Joseph Bell (engineer)

Joseph Bell
Joseph Bell
Born(1861-05-12)12 May 1861
Farlam, England, UK
Died15 April 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 50)
North Atlantic Ocean
SpouseMaud Bates
Children4

Joseph Bell (12 May 1861 – 15 April 1912) was a British engineer who served as the first Chief Engineer of Olympic, and subsequently RMS Titanic; he died in Titanic's sinking.

Early life

Joseph Bell was the first son of John Bell Sr. and Margaret Watson, both agricultural entrepreneurs. He grew up in Farlam, a small village in the Rural District of Brampton, in the county of Cumberland; he had three siblings: Jane (born 1864), Richard (1865) and John Jr. (1868).[1] His mother, Margaret, died shortly after giving birth to her last child.[2]

In 1863, Bell's paternal uncle, also named Joseph, and his wife, Margaret decided to migrate to Australia, embarking on SS Great Britain, while the rest of the family remained in England. It is thought Joseph Bell initially attended a private school in the village of Farlam and, after the death of his mother, he moved with his father and his siblings to Edentown, Stanwix, in 1872, near Carlisle; Joseph and his siblings attended a boarding school in Carlisle founded by William Harrison.[3]

In 1876, after leaving Stanwix, Bell moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, serving his engineering apprenticeship as an engine fitter at the Tyneside works of Robert Stephenson and Company.[1][3]

White Star Line

In 1885, Bell was hired by the White Star Line and worked in the engineering department of many ships carrying cargo and passengers to New Zealand and the United States. In 1889, he was appointed 3rd engineer of SS Teutonic. The next year, he was appointed 2nd engineer of SS Majestic. The year after that, he was promoted once again to chief mechanical engineer of SS Coptic.[4]

His sister Jane married William Hugh Lowthian in 1886 and spent many years living in Ripley, Derbyshire, where he was a bank manager. It was probably at this time that Joseph met Maud Bates, whom he married in 1892, and they moved to Tottenham, Middlesex. The couple had 5 children: Frances John, called Frank (1896), Marjorie Clare (1899), Eileen Maud (1901), and Ralph Douglas (1908), and one who died as an infant.[2] Shortly after the birth of Eileen, the family moved to Crosby, Lancashire.[5]

In 1911, Joseph found lodging in Belfast, along with his wife and younger son. The two daughters remained in Crosby, cared for by both a housekeeper and their aunt and uncle (Bell's sister and brother-in-law), while the then fifteen-year-old Frank was studying at the Grosvenor College in Carlisle and later did an apprenticeship at the Harland & Wolff shipyards.[6] Bell became one of the White Star Line's most trusted engineers and was sent to Belfast to oversee the construction and installation of the engines of a number of new White Star liners, including the Laurentic and Megantic in 1908 and 1909. He subsequently took each of these liners out for their first few voyages, serving as Chief Engineer. During Olympic's building, Bell had remained in Belfast throughout the process, superintending construction, overseeing the installation of the ship's powerplant, and "making any suggestions which he thought would lead to improvements."[7] He served as Chief Engineer during her maiden voyage. He then returned to Belfast, and Robert Fleming, another White Star senior engineer, was promoted to chief engineer on Olympic.[8]

RMS Titanic

Bell was present as the Titanic's engines were constructed and assembled at the yard Engine Works.[8] After serving on Olympic, he was transferred to Titanic, where he was given the post of chief engineer. He did not formally sign on to the ship until the morning of 2 April. On 10 April, after the ship left Southampton, Bell ordered Leading Fireman Frederick "Fred" Barrett to extinguish a fire in one of the coal bunkers, explaining "Builder's men want to inspect that bulkhead." While anchored in Queenstown, White Star Line Chairman J. Bruce Ismay called Bell to his cabin and discussed the matter of the ship's performance.

