Editing Donald Simpson Bell

{{Short description|English footballer, school teacher & army officer (1890-1916)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Donald Simpson Bell
|birth_date= {{birth date|1890|12|3|df=y}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1916|7|10|1890|12|3|df=y}}
|birth_place=[[Harrogate]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England
|death_place=near [[Contalmaison]], France
|placeofburial=Gordon Dump Cemetery, France 
|placeofburial_label=
|image=VCDonaldSimpsonBell.jpg
|caption=Donald Simpson Bell as depicted on a [[cigarette card]].
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|serviceyears=1915–1916
|rank=[[Second lieutenant|Second Lieutenant]]
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|commands=
|unit=[[Green Howards|Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment)]]
|battles=[[World War I]]
* [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]
** [[Battle of the Somme]]
*** [[Battle of Albert (1916)|Battle of Albert]]{{KIA}}
**** [[First day on the Somme]]
|awards=[[Victoria Cross]]
|laterwork=Teacher<br>Footballer
}}
[[Second lieutenant|Second Lieutenant]] '''Donald Simpson Bell''', [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (3 December 1890 – 10 July 1916) was an English school teacher and professional footballer. During [[World War I]] he was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] (VC) for actions during the [[Battle of the Somme]] in mid-1916, becoming the only English professional football player to be awarded the VC.<ref name=ODNB/>

==Football==
Bell was born on 3 December 1890 to Smith and Annie Bell, who resided in Queen's Road, [[Harrogate]]. He attended St Peter's Church of England Primary School and [[Harrogate Grammar School]] before going to [[Westminster College, Oxford|Westminster College, London]], to train as a teacher.<ref name=ODNB>{{cite ODNB |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/74219 |title=Bell, Donald Simpson |last=Snelson |first=Helen |year=2008|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/74219 |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> A noted sportsman at college, he played as an amateur with [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] and later for [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Joannou|first=Paul|title=To The Glory of God: Newcastle United and the Great War|publisher=Novo Publishing Ltd|year=2018|isbn=978-0-95-681562-0}}</ref> He returned to Harrogate and became a schoolteacher at Starbeck Council School (now Starbeck Primary School) and a member of the [[National Union of Teachers]].<ref>''National Union of Teachers War Record, 1914–1919''</ref> To supplement his salary, in 1912 he signed professional forms with [[Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.|Bradford (Park Avenue)]]. He played 6 games for the club as a [[defender (association football)|defender]] or [[midfielder]] between 1912 and 1914.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Story of Donald Bell VC |url=https://www.footballandthefirstworldwar.org/donald-bell-first-world-war/ |website=Football And The First World War |accessdate=21 July 2020}}</ref>

==World War I==
When [[World War I]] broke out, he became the first professional footballer to enlist into the [[British Army]] – joining the [[West Yorkshire Regiment]] in 1915.<ref>{{cite news| title= Somme memorial to mark English football's VC | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1345393/Somme-memorial-to-mark-English-footballs-VC.html | author= Paul Stokes | work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | date=19 June 2001 |accessdate=8 January 2022}}</ref> He was promoted to Lance Corporal and then commissioned into the 9th Battalion, [[Green Howards|Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales' Own Yorkshire Regiment)]], going to France in November 1915. While on leave in June 1916 he married Rhoda Margaret {{nee|Bonson}} before returning to the front. After being in reserve for the opening of the battle of the Somme, the 9th battalion were ordered into the front line on 5 July.<ref name=ODNB/>

