Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: 2nd Lieutenant A. W. Bell, Durham Light Infantry, late 15th London Regiment (The Civil Service Rifles), who was killed in action near Bucquoy on 28 March 1918

1914-15 Star (1980 Pte., 15-Lond. R.); British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut.), with related Memorial Plaque (Arthur Walton Bell) and original portrait photograph in uniform, all contained in an oak glazed display frame, extremely fine (4) £400-500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals to Great War Casualties formed by Tim Parsons.

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Arthur Walton Bell was born in Newcastle in April 1885 and was a scholar at Allan’s Endowed School prior to joining the National Insurance Audit Department at Holborn, London, as a clerk.

Originally enlisting in the Civil Service Rifles in August 1914, he arrived in France in March 1915 but was severely wounded and invalided home with a gunshot wound in his right thigh. Posted to Winchester as a Bombing Instructor in May 1916, he obtained a commission in the Durham Light Infantry that October and was posted to the 9th Battalion in France. Some sources suggest that he was wounded again in February 1917, but more certain is the fact he was back with his unit in March 1918, when he was killed in action near Bucquoy on the 28th.

His Colonel wrote of him:

‘I have been in very close touch with him ever since the day he joined us, and he has always done his work most nobly, and was everything that could be desired in a British officer. In losing him, I have not only lost a most reliable and valuable officer, but I have also lost a good friend and comrade.’

His Major also wrote:

‘He had been assisting to dress wounded men under very heavy shell fire, and while doing so, himself received a piece of shrapnel in the face. However, he still continued assisting some of his men, and it was not until he had been evacuated that he thought of himself. He then proceeded to our Dressing Station, and, unfortunately, in crossing a ridge, he was hit by a bullet, which, I believe, passed through his lung. He was loved and admired by both officers and men, and nothing could have been finer than his disregard for his own personal safety, when others needed his help.’

Bell is commemorated on the Arras Memorial; photographs of the relevant panel are included.