@SpursOfficial
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 3:29 p. m. Tottenham Hotspur
As we continue to celebrate African American History Month, the uk’s annual birthday celebration of African American history and heritage, we bring you a glorious moment at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Ed Finlayson followed in the footsteps of his great-uncle, the inspiring Walter Tull, talked about history with DeleArray. .
For a moment, in the box where his great-uncle paved the way for black footballers 111 years earlier, Ed Finlayson went through the excitement.
Ed is Walter Tull’s great-nephew and to paint a painting, he on the edge of the field at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the Dele assembly, TV presenter Alison Hammond and our club historian, John Fennelly, for an ITV special, Alison Hammond: Back to School, where Alison traveled across the country, to notice some of the black figures that have been hidden from Britain’s history.
A video montage played on massive video screens, and the magnitude of what Walter has completed in his life, a tragically truncated life at age 29, has struck at home.
“I was very moved,” said Ed, who came from the circle of relatives at the base in Scotland. “I appreciate it. I know it’s not White Hart Lane, it’s not the same field technically he played on, I still thank the Spurs, the fans, the players, the club, for the great honor and gratitude they have for my great uncle that day, and yes, it was very touching.
“Thank you all for your appreciation of Walter and his story. I’m sure he and my grandfather would be very happy with what was done to honor their lives. “
At the Spurs, we’re proud to know Walter’s story. Born in Folkestone, Kent, he was then orphaned and sent to London Children’s Home and Orphanage in Bethnal Green, east London, with his older brother Edward, Ed’s grandfather, Walter excelled in football, clapham shone, signed through the Spurs in March 1909 and on September 1, 1909, began our first game at the elite of the Division One golf course in Sunderland , becoming the first black professional gardener in the country.
Walter moved to Northampton in October 1911 and played more than a hundred times for the Cobblers, however, in 1914, World War I replaced life forever. Walter was one of the first footballers to register, went to the front row in 1915 and fought at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He was appointed lieutenant of the moment on May 30, 1917; contrary to regulations, Walter now had the first UK-born black wrestling officer in the British Army.
He fought in Italy in January 1918 before returning to France to fight in the Second Battle of the Somme. It was there that he was immediately shot dead on March 25, 1918, at the age of 29. Walter received the British Medal of War and Victory for the Past, but he never won it.
As we say, Walter’s story transcends football.
Ed added: “We are very happy that Walter’s story is helping motivate people, give them hope of resilience in the face of adversity, extremely joyful on behalf of Walter, extremely happy on behalf of my grandfather, his older brother and extremely joyful as and we thank them as a club for what they are doing about it and for what I have learned that they have been doing in silence for a long time , in fact, regarding the popularity and honor of Walter’s tale.
So one last question is obvious. Walter was a pioneer, but one wonders what he would do with football today. “It’s attractive for you to ask me that question, ” said Ed. ” You probably know that I had the wonderful honor of bringing Dele together, and it was an emotion and an honor, what a gentleman he is.
“Then I imagine just that. You can only speculate. His historian, John Fennelly, says that what moves him is that in all the photographs he sees of Walter, he happens to smile, very relaxed, at ease.
“I suspect Walter would surely be happy to play on his team today, surrounded by many combined legacies and other black footballers. I think I would have been extremely happy to play with a player like Dele and many others.
“So you’re right, I’ve been thinking about it over the years, I’d move on to another setup. But there is a component of my brain that also says Array . . . look, we know what (Raheem) Sterling said, (Marcus) Rashford said, and many other players had to be explicit, so while it’s encouraging, we have a lot more integration in terms of teams, a wonderful combination of people, we know that demanding situations are still there and, unfortunately, the disorders of racism, inequality and prejudice remain with us.