 2024 at 2:47 pm
Hi Denys,
Yes Richard Williams you’re a brilliant wordsmith, my friend. When I first saw your football poetry I thought it was the superb Guardian sports and music writer. I once had the honour of sitting next to Richard Williams while at the Independent on the sports desk. He writes about music and sport with immense knowledge and authority. I’ve read a couple of Richard’s books recently. Great writer rather like you Richard Williams the Pompey fan. Congratulations on promotion.
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28th April 2024 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Denys. Yes your replay poem was superb.
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26th April 2024 at 4:46 pm
Nice work, Joe. You were quick off the mark with that! Good one from Richard Williams too I see.
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25th April 2024 at 7:33 pm
Hi Denys,
Thanks mate. I’ll do it now.
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25th April 2024 at 1:56 pm
Thanks Joe,
you might like to write a poem yourself on the same subject…
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23rd April 2024 at 4:03 pm
Hi Denys
With you all the way on the abolition of FA Cup replays. What are they doing to the game?
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23rd April 2024 at 3:59 pm
Hi Crispin,
Yes sorry mate. Villa are still in Europe. Mistake rectified.
Cheers
Joe
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20th April 2024 at 12:04 pm
Hi Joe
Shouldn’t your title read your poem Farewell Europe England to everyone exccept Aston Villa ?
I know you mention them in your poem , but I do feel sorry for Villa re the national press .
Largely ignored. the hype was was all about Man City & Arsenal with a bit of a nod to the Hammers..but hardly a mention of Villa..
So well done to them
C
.
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19th March 2024 at 8:00 am
Hi Crispin. Chris Sutton on the radio has gone for a Chelsea v Coventry final. As we know anything can happen in the Cup, and I reckon we can go to the final.
We’re still in with a chance of the play offs too, so lots to go for.
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19th March 2024 at 7:41 am
Hey Kev
Let the masses drool over their odds on City v Unted Final, but who knows how pressure can hit.
Cov and Chels will be rightly labelled as having no chance..but hey …stranger things have happened..
so Chelsea v Coventry…that’s the Final for us!
Best
C
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