Orders, Decorations and Medals

A Second War D.F.C., and post-war A.F.C. and Bar group of six awarded to Wing Commander D. S. Bell, Royal Air Force, a Pilot with No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron, later flying Victor and Vulcan bombers and commanding No. 139 Squadron

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated 1943; Air Force Cross, E.II.R., the reverse officially dated 1954, with Second Award Bar, the reverse officially dated 1966; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France & Germany; War Medal; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Near East (Flt. Lt., R.A.F.), together with six R.A.F. Pilot’s Flying Log Books, one Civilian Flying Log Book, several photographs and congratulatory telegram from ‘Bomber’ Harris, nearly extremely fine (6) £3000-4000

See Colour Plate VII

D.F.C. London Gazette 9 November 1943.

The following details are taken from the original recommendation: ‘F/O Bell has carried out 28 sorties on his first tour of operations and has displayed a particularly high standard of efficiency and determination throughout. As a captain he is quite outstanding and he has at all times set a very fine example to other crews by his great keenness for operational flying. On 16th October, 1943, F/O Bell was detailed to carry out a special operation involving a round trip of over 2000 miles and necessitating flying over very difficult country, which demanded a very high standard of airmanship. This operation was highly successful in spite of difficult weather conditions and icing,’

A.F.C. London Gazette 1 January 1954.

The following details are taken from an official source: ‘Flight Lieutenant Bell has been with this unit since September, 1952. During this time, the Advanced Flying Squadron was re-equipped with Varsity aircraft and he was responsible for the conversion of all pilots. He personally completed the instruction of all the pilots in the Squadron in two months without incident. Since completing this task, he has carried out frequent checks on the pilots and, by his high standard of instruction, and his example and careful attention to detail, he has been responsible for maintaining a very high standard of flying efficiency. Throughout his tour of duty at No.1 Air Navigation School, Flight Lieutenant Bell has proved himself to be a very sound instructor who has shown great understanding and intelligence in his approach to his instructional duties. His interest and enthusiasm for flying generally have been of the highest order. There is no doubt that Flight Lieutenant Bell has done outstanding work as a Senior Flying Instructor at No. 1 Advanced Navigation School.’

Bar to A.F.C. London Gazette 1 January 1966

Wing Commander Douglas Stuartson ‘Dinger’ Bell joined the R.A.F. in September 1941, and was posted Flying Officer to 161 Squadron’s Halifax parachuting flight in June 1943. After three trips over occupied territory as 2nd Pilot, he flew his first operation as captain on 12 July 1943. On 14 August 1943 he encountered enemy opposition and was ‘Shot up’ at ‘Châteaudun’ and ‘landed on one wheel’. His remarkable immediate D.F.C. round trip to drop an agent at Narvik in north Norway on 16 October was the 27th of the thirty-four which comprised his first tour, the last of these taking place on the night of 20 December 1943. At the end of the latter month he joined No. 161’s Lysander flight, and on 8 February 1944 flew an M.P.U. [Mail Pick-Up] operation. Two nights later he was detailed for a double Lysander operation code-named ‘Serbie’, with Fying Officer Macdonald as the pilot of the second aircraft. ‘F/O Macdonald went in to land first and F/O Bell saw him make two unsuccessful approaches to the field which lay near the village of Merzonville. Each time he overshot and on his third attempt landed at too high a speed; V9822 tipped over and burst into flames. Later reports indicated that the two passengers had been saved but the pilot had died in the aircraft. Bell aborted as the burning Lysander would soon draw attention.’

On the night of 3 / 4 March 1944 Bell set out on another ‘double’ called ‘Framboise‘, the other pilot being Lieutenant Per Hysing-Dahl of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Missing the rendezvous with Bell, the Norwegian picked up his two passengers near Issoudun and brought them back to Tangmere. ‘Meanwhile Bell had crossed the coast of Normandy. Near Lisieux his engine began to fail. He turned back but when he was six miles out to sea his engine was giving so much trouble that he could no longer maintain height. He decided that he must turn south again to make a forced landing - if he could reach the French coast - rather than risk a night ditching in the Channel. He was losing height all the time but he just made it recrossing the coast at about 600 feet. Luckily, he could see by the moonlight that there was a stretch of flat treeless land. He crash landed there, just east of Plumetot, at 2250.’

Bell’s passengers were Count Elie de Dampiere, codenamed ‘Berger’, and Commandant Robert Lorilleaux, ‘Icarus‘. ‘Berger reported that he was the only person unhurt in the crash-landing. ‘Icarus’ was flung out and suffered multiple bruises. The pilot, in addition to the ‘scratches’ he reported, was cut ‘very deeply’ in the leg and his uniform was soaked with blood. He was tall and red-headed which was difficult to camouflage. Berger gave him his raincoat to conceal the R.A.F. battledress. They had crashed in a zone fortified by the Germans and burning the Lysander would only draw attention to it. They had to abandon the cases containing money and equipment. Bell just detonated the I.F.F. indentification equipment and Berger took the mail. After two miles of walking they found a woman farmer who gave them some clothing and they set off on foot to cover the seven painful miles to Caen by dawn. They rested a few hours in a hotel used by the Gestapo while they waited for a train. Berger thought this was the last place that anyone would think of looking for them. There was still such a shortage of operational pick-up pilots that Bell’s return was swiftly organised. Anderson brought him home only 10 nights later, on operation ‘Lautrec’ according to R.A.F. records.’

On completing a final ‘cloak and dagger’ operation on 15 / 16 March, Bell was posted tour-expired in April and subsequently went to 7 F.I.S. and 85 O.T.U., but converting to Mosquitoes at 16 O.T.U., still managed ten war ‘ops’ against German targets with 109 Squadron between 21 March 1945 and V.E. Day. Released from the service on 1 September 1946 he was employed as a civil pilot by Chartair at Croydon and by Westminster Airways mainly on European routes but was never fully satisfied by the work. In 1951 he rejoined the R.A.F. rising ultimately to the command of a V-bomber squadron, and making an important contribution to the development of blind landing equipment and procedure. Following retirement from the service in 1968 he was for six years Commandant, 30 Group, Royal Observer Corps.

Sold with copied research and the following original material; Wing Commander Bell‘s Pilot’s Flying Log Books, 7 December 1941 - 3 March 1944, 15 March 1944 - 9 April 1947, 25 April 1947 - 21 December 1951, 12 February 1951 - 21 May 1954, 1 June 1954 - 31 December 1959, 10 February 1960 - 12 April 1962, 1 May 1962 - 2 October 1967; Congratulatory D.F.C. ‘Postagram’ from ‘Bomber’ Harris, 25 October 1943; Telegram informing Mr A.S. Bell of his son’s return to the U.K. after being reported missing, 16 March 1944; Four official photos of Wing Co Bell, three with H.R.H. Princess Margaret, c.1966.