Cory Bell

Lieutenant-Colonel William Cory Heward Bell (25 October 1875 – 6 February 1961)[1] was a British Army officer from Wiltshire who fought in two wars, and then became a Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1918 to 1923, and then became a local councillor.

Life

Born in Seend in Wiltshire, Bell was the oldest four children of four children of William Heward Bell[2] (1849–1927) and Hannah Taylor Cory (1850–1942). His younger brother Clive (1881–1964) was an art critic associated with the Bloomsbury Group.[3] The family was raised at Cleeve House near Melksham,[3] a "monstrosity"[4] of a house expanded with a fortune made in the family's coal mines in Merthyr Tydfil. William senior was High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1912, a director of the Great Western Railway and of Nixon's Navigation Company, and a member of Avon Vale Hunt.[4]

Bell was educated at Westminster School before training at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.[1] He was commissioned in the Royal Horse Artillery in 1895[5] and served in the Second Boer War. He retired from the army in 1911, but rejoined on the outbreak of World War I.[1] He served in France, where he was mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Croix de Guerre.[2]

Bell was elected at the 1918 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Devizes division of Wiltshire.[6][7] He was re-elected in 1922,[8] but at the 1923 election he was defeated by the Liberal Party candidate Eric Macfadyen.[7]

After his defeat, Bell did not stand for Parliament again.[7] He became a member of Wiltshire County Council,[1] and served as High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1932,[9] became a Deputy Lieutenant of the county in 1952,[10] as also served as a Justice of the Peace for Wilthshire.[1]

In 1903, Bell married Violet Mary Bowley, the daughter of a Royal Engineers officer.[2] They had two children.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Lt.-Col. W. C. H. Bell". The Times. London: The Times Digital Archive. 8 February 1961. p. 17. Retrieved 21 May 2014. (subscription required (help)).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Arthur G. M. Hesilrige, ed. (1922). "Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1922". London. p. 13. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "History of Cleeve House". Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Susan Sellers, ed. (2010). The Cambridge Companion to Virginia Woolf. Cambridge University Press. p. 23. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26679. p. 6100. 12 November 1895. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 31147. p. 1364. 28 January 1919. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 496. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 32775. p. 8711. 8 December 1922. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33809. p. 1855. 18 March 1932. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 39661. p. 5214. 3 October 1952. Retrieved 21 May 2014.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Basil Peto		 Member of Parliament for Devizes
1918 – 1923 		Succeeded by
Eric Macfadyen