A new book has been published exploring the untold story of the Harrogate man who was the only English professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross during WWI.

Published by Pen & Sword, The Story of Donald Simpson Bell VC is the result of many years of research by author Iain McMullen, undertaken in close collaboration with Bell’s family and with access to their rarely-seen private archive of letters, diaries, photographs and other personal material.

Using painstaking military research and eyewitness testimony, McMullen has reconstructed the dramatic events of July 1916 on the Western Front in vivid detail - from the audacious assault at Horseshoe Trench that saw Bell receive a posthumous Victoria Cross, to a remarkably similar act of gallantry at Contalmaison five days later that claimed his life.

Bell was born and raised in Harrogate and has strong connections with the town, particularly the Wesley Chapel, Harrogate Grammar School, St Peter’s Primary School and Starbeck Primary Academy.

'Gripping' new book published - Harrogate man Donald Simpson Bell was the only English professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War. (Picture contributed)

placeholder image — 'Gripping' new book published - Harrogate man Donald Simpson Bell was the only English professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War. (Picture contributed)

The Story of Donald Simpson Bell VC explores Harrogate during the period, including the town’s experience of the war and its aftermath, and the ways in which the loss of so many local men was remembered and memorialised.

Iain McMullen said: “It’s a moving story. I show Bell’s rise through the game, revealing the rare blend of discipline, determination and integrity that forged his character long before he set foot on the horrors of the battlefield."

Bell’s footballing career had strong local connections, discovered McMullen, a former journalist and a long-standing member of the Western Front Association.

The Harrogate man had early links with Newcastle United and Bishop Auckland before joining Bradford Park Avenue and making his Football League debut.

The horrors of the First World War - The Story of Donald Simpson Bell acts as a history not only of Donald Simpson Bell VC but of war, football and Harrogate itself. (Picture contributed)

The author also looks at Bell’s life as a whole, including his family, faith, teaching career and military service, drawing on previously unpublished family material.

The gripping new book considers the profound impact of Bell’s death on those who knew him best, and the lasting ways in which the footballing world has commemorated his sacrifice, both at the time and more than a century later.

For more information, visit: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Story-of-Donald-Simpson-Bell-VC-Hardback/p/61732