Frederick Secker Bell
Nickname(s)Hookie Bell
Born(1897-08-17)17 August 1897
Died23 November 1973(1973-11-23) (aged 76)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of servicec. 1913–1948
RankCaptain
Commands heldHMS Exeter
HMS Anson
Battles/warsBattle of the River Plate (1939)
AwardsCompanion of the Bath

Captain Frederick Secker Bell CB (17 August 1897 – 23 November 1973) of the Royal Navy was the commander of HMS Exeter during the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939.[1]

He was educated at Matfield Grange, a prep school in Kent, and then at the Royal Naval Colleges of Osborne and Dartmouth. He served afloat in the battleship HMS Canada at the Battle of Jutland, as First Lieutenant of the destroyer HMS Scythe in the Reserve Fleet at Devonport, 1923–25, and as executive officer of HMS Repulse from 1935 to 1938 and was promoted captain on 31 December 1938.[1]

He took command of HMS Exeter in August 1939. Exeter's six eight-inch guns were mainly responsible for seriously damaging the Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate 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.[2] 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.[3] 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".[4] 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 captain, eight officers and 79 members of the crew were given the Freedom of the City of Exeter 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.[5] Bell was replaced as captain of Exeter on 12 April 1940 and the following year became Flag Captain to the Flag Officer, Malaya, escaping the Fall of Singapore the following year and becoming captain of HMS Anson in 1946 and aide-de-camp to the King in 1947.[6] He retired from the Navy owing to ill health on 8 January 1948.[6]

In the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate, Bell was played by John Gregson. During the film, Bell's nickname of 'Hookie', because of his distinctive nose, is used.[7] Bell is listed as a "Naval advisor" in the opening credits of the movie and met Gregson at the film's premiere.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Houterman, J. N. "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945 (Beat to Bert)". Unit Histories.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  2. ^ Trueman, C. N. (18 May 2015). "The Battle of the River Plate". The History Learning Site. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  3. ^ Trimble, Robert (September 2004). "Hitler'S Infamous Battle Cruiser Graf Spee To Be Salvaged". BNET. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2018 – via FindArticles.com.
  4. ^ Toase, Aidan (16 September 2005). "WW2 People's War - HMS Exeter- a Royal Marine's Story". BBC History. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  5. ^ Cornforth, David (2005). "Royal Navy Ships Named HMS Exeter". Exeter Memories. Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b Mark Lardas, German Heavy Cruisers Vs Royal Navy Heavy Cruisers: 1939–42 (Bloomsbury Publishing, 17 Aug 2021), page 46
  7. ^ "Person Sheet: Captain F. S. Bell". Meta-studies.net. 7 April 2006. Archived from the original on 1 April 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Battle of the River Plate". Getty Images. 30 October 1956.
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