Captain Frederick Secker Bell CB (17 August 1897 – 23 November 1973) of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

was the commander of during the

Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, commande ...

in December 1939. He was educated at Matfield Grange, a prep school in Kent, and then at the Royal Naval Colleges of

Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...

and

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

. He served afloat in the battleship at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

, as First Lieutenant of the destroyer in the Reserve Fleet at Devonport, 1923–25, and as executive officer of from 1935 to 1938 and was promoted captain on 31 December 1938. He took command of in August 1939. ''Exeter's'' six eight-inch guns were mainly responsible for seriously damaging the in the

in December 1939. In this battle, ''Exeter'' also incurred severe damage from seven hits by eleven-inch shells and suffered 61 killed and 23 wounded. One salvo from the ''Graf Spee'' did a great deal of damage to the wheelhouse and killed all but three of the officers in it. Bell survived with minor injuries and he ordered that the remaining turrets should continue firing on the enemy. As damage control parties battled fires and flooding, Bell used a compass from one of the lifeboats, and commanded the ship by means of commands passed along a chain of men to the lower steering compartment where a team of men struggled with a wheel that was directly connected to the rudder. After all Exeter's guns had been put out of action but still seaworthy, Bell planned to collide with the enemy, saying "I'm going to ram the --------. It will be the end of us but it will sink him too". However the ''Admiral Graf Spee'' turned to confront the other two cruisers and Bell was ordered to withdraw for repairs at the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. The captain, eight officers and 79 members of the crew were given the Freedom of the

City of Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal com ...

on 29 February 1940, and were welcomed by a crowd of 50,000 cheering residents. The crew marched through the streets with fixed bayonets, carrying HMS ''Exeter's'' shell-torn White Ensign through the streets. Bell also commanded in 1945. He retired from the Navy owing to ill health on 8 January 1948. In the 1956 film ''

The Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, command ...

'', Bell was played by

John Gregson Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. He was cr ...

. During the film, Bell's nickname of 'Hookie', because of his distinctive nose, is used. Bell is listed as a "Naval advisor" in the opening credits of the movie.

References

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Frederick Secker 1973 deaths 1897 births Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath People from Westminster Royal Navy officers of World War I