Joseph Bell (engineer)
Joseph Bell (born March 12, 1861 in Farlam , City of Carlisle , England ; † April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic ) was a British engineer and last held a leading position on the RMS Titanic .
Life before serving on the Titanic
Joseph Bell, was the firstborn son of John Bell Sr. and Margaret Watson; both entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector . He grew up in Farlam , a small village in the parish of Brampton in Cumbria . He had three siblings: Jane (1864), Richard (1865) and John Jr. (1868). His mother Margaret died shortly after giving birth to their last child. Joseph Bell first attended a private elementary school in the village of Farlam and moved to Carlisle with his father and brothers after his mother's death .
Joseph and the brothers attended the Carlisles Academy William Harrison there . Over time, the younger brother John decided to emigrate to Australia by crossing the Great Britain , while the rest of the family stayed in Carlisle for the time being.
Finally, Joseph also moved away from Carlisle: In Newcastle upon Tyne he completed an apprenticeship as a machine fitter with Robert Stephenson and Company . In 1885, Bell was hired by the White Star Line and worked on many ships trading with New Zealand and the United States . In 1891 he was promoted to chief engineer.
In 1893 he married Maud Bates; The couple had 4 children: Frances John (* 1896), Marjorie Clare (* 1899), Eileen Maud (* 1901) and Ralph Douglas (* 1908).
In 1911 Joseph found shelter in Belfast with his wife and younger son . The two daughters stayed in Ripley, looked after by a housekeeper and their uncles (Bell's sister and brother-in-law), while the then fifteen-year-old Frances stayed at Grosvenor College in Carlisle and later began an apprenticeship at the Harland & Wolff shipyards .
Service on the Titanic
After serving on the RMS Olympic , Joseph moved to the Titanic , where he received the post of chief engineer. During the Atlantic crossing on the night of April 14, 1912, shortly after the sighting of an iceberg, Bell received an order from the bridge to either stop the engines or to turn around in order to slow the ship down. Despite the best efforts of the crew, the Titanic was unable to avoid the iceberg. When the ship subsequently began to sink, Bell and the other engineers stayed in the engine room for the time being , telling the stokers to keep the boilers active so that the pumps could continue their work and the electricity remained on for as long as possible. According to legend, Bell and his men worked to keep the lights and electricity on until the last minute. According to that announcement, Bell and all of the engineers died in the engine rooms of the Titanic.
According to other reports, all machine personnel on the deck of the Titanic were sighted when all lifeboats had already been manned and launched. According to surviving oiler Frederick Scott, all the engineers and mechanics were at the aft end of the boat deck on the starboard side when the ship sank.
After Bell's death, his wife and brother-in-law William Ralph inherited the farm on Farlam, which Joseph had owned since 1904, after his father's death.
A plaque for Bell was placed in the Church of the Holy Faith in Waterloo, near Liverpool . An epitaph was also erected in his memory in the small cemetery at Farlam .
reception
literature
- Barrie B. Hodgson, Ann Freer: Tarn to Titanic: Life and Times of Joseph Bell Chief Engineer , 1st Edition, Clearline Assistance UK Ltd, 2013, ISBN 978-0956050625 .
Representations in films
- Emerton Court (1958; The Titanic's Last Night )
- Terry Forrestal (1997; Titanic )
- David Wilmot (2012; Saving The Titanic )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b The Crew . In: The Guardian , April 16, 1912, p. 9.
- ↑ Day 6 - Testimony of Frederick Scott (Greaser, SS Titanic) . In: British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry . May 10, 1912. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ↑ 101 Things You Thought You Knew about the Titanic - But Didn't! at Google Books.co.uk
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bell, Joseph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British chief engineer of the Titanic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 12, 1861 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Farlam , City of Carlisle , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 15, 1912 |
| Place of death | North Atlantic when the Titanic sank |