BELL, John George
| Service Number: | 135 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, Enlisted at Sydney, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Nottinghamshire, England, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Glebe, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Council School, Carlton, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Occupation: | Wood Turner in England/Car Conductor in Australia. |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 2 May 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated on the LONE PINE MEMORIAL at Panel 17, Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 135, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Sydney, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 135, 2nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 135, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suffolk, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
John George BELL, (Service Number 135) had been a tram conductor in Sydney since 1912. His railway employment records, which undoubtedly are the underlying evidence for his inclusion in the NSW Railways’ Honour Board, give his date of birth as 2 July 1889, though this is crossed-out and replaced with 1891. Military papers exist for a John George Bell who enlisted in August 1914, stating his age as 23 years 1 month and this would seem to correspond. (Enlistment papers do not give a birthdate). With over 300,000 persons serving in the Australian Forces in WW I, for common names there are many similar, or even identical, names and some care is needed to link the military archives to the NSW Railway records, especially where the soldier does not state his ‘calling’ as being certainly a railway one. There are four men with the surname of Bell on this Honour Board alone.
John Bell had been born in Nottinghamshire and he describes his calling as wood-turner, although at the time he would seem to have not been employed in his trade. He named his mother, Mary Sophia Bell, who still lived in Nottinghamshire, as his next of kin. Both sources of information attest that he became missing in action at Gallipoli on 2 May 1915.
His death was not officially confirmed as ‘Killed in Action’ until a year later when a formal enquiry was held at sea aboard HMT Z23. Under these circumstances there is no knowledge of the resting place of Bell’s remains and no grave. He is recorded on the memorial at Lone Pine, Gallipoli.
A photo of the first panel of the Honour Board exists, showing what is presumed to be the names displayed when it was first erected early in 1916. Bell’s name is not included as at that date his death was unconfirmed. By the time further names, and perhaps a second panel, were added, Bell’s fate was certain, and his name included. In strict chronological order, John George Bell’s name should be among the first on the Board, as he died only a week after Anzac Day when the roll of Australian deaths began. The order on the boards follows the date that the death became known in Australia rather than when it actually occurred.
(NAA B2455-3008824)
Submitted 11 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Arrived in Australia aged 21 years
Son of John and Mary Sophia Bell of 7 Elm Avenue, Carlton, Nottinghamshire, England
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Prior to leaving England he was a member of the Robin Hood Rifles
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
John was the only surviving child of John and Mary Sophia Bell. In the 1901 census the family were living at Foxhill Road but by the 1911 census had moved to No 7, Elm Avenue, Carlton, Nottingham, England. John was a wood turner at Lawrence's a local furniture works. John emigrated to Australia when he was 21 years old and found work there as a car conductor.
At the outbreak of the war John enlisted in Australia and served in the 2nd Battalion Australian Infantry. He went first to Egypt and eventually went to the Gallipoli Peninsula where he was killed in action on 2nd May 1915 .
Article published on 22nd June 1916 in the Hucknall Dispatch:- “A NOTTS. MAN KILLED.
“This week we are publishing a photograph of Private John George Bell, a native of Carlton and another hero who has laid down his life for King and country. He was born in Carlton 24 years ago, and, as a boy, attended the local Board Schools. For some years he worked for Messrs. Lawrence at Colwick, and when 21 he thought he would try his luck in Australia. It was three years last September that he left England, and on landing in Australia young Bell quickly obtained employment as a car conductor. On the outbreak of war he at once responded to the call of the Mother Country, and enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces, being sent to Egypt. His stay in the land of the Pharaohs was of short duration, as April 24th, 1915, [sic] found him being landed at the Dardanelles. “His mother, who resides at 35, Worth Street, Carlton, was notified in June of last year that her son was missing, and only three weeks ago received an official notification from the War Office that he was killed in action in the Dardanelles on May 2nd 1915. Private Bell’s father died during the first month of the war, and was extremely well-known, having worked on the G.N.R. for over 30 years, while for six years he was a member of the Carlton Urban District Council.” The date of death according to the CWWG and the family grave is 1915 whereas the Carlton St Pauls memorial says 1916. The family grave gives his date of death as 24 May whereas elsewhere this is shown as 2nd May.
Remembered on
Carlton – St Paul's Church War Memorial as JG Bell Pte
Carlton - Cemetery War Memorial as Pte John George BELL killed in action in Gallipoli May 2 1915 aged 24
Click images to start slideshow.