THE fascinating story of goalkeeping legend Bert Trautmann who started his career at St Helens Town has been made into a film.

German-born Bert became part of football folklore after he broke his neck in the 1956 FA Cup Final playing for Manchester City, but managed to play on making heroic saves to help his team to a 3-1 victory over Birmingham.

However, it was in St Helens where Bert, who passed away on July 19, 2013, aged 89, launched his footballing career.

And the German also credited the town with allowing him a new life after the Second World War.

Entitled The Keeper, the film will be shown at cinemas across the country from April 5, with a trailer now released.

A synopsis says: "The Keeper tells the incredible true story of Bert Trautmann, a German soldier and prisoner of war who, against a backdrop of British post-war protest and prejudice, secures the position of Goalkeeper at Manchester City, and in doing so becomes a footballing icon.

"Struggling for acceptance by those who dismiss him as the enemy, Bert’s love for Margaret (Freya Mavor), an Englishwoman, carries him through and he wins over even his harshest opponents by winning the 1956 FA Cup Final, playing on with a broken neck to secure victory. But fate will soon twist the knife for Bert and Margaret, when their love and loyalty to each other is put to the ultimate test".

Directed by Marcus H. Rosenmüller, the film stars David Kross as Bert with other cast members including: Freya Mavor, John Henshaw, Harry Melling, Dave Johns, Dervla Kirwan and Gary Lewis.

St Helens Star:

Bert was captured by the Allies during the war and was held as a prisoner of war at Northwich and then at Ashton-in-Makerfield.

On release in March 1948, Bremen-born Bert spurned repatriation and began playing for St Helens Town.

He became a popular figure at Hoghton Road and crowds boomed with the keeper between the posts for Town.

Attendances at Town games grew from 300 to 6,000, allowing the club to build a new stand on their Sutton ground with the proceeds.

And Bert's eye-catching performances saw him snapped up by Manchester City.

But he remained very much in touch with Town and gave the club items to auction to raise money in 2009.

Speaking to the Star from his then Valencia home in Spain in 2009, Bert said: “I will always have such fond memories of St Helens in my heart. If I had to write a CV my time there would be at the top of the list.

“St Helens gave me a new life. The war and the subsequent three years as a POW took eight years out of my life.

“When I came out of the POW camp I was welcomed into a beautiful community in Sutton. It was a mining district – miners are the same the world over and very warm-hearted and the people too to me.”

He spoke about how much St Helens Town helped him to rebuild his life.

“The club were very kind to me," he said.

"And at Christmas 1948 I was called to a meeting.

“When I arrived the 10 members of the committee sat me down and explained the predicament of the club and how times were hard in the country after the war.

“They then presented me with a trunk weighing about 70 kilos, which was packed with everything.

“Then they handed me an envelope with £150 in it, which was an awful lot of money back then. It was a sign of my acceptance.”

Trautmann was fully integrated into the St Helens sporting scene and even trained up at Knowsley road.

“Some of the Saints players were friends – especially Stan McCormick, who had just joined from Belle Vue Rangers for a record fee and I would regularly train with him.

“St Helens motorcyclist Geoff Duke, who went on to win the World Championship six times, was another personal friend. I had a great life there in St Helens.”

Trautmann met and later married the club secretary’s daughter Margaret Friar and credits the time he spent here as being a big part of his learning curve about life.

“My first father-in-law Jack Friar was a real gentleman and had a real effect on my life and was like a father to me.”

Bert had a long successful City career which lasted 545 games until 1964 –with the Wembley game in which he played on despite five broken vetrebrae the stand-out.

He then had a managerial stint at places including Stockport County, Burma, Liberia and Pakistan.

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