Paul Bell (footballer)

Alfred William Paul Bell (12 April 1914 – 4 July 1945) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League. He returned to Shepparton in 1938, and coached his home team. He was killed in action in World War II.

Paul Bell
Personal information
Full name Alfred William Paul Bell
Date of birth (1914-04-12)12 April 1914
Place of birth Shepparton, Victoria
Date of death 4 July 1945(1945-07-04) (aged 31)
Place of death Balikpapan, Borneo
Original team(s) Shepparton
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1937–38 St Kilda 15 (20)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1938.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of John Thomas Bell (1880-1943),[1] and Ada Barbara Bell (1878-1938), née Wilson,[2] Alfred William Paul Bell was born at Shepparton on 12 April 1914. He married Beatrice "Rannie" Alcorn (1915-) on 16 September 1937.[3] They had two daughters, Beverley, and Judith.

Education

He attended Shepparton High School; as did Beatrice Alcorn.[4]

Football

Bell initially played with the Lemnos Football Club in the Goulburn Valley Second Eighteens Football Association (GVSEFA) in 1933 and then won the 1934 - GVSEFA Best & Fairest award / N. Gribble Cup. [5] Bell then moved across to play in the stronger Goulburn Valley Football League with the Shepparton Football Club in 1935.

Having tried out with Richmond two years earlier,[6][7][8] he was cleared from Shepparton to St Kilda in June 1937.[9][10] He travelled to and from Shepparton, rather than living in Melbourne, and he played 15 senior games with St Kilda over two seasons (1937 and 1938).[11]

Military service

He served in the Second AIF as a commando. He was killed in action at Balikpapan, Borneo on 4 July 1945.[12][13]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Deaths: Bell, The Argus, (Saturday, 9 January 1943), p.2.
  2. Deaths: Bell, The Argus, (Saturday, 19 November 1938), p.6.
  3. Quiet Ceremony: Bell—Alcorn Wedding, The Shepparton Advertiser, (Friday, 17 September 1937), p.4.
  4. Merit Certificate, The Shepparton Advertiser, (Monday, 16 December 1929), p.5.
  5. "1934 - Goulburn Valley Second Eighteen FA". Trove Newspapers. Shepparton Advertiser. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  6. Football: Richmond, The Age, (Friday, 15 February 1935), p.9.
  7. Recruits are well up to standard, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 30 March 1935), p.7.: note that Globe's report refers to him as "P. Bill".
  8. Shepparton player with Richmond, The Shepparton Advertiser, (Saturday, 13 April 1935), p.1.
  9. Should appear for permits, The Argus, (Thursday, 24 June 1937), p.12.
  10. Praise for G.V. Footballer, The Shepparton Advertiser, (Friday, 2 July 1937), p.16.
  11. "Bell Rings True": Outstanding and Intelligent Footballer, The Shepparton Avertiser, (Wednesday, 7 July 1937), p.9.
  12. Overseas: Killed in Action, The Argus, (Thursday, 23 August 1945), p.14.
  13. Deaths: On Active Service, The Argus, (Saturday, 21 July 1945), p.14; Paul Bell Killed, The Shepparton Advertiser, (Tuesday, 24 July 1945), p.1.

References
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