Me and my big mouth....
"There has been some fascinating discussions recently amongst historians about the
extent of the 'Colour bar' that existed in the British Army at the time of Tull's
promotion to the rank of Second Lieutenant:
John Simkin, creator of
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk wrote recently that,
According to several accounts on Walter Tull it has been claimed that despite
military regulations forbidding "any negro or person of colour" being an officer,
Tull received his commission in May, 1917.
I have had an email from the British Army legal department pointing out: This
was not the case. The only prohibition was against 'an alien' enjoying 'any
office or place of trust' (Act of Settlement Sec. 3), although they could hold
honorary rank in the British Army, whether or not accompanied by a formal
commission. Aliens could enlist in the British Army, see s. 95 (2) of the
Manual of Military Law of 1914:
'any inhabitant of any British protectorate and any negro or person of colour,
ALTHOUGH AN ALIEN [my stress], may voluntarily enlist in pursuance of this
Part of this Act...' (i.e. the Army Act)
But the point is that Tull was born in Folkestone of a father from Barbados and
a mother from Kent, and was therefore not an alien but a British citizen, and
as such perfectly entitled to hold a normal active commission. It makes a good
story to say that the rules had to be broken to make him an officer, but it isn't
true. It is quite enough of a tribute that he rose from 'ranker' to officer in 2
years."
It goes on...
"Phil Vasili, the author of Colouring over the White Line: the History of Black
Footballers in Britain responded,
The argument that (the army) are inferring is that Black British recruits did not
face any unique difficulties in enlisting, which is contradicted by numerous
personal accounts of soldiers of colour from the First World War. It is also
contradicted by records held at Kew which detail the debates that Black
enlistment ignited among civil servants and politicians. It is further
contradicted by fact: if Blacks were freely entitled to join the army, and had
done so, why was Tull the first Black infantry officer; and why was there not
another until Moody in the Second World War?
The section of the Manual quoted is unclear because it implies 'Negroes' are
aliens and goes on to say that an alien may not 'exercise any actual command
or power'. This allowed the army to get around the fact of medical officers of
colour. I am still ABSOLUTELY convinced they had a colour bar against Black
infantry officers. The facts speak for themselves.
Lastly, why wasn't Tull given his Military Cross? Because he didn't deserve it?
Or because, as an alien, he shouldn't have been 'exercising any actual
command or power'?
Vasili went on to further state that
Tull was appointed to the Special Reserve of Officers. This is what their
regulations in the Short Guide to Obtaining a Commission in the Special
Reserve of Officers, published by His Majesty's Stationary Office, 1912,
stated:
[to qualify for a commission] a candidate must be of pure European descent,
and a British born or naturalised British subject.
The Manual of Military Law (1914) authorised alien soldiers, including any
negro or person of colour to hold honorary rank but they must not exercise
any actual command or power.[i] This rule created a contradiction because
the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 affirmed the status of all
those born within the British Empire as natural born British subjects.[ii] The
act gave all peoples of Empire equivalent legal status to those born within the
UK. However, if there was ambiguity as to the ethnic criteria needed to
become an officer, this was spelled out on page198 of the Manual, confirming
the regulation contained in the Short Guide of 1912, governing the Special
Reserve of Officers (to which Tull was appointed to a commission in 1917):
Commissions in the Special Reserve of Officers are given to qualified
candidates who are natural born or naturalised British subjects of pure
European descent.[iii]
[i] Manual of Military Law, 1914, p.471.
[ii] Richard Smith in The Oxford Companion to Black British History, David
Dabydeen, John Gilmore and Cecily Jones (eds) (Oxford University Press,
2007) p.176
[iii] The Manual (1914) defines the Special Reserve of Officers as a branch of
the Reserve of Officers...designed to ensure that all units, services and
departments of the regular forces shall be complete in officers on mobilization;
to make good wastage which will occur in the regular forces in war, and to
provide officers for special reserve units. p198. Immediately underneath is the
paragraph which states all officers must be of pure European descent.
The key phrase is pure European descent. There is no ambiguity here."
This is the whole text from a pdf file from 'teachfind.com' I cannot see a way to discover the whole address so as to allow any here to get to it for themselves, except by going through a Google search for...
British military regulations, military regulations forbidding "any negro or person of colour" being an officer
