Thomas William Bell

War Service

In 1915, aged 18, he enlisted at Normanton joining the 21st Service Battalion King’s Own Rifle Corps, also known as 21st (Service) Battalion (Yeoman Rifles). This battalion was raised from volunteers from the farming communities of Yorkshire, Northumberland and Durham during September 1915. They trained at Duncombe Park, Helmsley before moving to Aldershot for their final training, where they came under orders of 124th Brigade in 41st Division. During this time Thomas’s mother Annie died in Clayton Hospital on 27 February 1916. The Division then embarked for France, landing on 4 May 1916, moving to an area between Hazebrouck and Bailleul.
On 11 July 1916, just 68 days after arriving in France, Thomas William became another casualty of this terrible conflict, aged 19 years.
He now rests in Berks Cemetery extension, located in Hainaut, Belgium.
A report of Thomas William’s death appeared in the Wakefield Express on Saturday 22 July 1916:
“Another Altofts young man to give his life for his country is Private Thomas William Bell, son of Mr George Bell of Greenbank Road (Altofts). He was only 19 years of age and was in his second year as a student at Leeds University when he enlisted last year in the King’s Royal Rifles. The sad news has been conveyed to his father by his Platoon Sergeant, and it is stated that he volunteered to go out with a raiding party and got right up to the German barbed wire entanglement when he was hit. Private Bell was an extremely clever youth and his scholastic career was a brilliant one both at Normanton Grammar School and later at the University. He has a brother serving with the Territorial Army.”
Bryan Fraser writes in his book “Normanton’s Great War”:
“On 10th July Private Tommy Bell was killed; he had volunteered to take a married man’s place in a raiding party. On approaching the German wire they were discovered and the Germans opened up with machine guns, rifles and bombs. The party charged the wire and threw bombs into the German trenches. Tommy was killed instantly (no one died a slow death) in the very act of throwing the bomb. He was buried by three school mates.”

Family Life

Thomas William was born in Normanton to George and Anne (Annie) Bell. George, a brickyard worker, had moved from Hemswell in Lincolnshire to 3, Brunswick Street, Woodhouse, Normanton when he married Annie Hirst of Wragby, Yorkshire in the newly consecrated Saint Hilda’s Parish of Cross Green, Yorkshire on 29 June 1893.
Later George and Annie set up their home in Normanton, where Thomas’ elder brother Harry was born, followed by Thomas William in 1897 and then sisters Edith and Hannah.
The next decade brought big changes to the family. Around 1905 they moved to live at 40, Green Bank Road, Altofts where another two children were born. Unfortunately, only one, John, survived. In 1911 Thomas William was 14 years old and was still a scholar, he continued in his studies and eventually became a student at Leeds University