Stanley George Vincent Bell LOM (1905)

Born 26 Feb 1905 in Chillagoe, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Stanley George Vincent Bell was born in Chillagoe, Queensland, Australia on 26th February 1905. He was the second son of John Bell and Ethel Williams. By the 1930's he, along with his parents and brothers were living in the Australian Mandated Territory of New Guinea.

He was apparently, for a time, part of the New Guinea Police at Aitape and then bought a schooner called the "Manuan" which he used to trade along New Guinea and into Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea.

He married Mildred Eileen Gardiner in Rabaul in 1939.

According to his older brother, Les, in his book "New Guinea Engineer", Stan was working a gold claim on the Atobe River at the time of the Japanese invasion. His wife had been evacuated in Dec 1941 and he escaped ahead of the Japanese with a doctor and 4 others. They made their way up the Sepik River from the New Guinea North Coast and walked overland to Mt Hagen.

After arriving in Port Moresby he became a Coastwatcher. He was appointed as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) on 1 October 1943 in Sydney^[1]. This was a precaution by the Allied Intelligence Bureau, of which the Coastwatchers wee part, so that he might be better treated as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese if captured in his highly dangerous work. Unlike his brother Lincoln, it appears he was present to apply. He operated in New Ireland, New Hanover and Djaul Island. He was attached to US Naval Headquarters at Emirau and provided major assistance to American operations.

It fell to him to find the fate of fellow Coastwatcher Con Page at Tabar Island.^[2]

He was awarded the US Medal of the Legion of Merit, Degree of Legionnaire.^[3][4][5]

When Japan surrendered, he was supposed to have been present for the Japanese surrender at Kavieng, having observed them for so long from nearby New Hanover Island. However the harbour was heavily mined and he was not able to safely enter the harbour.

His appointment was terminated on 13 Feb 1946.

Stan is understood to have lived in North Queensland after the war.

Sources

1. ↑ NAVAL FORCES OF THE COMMONWEALTH. (1944, May 25). Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 - 1973), p. 1088. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232778712
2. ↑ The Files Marked SECRET On The... HERO of TABAR (1953, September 13). The Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1949 - 1953), p. 13. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18506462
3. ↑ AUSTRALIAN GETS HIGH USA AWARD (1945, November 17). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 3 (SPORTS FINAL). Retrieved September 29, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188768729
4. ↑ Honours and Awards - Stanley George Vincent Bell - Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1541771
5. ↑ Honours and Awards (Recommendation) - Stanley George Vincent Bell - Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1572852

au QLD BDM (Australian, Queensland Births Deaths Marriages)
1905 - Birth - au QLD BDM 1905/C/5121 26/02/1905 Stanley George Vincent Bell (m=) Ethel Harriet Victoria Williams (f=) John William Bell

• Service Cards for Navy Officers, 1911-1970 - National Archives of Australia - BELL STANLEY GEORGE VINCENT : Date of birth - 26 Feb 1905 : Place of birth - CHILLAGOE QLD : Place of enlistment - SYDNEY : Next of Kin - BELL MILDRED - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=5229235

• World War Two Service Nominal Rolls - Department of Veterans' Affairs - https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=1186865&c=WW2

See also

• Lindsay, Patrick. The Coast Watchers: The Men Behind Enemy Lines Who Saved the Pacific. Random House, North Sydney, 2011. ISBN 978 1 74275 312 6.