John Bell (Australian footballer)

John Bell
Personal information
Full name John Bell
Date of birth (1886-10-07)7 October 1886
Date of death 27 December 1917(1917-12-27) (aged 31)
Place of death 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 season.

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).

The son of John and Annie Carstairs Bell, of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, he was born on 7 July 1886.

Football career

Bell played 18 games in all, with Geelong during the 1906 and 1908 seasons.

War service

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"). He was badly wounded and made a forced landing just behind the Allied front line on 20 November 1917, when 2 Sqn was involved in ground attack duties during the First Battle of Cambrai. Bell died of his wounds on 27 December.

See also

Footnotes

    References

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