Just watched a programme on iplayer, originally broadcast on BBC4 .. "Walters War" it tells the story of Walter Tull, who became the first Black officer in the British military.
He was also one of the first black players to become a professional footballer ... I was ignorant of his story despite the fact that he played for spurs, and had agreed terms to go and play for Glasgow Rangers when the first world war broke out.
Walter Tull was killed in action on 25 March 1918, during the last German offensive of the First World War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Tull