Eric Norman Frankland Bell VC (28 August 1895 – 1 July 1916) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. A soldier with The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers during the First World War, he was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions on 1 July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme.

Early life

Eric Norman Frankland Bell was born on 28 August 1895 in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, to Edward Bell and his wife Dora , one of four children. His father was an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

, serving in Burma at the time of Eric's birth. The battalion was later posted to Cheshire and the family moved to live in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, where Bell attended school. They later moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and Bell completed his schooling and then went on to

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

to study architecture under Sir Charles Reilly.

First World War

In August 1914, on the outbreak of the First World War, Bell volunteered for the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the regiment of the British Army in which his father was serving as adjutant of the 9th Battalion. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in September 1914 and was posted to the regiment's 6th Battalion. After a transfer to the 8th Battalion, he was assigned to the 9th Battalion. His two brothers, who had emigrated to the United States and Australia respectively, had also volunteered for the regiment. The 9th Battalion was part of 109th Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division, which was sent to the Western Front in France in October 1915. The following July, the division took part in the Battle of the Somme. By then, Bell had been promoted to temporary captain and was attached to the battalion's light trench mortar battery. On 1 July 1916, the opening day of the battle, he was advancing with the infantry near the village of

Thiepval Thiepval (; pcd, Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens. Population First Wo ...

towards the Thiepval Road and onto the objective, a redoubt held by German forces. When the advance in his sector was held up by a German machinegun, he made a solo foray to deal with the gunner. Further holdups were dealt with on his own through the use of trench mortar bombs. He was rallying leaderless troops when he was killed. His actions was posthumously recognised with an award of the

(VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. The citation for his VC read as follows: Bell's body was never recovered so he had no known grave. Instead, his name is listed on the

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the ...

, which was established near Thiepval in Picardy. His brothers survived the war, although both had been wounded, and his parents died soon after the end of the war. There are several memorials to Bell's memory; he is listed on the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers memorial in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, the King's Garden Memorial in Bootle, and the War Memorial in

. There is also a plaque on the former family home in Liverpool as well as a blue plaque on the house he was born in, 1 Alma Terrace, in Enniskillen.

Victoria Cross

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

presented Bell's VC to his father on 29 November 1916, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The VC was later in the possession of his sister, who had emigrated in New Zealand in 1933. The sister also had possession of his 1914–15 Star but the whereabouts of his

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and Victory Medal are not known. In 1999, a relative, Air Marshal Sir Richard Bolt, formerly New Zealand's Chief of Defence Staff, offered the VC to the museum of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. It was presented to the museum in February 2001, where it is now displayed.

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