AMBITIONS BURNED

I managed to entertain the Ampthill 41 Club yesterday evening in a very pleasant local pub that served us a three course dinner and proper ale. Needless to say it was football on the speech menu and I spoke to about 20 gentlemen of my age, all of whom, do charitable things in the Bedfordshire county. My brother who is a leading light in the "club" is responsible for "talks and some social events" so there you have it. He is a busy boy.

What I failed to mention to these fellows, as time was slipping away (and so were some of the audience, a few out the door and others into the "land of nod"), was some detail about slide 13 which showed the East Surrey Regiment, First World War soldiers, going over the top, chasing a leather football at Contalmaison. Along side them were the 9th Yorkshire Regiment, The Green Howard's. The military leaders believed that using several footballs would stir the troops into fast running.

It may be said that their Captains believed that the footballs "distracted the young soldiers from the impending German machine gun fire". The young lads, many of whom joined up through the Football Club PALS battalions had no chance. Nor should have the balls, though one was retrieved and sat on show in the Grase 1 listed Palladian pile, Clandon House, near Guildford for decades, only to be lost in a fire at Lord Onslow's home recently.

Classic, isn't it, that both important members of the great game had to perish under such unnecessary circumstances, players and balls.

On TV News, Bradford Park Avenue FC, was mentioned as the home club of Donald Simpson Bell, who is the only professional footballer to have been awarded the VC. Having trained as a teacher at Westminster College, he played briefly for Crystal Palace and then Newcastle United. He was at Contalmaison on the 5th of July 2016 at Horseshoe trench, near the town of Albert. He went over the top and took out some vital are enemy gun places. Five days later the married, 25 year old tried the feat again taking several hits, dying a hero's death on the 10th of July. His Yorkshire Regiment remembered him this weekend and to mark the occasion the Bradford Park Avenue club visited Albert with some players from the Yorkshire Regiment to play the local team. An important gesture from both sides of the channel. 

The Head Boy and Head Girl from his old school, Harrogate GS, laid wreaths on his grave and Bradford was well represented especially by members of the club committee.

On the same day, on BBC News TV North and as part of a short Radio 4 drama, Bradford was in the news. The drama on radio was about the dreadful fire at Valley Parade when many Bradford City fans died as their old rotting grandstand was burned to the ground. The city has much to remember.

Bell's medal was auctioned by a London Medal specialist and fetched £252,000, bought by the Professional Footballers Association who have displayed it in the National Football Museum in Manchester. a book, "A Breed Apart" by Roland Leake (2008) tells Bell's story.