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Albert Bell was a pupil at Ayton School
before the first World War. On leaving School he enlisted
in the Army and was taken prisoner by the Germans and - for
a year - he and  three
other soldiers "lived" under a table. They were
badly fed and kept themselves alive by making nettle and cabbage
soup, returning home like skeletons.
After the War Albert went to Darwin in the
Northern Territories of Australia, as a missionary, mainly working
with Aborigines in the outback.
In 1933 he was the first man to drive a car
from West to East Australia - Derby (W.A.) to Sydney (N.S.W) - where he
encountered floods, sandstorms, the inevitable car repairs, going down a gold mine
and subsequently receiving an official welcome in Canberra. He later settled in Adelaide and was
ordained as a Methodist Minister.
Dorothy Newby (Danby 1934-39) has read
his diary and provided both the story and photo above. Albert
Bell was an exceptional person who led a most interesting
life. Albert Bell's two sisters were Dorothy's parents' friends
- she clearly remembers his visit to her home when he and
his wife were in England for a visit during 1938-39.
In October 1938 Albert Bell attended an AOSA
Reunion as a guest of Herbert and Muriel Dennis. Joe Tillott
recalls Albert taking a group of boys on to the bottom field to
show them how to throw a boomerang.
Albert Bell died in 1963 as a result of a
car accident. |
