Walter Tull's Scrapbook
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Walter Tull (1888-1918) was one of Tottenham Hotspur's top players, and when World War I broke out, he joined the Footballers' Battalion. His leadership and courage won him a commission and a recommendation for the Military Cross. But Walter Tull wasn't just a great footballer and a heroic British officer. He also happened to be black, at a time when people thought that only white men could be officers.
Walter's extraordinary and heartbreaking story is powerfully told by Michaela Morgan in this fictionalised scrapbook, incorporating illustrations, personal jottings and original material such as photographs and newspaper cuttings. The book even includes a copy of the telegram sent from Buckingham Palace offering sympathy after his eventual death on the battlefield of the Somme. This visual material helps to bring Walter's story vividly to life for young readers, touching on everything from his childhood in an orphanage, to his footballing years, to his time on the Western Front. Inspiring, thought-provoking and informative, this is a lively and intriguing history book with a difference, offering a fascinating insight into the life of a man who broke across boundaries to challenge the prejudices of his day.
