Cheviot Wellington Rangi Dillon Bell (18 August 1892 – 26 September 1960) was a New Zealand lawyer. He was appointed a member of the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

in 1950 as part of National's

suicide squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

Biography

Bell was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 18 August 1892. His father was Sir Francis Bell, a Reform Party leader and later the first New Zealand-born

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. His mother was Caroline Bell (née Robinson), and his maternal grandfather was William Robinson. He was educated at Christ's College and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, from where he graduated with a BA. Bell trained as a lawyer. In World War I he was in the 10th Royal Hussars and the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, and in World War II was Commandant of the RNZAF Training School at Woodbourne. He was appointed as a member of the

by the

First National Government The Anniversary of the First National Government ( es, Primer gobierno patrio) is a public holiday of Argentina, commemorating the May Revolution and the creation of the Primera Junta on May 25, 1810, which is considered the first patriotic govern ...

in 1950 to vote for the abolition of the Council. Most of the new members were appointed on 22 June 1950, but three more members, including Bell, were appointed on 27 July 1950. Bell was Wellington divisional chair of the National Party before he moved to the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

in 1951. He died on 26 September 1960 at his home, "Rangitumau", in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

, and his ashes were buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremato ...

in Wellington.

References

1892 births 1960 deaths People from Wellington City New Zealand people of Jewish descent Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand National Party MLCs New Zealand military personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Children of prime ministers of New Zealand Burials at Karori Cemetery 20th-century New Zealand politicians Royal Flying Corps officers 10th Royal Hussars officers Cheviot {{NewZealand-politician-stub