Gerald Gordon Bell
| Gerald Gordon Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
11 June 1890 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Allegiance | Canada United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Canadian Expeditionary Force British Army Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1914–1919 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit |
Governor General's Foot Guards 38th Battalion, CEF Eastern Ontario Regiment No. 22 Squadron RFC No. 47 Squadron RFC/RAF No. 150 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War I • Western Front • Macedonian Front |
| Awards |
Distinguished Flying Cross Legion of Honour (France) |
Captain Gerald Gordon Bell DFC (11 June 1890 – unknown) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with sixteen aerial victories while serving in the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force.
Bell was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was working as a mechanical engineer on the outbreak of the war. He served in the Governor General's Foot Guards, before signing attestation papers for service overseas on 1 February 1915, and was assigned to the 38th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, with the rank of lieutenant. According to his service record his father was by then dead, so he gave his mother as his next of kin. The 38th Battalion remained in Canada until 14 August 1915, when it was transferred to Bermuda to serve as part of the garrison. In May 1916 it sailed for England, and served in France from 13 August, seeing action in the Battle of the Somme.
On 2 January 1917 Bell was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps as an observer on probation, also being attached to the Eastern Ontario Regiment. After training in England, on 15 February he returned to France to serve in No. 22 Squadron RFC. He was also promoted to captain in the Eastern Ontario Regiment on 19 March. Flying in a F.E.2b two-seater Bell gained his first aerial victory on 8 April, with Lieutenant L. W. Beale as pilot, sharing with five other aircraft of his flight in the destruction of an Albatros D.II over Regny. On 3 May, with Second Lieutenant E. A. H. Ward as his pilot, he destroyed an Albatros D.III, and on 15 May his period of probation came to an end and he was appointed a flying officer (observer) with seniority from 9 January. On 29 July, Bell and Ward, destroyed an enemy two-seater over Tortequesne.
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