Show Racism the Red Card – the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity – has commissioned a new musical drama for Black History Month as part of a campaign to redress a grave injustice dating back to events that took place in January 1917 during The First World War.
Our Little Hour which will be staged at the Greenwich Theatre London on 22nd & 23rd October as part of a UK wide tour tells the inspirational story of how Walter Tull – the grandson of a Barbadian slave and orphaned at just eight years old – rose to prominence against all odds.
The first black footballer to play at the highest level of the domestic game in the UK, he went on to achieve another historic breakthrough as the first man of his heritage to be commissioned as an Officer in the British Army.
In spite of these extraordinary achievements, successive British governments have failed to acknowledge the full extent of Walter Tull’s pioneering contribution to British History, and it was redressing the injustice of such treatment that playwright Dougie Blaxland says motivated him “when researching and writing the book and lyrics for Our Little Hour.”
Blaxland maintains that “in spite of the warm words of praise and the public unveiling of plaques and a statue dedicated to Walter Tull’s memory, a key moment in the former Spurs’ star’s life is all too often conveniently glossed over – and it is the dramatisation of this that lies at the heart of Our Little Hour.
The event that Dougie Blaxland refers to occurred on January 1st 1917 when Walter Tull became the first Black British Military Officer to lead his men in combat. It was during the North Italian Campaign and Walter led his platoon across the freezing cold Piave river in a daring raid on enemy lines. On his return – having achieved his objective with all 26 of his men safe and unharmed – he received a citation for “gallantry and coolness under fire” and was recommended for The Military Cross by his commanding officer.
Nevertheless, as Dougie Blaxland points out – “in spite of irrefutable documentary evidence that substantiates Walter Tull’s entitlement to The Military Cross the award has still not been made.”
The omission is, of course, all the more poignant because Walter Tull was tragically killed just weeks before the end of the War at the Second Battle of the Somme. And it is in this context that Blaxland hopes that “
Our Little Hour – which includes 18 hauntingly beautiful new songs by celebrated composer Chris Anthony – will inspire audiences to join the campaign to overturn a blatant injustice that has clouded Walter Tull’s great legacy for more than a hundred years.”
Our Little Hour is at Greenwich Theatre 22nd and 23rd October