Illustration of the sinking of the Titanic

On the night of 14 April, shortly before the Titanic hit the iceberg, the engine crew received an order from the bridge to either stop or reverse the engines (accounts vary), in an attempt to slow the ship. Despite the crew's best efforts, the Titanic could not avoid the massive iceberg. After the collision, Ismay, proceeding from the bridge down towards his suite of rooms on B Deck and met Bell at the top of the staircase, and asked him if he believed that the ship was seriously damaged. Bell told him "he thought the damage was serious, but that he hoped the pumps would be able to control the water"; Ismay returned to his room briefly. Quartermaster Olliver entered the engine room to find Bell hard at work and gave him a message from Captain Smith. Bell looked at the note and went back to work. When Bell asked what he wanted, Olliver stated that he was waiting for a response to the Captain's message. Bell told him to tell the Captain that "he would get it done as soon as possible."[9] Titanic sank at 2:20 a.m, on 15 April. Bell was among the 1,500 perished; his body was never recovered, likely having been taken with the ship or sunk sometime after.

Death

Bell and the engineers are believed to have remained in the engine room, urging the stokers and firemen to keep the boilers active, allowing the pumps to continue their work and ensuring the electricity remained on as long as possible. Popular belief persisted that Bell and his men stayed below decks, never abandoning their posts, working to keep the lights and the power on in order for distress signals to get out and they all died in the bowels of the Titanic. Bell was last seen by some crewmen at around 2:00 a.m. trying to telephone the ship's bridge for information, but never receiving a reply. However, there is evidence to suggest that at least some of the engineers were released to come on deck, when the flooding became severe by 1:20 a.m.; between approximately 1:50 and 1:55 a.m., Greaser Frederick Scott testified to seeing eight engineers standing up against the electric crane on the starboard Boat Deck; by then, all the lifeboats had gone.[10][11][12]

Legacy

Bell's wife and brother-in-law, William Ralph, inherited his farm in Farlam; he had become its full owner since 1904 after his father's death. The farm was immediately sold because both Bell's wife and children never wanted to live in Farlam.

The parish church of St Faith in Waterloo near Liverpool has a plate commemorating Bell. The village cemetery at Farlam also has a memorial to Bell.[13] The Titanic Engineers' Memorial in Southampton names and commemorates Bell and the other engineers of the ship.

Portrayals

References

  1. ^ a b "The Crew". The Guardian. 16 April 1912. p. 9. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "The Bell Family Tree [Revised & Updated 27th November 2016]". Joseph Bell, Chief Engineer on the R.M.S. Titanic. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  3. ^ a b Hodgson, Barie Bell; Freer, Ann (2013). Tarn to Titanic. Great Britian: Clearline Assistance. pp. 19, 36–40. ISBN 978-0-9560506-2-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ Hodgson, Barrie Ball; Freer, Ann (2013). Tarn to Titanic. Great Britian: Clearline Assistance. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-9560506-2-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Hodgson, Barrie Ball; Freer, Ann (2013). Tarn to Titanic. Great Britian: Clearline Assistance. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-0-9560506-2-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ^ "Bell Family Biography 1818-1973 [REVISED]". Joseph Bell, Chief Engineer on the R.M.S. Titanic. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  7. ^ Fitch, Layton & Wormstedt 2012, p. 25.
  8. ^ a b Fitch, Layton & Wormstedt 2012, p. 48–49.
  9. ^ Fitch, Layton & Wormstedt 2012, p. 161.
  10. ^ "Day 6 – Testimony of Frederick Scott (Greaser, SS Titanic)". British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry. 10 May 1912. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  11. ^ Maltin, T.; Aston, E. (2012). 101 Things You Thought You Knew about the Titanic – But Didn't!. eBookit.com. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4566-0804-0.
  12. ^ Fitch, Layton & Wormstedt 2012, p. 225.
  13. ^ "Titanic engineer's memorial restored to former glory". BBC News. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2024.

Further reading

  • Hodgson, Barrie B.; Freer, Ann (2013). Tarn to Titanic: Life and Times of Joseph Bell Chief Engineer (1st ed.). Clearline Assistance UK Ltd. ISBN 978-0956050625.

Bibliography

  • Fitch, Tad; Layton, J. Kent; Wormstedt, Bill (2012). On A Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the R.M.S. Titanic. Amberley Books. ISBN 978-1848689275.
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