Remembering British Army Pvt. Martin Simon George Bell

Pvt. Martin Simon George Bell

British Army Pvt. Martin Simon George Bell was posthumously awarded the George Medal in 2012 for his lifesaving efforts to help an injured comrade. The George Medal is awarded for acts of gallantry not performed directly in the face of an enemy.

“Bell lost his life … whilst getting me to safety after I stepped on an IED and lost both of my legs above the knee,” said Bell’s comrade Scott Meenagh.

Family and friends who knew Bell remember his infectious sense of humor, dedicated service, loving personality, and bravery and valor.

A Hero and a Man of Service

Bell served three years as a police community support officer (PCSO) in West Yorkshire before joining the British Army. The police community honored Bell after his death by erecting a stone plaque in his memory in the Worth Valley, the area he once patrolled.

Bell was well-known in his community while he served as a PCSO and is remembered for his exceptional dedication and enthusiasm.

Bell joined the British Army in 2009. Upon completion of basic training, he was posted to 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment. He came to the 2nd Battalion in July 2010, just prior to the battalion’s deployment to Afghanistan. While deployed, he was stationed in Patrol Base 2 in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province.

On Jan. 25, 2011, Bell and Meenagh were tasked with interdicting insurgent forces along known infiltration routes to prevent them from attacking the Afghan National Army and intimidating the local population near the village of Spoor Kalay.

During the mission, Meenagh stepped on an improvised explosive device, losing both his legs in the blast. Bell disobeyed a direct order to stay where he was and took action to apply tourniquets to Meenagh’s legs to stop the bleeding and carry him to safety. As he was pulling Meenagh up a steep bank, another improvised explosive device detonated, fatally wounding Bell.

“Private Martin Bell died going to the assistance of a critically injured friend in the most dangerous combat circumstances imaginable; ‘greater love has no man than this,’” said Lt. Col. Andrew Harrison, Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion in an article published just after Bell’s death. “He knew the risks all too well; twice in the minutes before his death he had witnessed at first-hand, the devastating human impact of IEDs.”

A CrossFit Athlete

Bell introduced Meenagh to CrossFit, and the two trained together while on deployment.

“Martin went through training before I did and was an incredibly fit lad. My background was rugby, and when we were both deployed together with 2 Para, we started to train together,” Meenagh wrote in an email. “Other than what the army taught me, I was more exposed to traditional (strength and conditioning) … Bell introduced me to CrossFit WODs, chippers, AMRAPs, EMOMs which we did while we were in Afghanistan when we could.”

Bell and Meenagh were actively patrolling and fighting on the front line on a daily basis, so time and equipment were limited, but they made it work.

“We had makeshift ways of doing WODs,” Meenagh wrote. “For example, push-ups, box jumps, pull-ups, (and) shuttle runs were easy enough to manage, for weights we used sandbags as powerbags (for thrusters, wall balls, drags, shuttle runs, etc.), for dumbbells we used ammunition boxes with sand, and for barbells we taped iron fence pickets (5-ft. iron bar) together to increase the weight.”

Meenagh said the training benefited their combat readiness.

“That style of training gave us the robustness to remain combat ready … . Without this robustness, I possibly would never have survived,” Meenagh said.

Today, Meenagh is a paralympic athlete and a CrossFit Level 1 Certificate holder who trains at CrossFit Airdrie in Airdrie, Scotland. In 2014, Meenagh began practicing para-Nordic skiing after attending the 2014 Paralympic Games as a spectator.

His international paralympic committee profile says he was drawn to Nordic skiing because of the “physicality and variety of the sport.”

Meenagh credits Bell for the life he lives today.

“Without Bell, I wouldn’t be here today,” he said. “I hold those memories of training with Martin so dear, I wish Bell and I could do WODs together now.”

Bell was 24 years old at the time of his death and is survived by his parents, Simon and Elaine; his brothers, Oliver and Philip; and many other friends, family, and comrades.

The workout created in Martin Bell’s honor is the Workout of the Day for Sunday 210124.