Postbox in Glasgow painted black to honour first black Rangers footballer

A postbox in Glasgow is painted black in honour of the first black football player at Rangers.

Walter Tull signed for the side in 1917 but died just a year later serving in the First World War where he was also the first black Army officer to command troops in a regular unit.

The postbox in Glasgow is one of four across the UK as the Royal Mail marks Black History Month in October.

Each of the special edition postboxes has a social media link and features a significant figure in the British black community.

Peter De Norville, Royal Mail's head of diversity and inclusion, said: “Black History Month is a great opportunity to celebrate the contributions that black people have made to this country over many generations.

“We are also using it as an opportunity to celebrate the vital work that our black employees do throughout the nation, from the mail bag to the meeting room.''

The aim is for the postboxes to help people mark the success of black Britons, Royal Mail said.

A QR code on the postboxes can be scanned to bring up a full list, and a dedicated online gallery on the Royal Mail website, of the black Britons who have appeared on the special stamps over the years.

The London postbox is in Acre Lane in Brixton, which is near to Black Cultural Archives - a leading museum for the British black community.

This box features the image Queuing at the RA by Yinka Shonibare, one of six artists who was commissioned by Royal Mail to produce original artworks for a set of special stamps issued to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Academy (RA).

Mr Shonibare said: “As a citizen of the commonwealth, it was particularly important to me to be making a visible contribution in a historic public space.''

Mary Seacole, who nursed wounded British soldiers back to health during the Crimean War and built a dedicated place for them to recuperate known as the British Hotel, appears on the Cardiff postbox at King Edward VII Avenue.

Sir Lenny Henry, the stand-up comedian, actor, singer, writer and television presenter and co-founder of the Comic Relief charity, is honoured by the postbox in Bedford Street, Belfast.

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