John Bell (footballer, born 1886)
| John Bell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | John Bell | ||
| Date of birth | 7 October 1886 | ||
| Place of birth | Toorak, Victoria | ||
| Date of death | 27 December 1917 (aged 31) | ||
| Place of death | Cambrai, France | ||
| Original team(s) | Mercantile / Geelong Grammar | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1906, 1908 | Geelong | 18 (1) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1908. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
John Bell (7 October 1886 – 27 December 1917) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family
[edit]The son of John Bell (1855–1906),[1] and Annie Carstairs Bell (1854–1935), née Russell,[2] John Bell was born at Toorak, Victoria on 7 October 1886.[3]
One of his brothers, Lieutenant George Russell Bell (1892–1918), also died on active service in World War One.[4]
Education
[edit]He attended Geelong Grammar School from 1896 to 1905.
Football career
[edit]Bell played 18 games in all, with Geelong during the 1906 and 1908 seasons.
War service
[edit]He enlisted in the First AIF on 2 September 1914, and left Melbourne for overseas service on the HMAT Orvieto (A3) on 21 October 1914.
During World War I, Bell served as a pilot with the Australian Flying Corps. He initially served with No. 1 Squadron AFC, in Palestine.
Bell achieved the rank of Captain. He was later transferred to the Western Front, flying Airco DH.5s with No. 2 Squadron (2 Sqn AFC; sometimes known in British military circles as "68 Squadron").
Death
[edit]He was badly wounded ("gunshot wound penetrating his chest": Service Record) and made a forced landing just behind the Allied front line on 20 November 1917, when 2 Squadron was involved in ground attack duties during the First Battle of Cambrai.
Bell died of his wounds on 27 December 1917,[5] and he is buried at Tincourt New British Cemetery in Tincourt-Boucly, Picardy, in Northern France.[6]
Remembered
[edit]On 28 April 1931,[7] the Bell family dedicated two stained-glass windows in the chapel of the Geelong Grammar School: the one on the left (holding the football) to John Bell, and the one on the right, to his brother George.[8]
See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Deaths: Bell, The Geelong Advertiser, (Monday, 6 August 1906), p.1.
- ^ Deaths: Bell, The Argus, Thursday, 17 October 1935), p.1.
- ^ Births: Bell, The Argus, (Wednesday, 20 October 1886), p.1.
- ^ Died on Service: Bell, The Argus, (Saturday, 21 December 1918), p.1.
- ^ Died on Service: Bell, The Argus, (Saturday, 5 January 1918), p.1.
- ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
- ^ barwonrowing.
- ^ Stained Glass Window at Corio Geelong Grammar School All Saints' Anglican Chapel, Heritage Council of Victoria.
References
[edit]- Barwon in the Air: Part One – Captain John Bell and the Monkey, barwonrowing.
- Death of Captain John Bell, The Geelong Advertiser, (Saturday, 5 January 1918), p.4.
- Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
- Main, J. & Allen, D., "Bell, John", pp. 17–20 in Main, J. & Allen, D., Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War, Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002. ISBN 1-74095-010-0
- World War One Nominal Roll: Captain John Bell, collection of the Australian War Memorial.
- World War One Embarkation Roll: Captain John Bell, collection of the Australian War Memorial.
- Australia's Roll of Honor: 378th and 379th Casualty Lists: Dangerously Wounded, The Age, (Monday, 14 January 1918), p.5.
- Victorian Casualties: List No.383: Died of Wounds, The Argus, (Monday, 16 February 1918), p.9.
- Roll of Honour: Captain John Bell, Australian War Memorial.
- World War One Service Record: Captain John Bell, National Archives of Australia.
- Captain John Bell, Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
External links
[edit]- (photograph with Bell at extreme left), collection of the Australian War Memorial.
- John Bell's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- John Bell at AustralianFootball.com
