Joe Bell, Operation Manna Veteran Dies Aged 103
The Royal Air Forces Association was sad to learn of the death of Second World War Bomber Command veteran Cecil Joseph Bell, known as Joe.
Joe joined the RAF in November 1936, shortly before his 19th birthday. His first flight was in a Vickers Virginia Bomber – a mainstay of the RAF’s interwar heavy night-bombing force, and used in support roles until 1941.
He later served as a barrage balloon operator in Egypt before training as an air gunner in Avro Anson aircraft. Joe then progressed to flying in Vickers Wellington and Short Stirling bombers. His ultimate wartime role was as an air gunner in Lancaster bombers.
Joe’s Lancaster missions included taking part in Operation Manna in spring 1945, dropping vital food aid to people under enemy occupation in the Netherlands – work for which he was awarded a medal by the Dutch government in 2007. After the war, Joe worked in electrical and telephone engineering before joining the Prudential assurance company, where he worked until retiring in 1978.
Joe, who was born in London and later moved to Lincoln, loved to dance. He and his wife, Frances, first met at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom in 1947, and married the following year.
Along with his wife, who still lives in Lincoln, Joe was devoted to their family, having had three children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A funeral service for Joe, who died aged 103, will be held in Lincoln on 19 March.