Bell was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] for his actions on 5 July 1916 at Horseshoe Trench, [[Somme (department)|Somme]], France.<ref name="Glendenning">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/sep/06/first-world-war-bravery-football |title=Tales of first world war bravery show football in whole new light {{!}} Barry Glendenning |last=Glendenning |first=Barry |date=6 September 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 March 2019 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|For most conspicuous bravery. During an attack a very heavy enfilade fire was opened on the attacking company by a hostile machine gun. 2nd Lt. Bell immediately, and on his own initiative, crept up a communication trench and then, followed by Corpl. Colwill and Pte. Batey, rushed across the open under very heavy fire and attacked the machine gun, shooting the firer with his revolver, and destroying gun and personnel with bombs. This very brave act saved many lives and ensured the success of the attack. Five days later this very gallant officer lost his life performing a very similar act of bravery.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29740|page=8870|supp=y|date=9 September 1916}}</ref>}}<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:VCDonaldSimpsonBellGrave.jpg|thumb|175px|right]] -->

Describing the deed in a letter to his parents, Bell stated that "I must confess that it was the biggest fluke alive and I did nothing. I only chucked one [[Grenade|bomb]], but it did the trick".<ref name="Glendenning" /> Bell was shot in the head by a [[sniper]] on 10 July 1916 while attacking a machine-gun post near the village of [[Contalmaison]].<ref name="Glendenning" /> He is buried at [[Gordon Dump Cemetery]], near [[Albert, Somme|Albert]].<ref name=cwgc>{{cwgc|id=190937|name=Bell, Donald Simpson|accessdate=16 November 2010}}</ref> His Victoria Cross was formerly displayed at the [[Green Howards Museum]] in [[Richmond, Yorkshire]]. On 25 November 2010 it was auctioned by London medal specialists, [[Spink & Son|Spink]]. It was purchased for a reported £210,000 by the [[Professional Footballers' Association]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/aaauctio.htm|title=Sales of the Victoria Cross |website=victoriacross.org |accessdate=8 January 2022}}</ref> and is on display at the [[National Football Museum]] in Manchester.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/collections_detail/donald-bells-victoria-cross-1916/|title=National Football Museum |website=/www.nationalfootballmuseum.com |accessdate=8 January 2022}}</ref>

==Legacy==
On 9 July 2000, through the initiative of "The Friends of the Green Howards Museum", General [[Richard Dannatt|The Lord Dannatt]], then Colonel of the regiment unveiled a memorial dedicated to Bell on the spot where he lost his life at Contalmaison, now known as Bell's Redoubt. The event was covered by television and every year since then a small service has been held there. In 2010, the tenth anniversary of the unveiling was celebrated and in 2016, at Bell's Redoubt, with a much improved memorial, there was scheduled to be a remembrance service on the hundredth anniversary of Bell's heroism.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}. There is a memorial plaque to him in Wesley Methodist Church, Harrogate, where he was a Sunday School Teacher.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Whitworth|first=Alan|title=Yorkshire VCs|year=2012|publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]]|isbn=978-1-84884-778-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Gliddon|first=Gerald|series=[[VCs of the First World War]]|title=Somme 1916|year=2011|orig-year=1991|publisher=[[The History Press]]|isbn=978-0-7524-6303-2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=A Breed Apart |last=Leake|first=Richard |location=Yorkshire, England|publisher=Great Northern Publishing |year=2008|isbn=978-1903710036}} ''Biography of Bell and his friend Captain [[Archie Cecil Thomas White|Archie White]] VC.''
* {{cite book |title=Lost Football Heroes of the First World War |last=Williamson|first=Jeff |publisher=JMD Media Ltd |year=2018|isbn=978-1780915777}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Donald Simpson Bell}}

*[http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/bbbellds.htm Donald Simpson Bell VC]
*[http://www.family-announcements.co.uk/localworld/view/1203117/donald-simpson-bell-vc Family announcements: Donald Simpson Bell VC]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Donald Simpson}}
[[Category:1890 births]]
[[Category:1916 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Harrogate]]
[[Category:West Yorkshire Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:Green Howards officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:British Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Crystal Palace F.C. players]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Newcastle United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme]]
[[Category:Alumni of Westminster College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Schoolteachers from Yorkshire]]
[[Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Footballers from North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:People educated at Harrogate Grammar School]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in France]]
[[Category:Military personnel from North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]