He had friends living on the estate and the catastrophe, he admits, hit him hard.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, in which 68 people were killed – the England and Southampton defender went to the scene to try and help.
He pledged to try to re-house some of those who had lost their homes and make sure they stayed in the district and were not simply forced to move away from friends and family.
At the time, Bertrand had also been active on social media to inform people of what was happening and what he wanted to do. On June 17, he tweeted: “I went to Grenfell Tower yesterday. I want to help, not just donate. I can’t think of all the answers but I can do what I feel is needed.
“Starting with rehousing the victims and making sure they don’t leave the W11 post code. And remain on the emergency housing list.”
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Bertrand, 28, is set to win his 17th England cap in their World Cup qualifier against Slovenia at Wembley on Thursday and yesterday spoke eloquently and passionately about how he is still heavily involved with helping the survivors of that horrific night.
“What happened struck a nerve with me,” said Bertrand, speaking at St George’s Park. “I grew up in similar tower blocks when I was a kid. I grew up in Southwark, but I spent a good few years in South West London and I’m familiar with the territory. My Nan, my aunties still live in tower blocks. They are home to them.
“The world is crazy. Over the last few years there have been catastrophes everywhere – but that was on our doorstep. I just wanted to do something more. It hit me. I had a few friends from the estate, so we wanted to see what we could do. It was a friend’s sister – they are fine but when you hear the stories, it’s mad.
“I went down to ask questions, see how things were going, get a feel for it and see what I could do to make a difference.”
More than 250 firefighters were dispatched to the scene in an operation that required 40 fire engines and, in the first few days, organisation of the chaos was heavily criticised by those who survived the atrocity.
“It was a bit out of control,” said Bertrand. “There was no main structure [for helping everyone involved]. And that was blocking things. No one knew who to go to, who was dealing with this or that.”
The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council said at a meeting this week that 20 families are now in permanent accommodation, while a further 52 households have accepted an offer in principle. There are 196 households affected by the fire, either because they lived in the block or because the fire made their homes nearby uninhabitable.
And Southampton star Bertrand has also revealed that he is working on further plans to help. “We’re in the process of seeing if we can do a few things,” he said. “I don’t want to say too much but things are ongoing.
“I’m in a half-decent position. I thought my profile might be able to help. I’m not saying, ‘I’m Ryan Bertrand flying in to see what I could do’ – I’m not the biggest footballer in the world.
“But I have some sort of status so I just wanted to see what I could do to help. So I thought maybe I could do more than just donate. Donating is great but I took a bit of time and went down there hoping to try and change something – even if it was one family’s lives. It can be life changing.”
The actions of professional sportsmen are often in the limelight for the wrong reasons. Bertrand’s actions should be applauded and held as an example.