Walter Tull would have been a remarkable individual no matter when he had been born, but to achieve what he did, during the time that he did, makes him even more remarkable. He was an orphan at just six years of age, and despite not wanting to, his step mother, Clara, had no choice but to place him and his elder brother, Edward, in to a children's home in the East End of London.

In World War I, he went on to become the first black officer in the British Army, to lead white troops into battle, and was fondly regarded by the men who served under him.

By Stephen Wynn