John Robert Bell (1862 – 25 August 1924) was a

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, ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and political activist. Born in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, Bell grew up in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

. He became a sailor at an early age, and travelled widely. He lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for many years, where he worked as an official with the International Seamen's Union. In 1894, he travelled to England on behalf of the union, to report on the

Labour Electoral Association {{Short description, Political motive of the Labour Electoral Association The Labour Electoral Association was a political organisation in the United Kingdom which aimed to get working men elected to Parliament. Foundation The issue of political re ...

and the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

. While in England, he struck up a friendship with

Havelock Wilson Joseph Havelock Wilson (16 August 1859 – 16 April 1929), commonly known as Havelock Wilson or J. Havelock Wilson, was a British trade union leader, Liberal Party politician, and campaigner for the rights of merchant seamen. Early life He w ...

, leader of the

National Sailors' and Firemen's Union The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, ...

(NSFU), and Wilson and Bell went on an organising tour of the UK. In 1910, Bell settled in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, where he became the NSFU's Humber District Secretary. He was adopted as an NSFU candidate for Kingston upon Hull West in 1912, but was not endorsed by the Labour Party. He also became active on the Hull Trades and Labour Council, but left during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in protest at the Labour Party's policy on the war. By the time an election was held, in

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

, Hull's constituencies had been redrawn, and Bell stood in Kingston upon Hull South West. He received the support of the NSFU and various other unions, and also of some shipowners. Despite some later reports, he was not accredited by the

National Democratic and Labour Party The National Democratic and Labour Party, usually abbreviated to National Democratic Party (NDP), was a short-lived political party in the United Kingdom. History The party's origins lay in a split by the right wing of the British Socialist Part ...

, but he did receive a

Coalition coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

, and is therefore often counted as a

Coalition Labour Coalition Labour was a description used by candidates in the 1918 United Kingdom general election who identified with trade unionism and supported the outgoing coalition government, which retained power at the election. The Labour Party had left ...

candidate. He took 30.9% of the votes cast and second place in the poll. In his spare time, Bell was active in the

Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOB) is one of the largest fraternal movements in the United Kingdom, The order started in 1822 and has since spread throughout the former British Empire and elsewhere in the world. It is known as the ...

, and he served as Grand A. Buffalo of England. Bell was a prominent figure at

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

meetings. He remained a district secretary for the NSFU until his death in 1924.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, John R 1862 births 1924 deaths British trade unionists British emigrants to the United States Independent politicians in England People from South Shields Trade unionists from Tyne and Wear People from Kingston upon Hull