Major General Edward William Derrington Bell, VC, CB (18 May 1824 – 10 November 1879) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Edward William Derrington Bell | |
|---|---|
 Depiction of the battle of Alma, by Richard Caton Woodville, Jr. | |
| Born | 18 May 1824 Essex, England |
| Died | 10 November 1879 (aged 55) Belfast, Ireland |
| Buried | St Mary's Churchyard, Kempsey |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | 23rd Regiment of Foot |
| Battles / wars | Crimean War Indian Mutiny |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Companion of the Order of the Bath Légion d'honneur (France) Order of the Medjidie (Ottoman Empire) |
Military career
editBell was the son of General Edward Wells Bell and entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1838 at the age of 14. He was commissioned into the British Army in 1842 and was posted to Canada. He was promoted to captain in December 1848 and, during the Crimean War, was present at the Battles of Alma and Inkerman and the Siege of Sebastopol.[1]
Bell was 30 years old, and a captain in the 23rd Regiment of Foot (later The Royal Welch Fusiliers) during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC).
On 20 September 1854 in the Crimea, at the Battle of Alma, Captain Bell was the first to seize upon and capture one of the enemy's guns which was limbered up and being carried off. He moreover took over the command of his regiment, which he brought out of action, all his senior officers having been killed or wounded.[2]
He was personally presented with the Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria at Southsea Common, Portsmouth, Hants on 2 August 1858.[3]
Bell was also awarded the Legion of Honour by the French, and the Turkish War Medal. Posted to India during the Indian Mutiny in 1857, he was present at the Siege of Lucknow. After India, he commanded the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers for the next 12 years until 1872, achieving the rank of major general in 1868. His last command was in Belfast, where he died in 1879.
Personal life
editBell is buried with his father in the churchyard at Kempsey, Worcestershire. He had married twice; firstly Alice Brooke, whom he divorced for her adultery, disowning her son, and secondly Charlotte Wadsworth (née Bartell), widow of surgeon John Davies, who was killed at the Alma, with whom he had a son and three daughters.
References
edit- ^ "Edward William Derrington Bell VC, CB". Victoria Cross Online: The Men and Women and their Gallantry Awards on one site. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "No. 21971". The London Gazette. 24 February 1857. p. 659.
- ^ The Victoria Cross and the George Cross: The Complete History - Volume 1 1854-1914, Published by Methuen, London, 2013, ISBN 978-0-413-77218-3, pp. 9–10
External links
edit- Location of grave and VC medal (Worcestershire)
- Major General Edward William Derrington Bell VC (grave details and brief biography)
- Edward William Derrington Bell at Find a Grave