Courtney Meppen-Walter has died at the age of 32, with Bury saying it was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the former player. The news ends the career of a former England and Manchester City youth talent who later built a long non-league career and was remembered publicly by two of his former clubs.
Bury’s Tuesday morning statement
Bury said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former player Courtney Meppen-Walter, at the age of 32. The thoughts and condolences of everyone at #buryfc are with his family and friends at this incredibly difficult time." That puts the club’s response at the centre of the announcement and makes Tuesday morning the point when the news entered the public record.
Guiseley AFC added its own tribute, saying: "We are shocked to hear of the passing of Courtney Meppen-Walter. Courtney played for the club between 2022 and 2024 making 28 appearances and winning the 2022/23 Manager's Player of the Season award. Our thoughts are with Courtney's family and friends at this sad time." Those figures give his final spell at the club a clear shape: a two-year stay, regular involvement, and internal recognition from the dressing room.
Manchester City and England years
Meppen-Walter spent his formative years with Manchester City’s youth academy and made appearances for England at under-17 and under-18 level. He never received a senior call up for England, but the route he took still marked him out as a player who had moved through an elite academy system before the rest of his career unfolded elsewhere.
After signing with Carlisle United in 2013, he went on to have brief spells with Ashton United and Chorley in 2016, then moved to Stockport County after 2016 and signed with Glossop North End in 2017. He returned to Chorley in 2018, moved to AFC Telford United after another two years there, and later found himself at Redcliffe before joining Guiseley on loan and then permanently in 2022.
Tributes and the record
The tributes sit alongside a harder part of his record. In 2013 he was jailed for 16 months for careless driving after being involved in a car crash while speeding in 2012, a crash that killed Kulwant Singh, 32, and Ravel Kaur, 37. He was later handed a 22-month driving ban in 2019 for a drink-driving offence, after being caught more than twice over the legal limit, along with a 12-month community order, 80 hours of unpaid work and a £170 bill for costs.
That is the full frame of the story now: a former youth international remembered by Bury and Guiseley AFC, with 28 appearances and a Player of the Season award at one club, and a public record that also includes the convictions that shadowed his career. What caused his death has not been set out in the club statements, so the immediate facts are the life, the football and the mixed legacy he leaves behind.
