Video streamed from You Tube.
Walter Rull video is used with permission
A short, animated biopic of Walter Tull: the first Black man to be made a commissioned officer in the British Army. This was testament to his character as at that time it was against regulations to have a 'man of colour' lead in war.
He was also the second Black, professional footballer in England, but the first to play outfield. He started out playing for Clapton FC as an amateur but was snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur FC, before moving on to Northampton Town FC. He was due to transfer to Glasgow Rangers FC when he joined the Footballers' Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment to fight in the First World War.
Commissioned by Westminster Archives and funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, the film was designed by children from Walter Tull's old school in Folkestone. It was animated by children at the National Children's Home, Westminster. Tull lived in an NCH in Bethnal Green when he was orphaned at the age of 9.
Please visit the official Walter Tull website:
http://www.crossingthewhiteline.com
