A new book tells the story of Donald Simpson Bell VC, the only English professional footballer awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War.
Written by military historian Iain McMullen, it is the first comprehensive account of Bell's life.
Mr McMullen had exclusive access to the Bell family archives and describes the book as “the result of many years of research undertaken in close collaboration with his family”.
He says that access helped him tell Bell’s story “from a much more personal perspective”.
Originally from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Bell’s career took him to Newcastle United and Bishop Auckland.
He then moved on to Bradford Park Avenue, where he made his Football League debut.
Bell’s former clubs honoured him with a commemorative match on the centenary of his death.
While on trial at Newcastle United, Bell played before 12,000 fans at St James’s Park.
He later made his reserve-team debut alongside England international Jack Carr and competed for a place with Newcastle legend Frank Hudspeth.
When the First World War broke out, Bell enlisted in the British Army, reportedly becoming the first professional footballer to do so.
Bell began in the West Yorkshire Regiment before becoming a lance corporal in the Green Howards’ 9th Battalion.
Bell returned to the North East in 1915 and completed officer training at Tynemouth’s Bath Assembly Rooms.
During his first night there, a German Zeppelin raid struck along the River Tyne, waking most of the guests at his hotel.
However, Bell miraculously remained asleep, later telling his mother that he had somehow “slept through the affair”.
Bell was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery on the Somme on July 5, 1916.
When a hostile machine gun was firing on the battalion, Bell ran through the open fire and attacked the enemy gun and personnel with a bomb.
He jokingly described the act in a letter to his parents as “the biggest fluke alive”, saying: “I only chucked one bomb, but it did the trick.”
Five days later, on July 10, Bell was tragically shot in the head by a sniper. He was 25 when he died, and his body was later reburied at Gordon Dump Cemetery near Contalmaison.
Just weeks before his death, he had married Rhoda Margaret née Bonson, with whom he honeymooned at the Croft Hotel in Darlington.
After Bell's death, his widow, Rhoda, received the Victoria Cross from King George V in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Bell’s Victoria Cross was displayed at the Green Howards Museum in North Yorkshire before being auctioned off in 2010. The Professional Footballers' Association bought Bell's medal for £210,000 and presented it to Manchester’s National Football Museum.
Mr McMullen’s research uncovered far more than he initially expected.
Over the course of several years, Mr McMullen has pieced together Bell’s life through newspaper archives, football and military records, and school and local archives, as well as those materials preserved by his family.
Those family papers proved especially valuable because Bell and his siblings wrote prolifically.
Mr McMullen has spent years researching professional footballers’ experiences during the First World War, publishing his findings on his website, ‘Football and the First World War’, in 2013.
As a lifelong football supporter, Mr McMullen was drawn to Bell’s story many years ago, and was surprised that there had never been a full and comprehensive biography on the war hero.
The biography tells Bell’s story “on a personal level, looking beyond his football career and battlefield gallantry”.
Mr McMullen told The Northern Echo: “I owe a profound debt of gratitude to Don’s family.
"Their trust, generosity and willingness to help were unwavering throughout.
"It was a truly humbling experience to gain their trust to tell his story.
"The letters offer an intimate insight into Bell’s life, hopes and ambitions, and the book would not have been possible without them.
“Writing this biography has been an immense privilege, but also a profound responsibility.
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"I hope readers will come away with a deeper understanding of Donald Simpson Bell beyond his extraordinary courage and tragic death on the battlefield.
"If this book succeeds in revealing the man behind the Victoria Cross, then I will have achieved the objective I set myself at the very beginning of this journey.”
The book costs £25 and is published by Pen & Sword.
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