Joseph Bell (engineer)

Joseph Bell (12 May 1861 – 15 April 1912) was a British engineer who served as first Chief Engineer of Olympic, and subsequently RMS Titanic; he died in Titanic's sinking.

Early life
Joseph Bell was the first son of John Bell, Sr. and Margaret Watson, both agricultural entrepreneurs. He grew up in Farlam, a small village in the Rural District of Brampton, in the county of Cumberland; he had three siblings: Jane (1864), Richard (1865) and John Jr. (1868). His mother Margaret died shortly after giving birth to her last child.

Joseph Bell initially attended a private Primary school in the village of Farlam and, after the death of his mother, he moved with his father and his brothers to Carlisle, between the districts of Edentown and Stanwix; Joseph and the brothers attended Carlisle's Academy William Harrison. In time, his younger brother John decided to migrate to Australia, embarking on the transatlantic SS Great Britain, while the rest of the family remained in Carlisle.

After leaving Carlisle, Bell moved to Newcastle, serving his engineering apprenticeship as an engine fitter at the Tyneside works of Robert Stephenson and Company.

White Star Line
In 1885, Bell was hired by the White Star Line and worked on many ships that traded with New Zealand and the United States. In 1891 he was promoted to chief mechanical engineer.

Sister Jane married William Hugh Lowthian in 1886 and spent many years living in Ripley, Derbyshire, where he was a bank manager. It was probably at this time that Joseph met Maud Bates, whom he married in 1893; the couple had 4 children: Frances John, called Frank (1896), Marjorie Clare (1899), Eileen Maud (1901), and Ralph Douglas (1908).

In 1911, Joseph found lodging in Belfast, along with his wife and younger son. The two daughters remained at Ripley, cared for by both a housekeeper and their aunt and uncle (Bell's sister and brother-in-law), while the then fifteen-year-old Frank was studying at the Grosvenor College in Carlisle and later did an apprenticeship at the Harland and Wolff shipyards. Bell became one of the White Star Line's most trusted engineers and was sent to Belfast to oversee the construction and installation of the engines of a number of new White Star liners, including the Laurentic and Megantic in 1908 and 1909. He had subsequently taken each of these liners out for their first few voyages, serving as Chief Engineer. During Olympic's building, Bell had remained in Belfast during the whole time, superintending the ship's construction, "making any suggestions which he thought would lead to improvements." He oversaw the installation of the ship's powerplant and served on the ship as Chief Engineer during her maiden voyage. Bell returned to Belfast and Robert Fleming, another White Star senior engineer, was promoted to chief engineer on Olympic. Bell was present as the Titanic's engines were constructed and assembled at the yard Engine Works.

RMS Titanic
After serving on the Olympic, he transferred to the Titanic, where he was given the post of chief engineer. He did not formally sign on to the ship until the morning of April 2. On April 10, after the ship left Southampton, Bell ordered Leading Fireman Frederick "Fred" Barrett to extinguish a fire in one of the coal bunkers, explaining "Builder's men want to inspect that bulkhead." While anchored in Queenstown, White Star Line Chairman J. Bruce Ismay called Bell to his cabin and discussed the matter of the ship's performance.

On the night of April 14, shortly before the Titanic hit the iceberg, the engine crew received an order from the bridge to either stop or reverse the engines (accounts vary), in an attempt to slow the ship. Despite the crew's best efforts, the Titanic could not avoid the massive iceberg. After the collision, Ismay, proceeding from the bridge down towards his suite of rooms on B Deck and met Bell at the top of the staircase, and asked him if he believed that the ship was seriously damaged. Bell told him "he thought the damage was serious, but that he hoped the pumps would be able to control the water"; Ismay returned to his room briefly. Quartermaster Olliver entered the engine room to find Bell hard at work and gave him a message from Captain Smith. Bell looked at the note and went back to work. When Bell asked what he wanted, Olliver stated that he was waiting for a response to the Captain's message. Bell told him to tell the Captain that "he would get it done as soon as possible." Titanic sank at 2:20 a.m, on April 15. Bell was among the 1,500 perished; his body was never recovered.

Death
Bell and the engineers are believed to have remained in the engine room, urging the stokers and firemen to keep the boilers active, allowing the pumps to continue their work and ensuring the electricity remained on as long as possible. Popular belief persisted that Bell and his men stayed below decks, never abandoning their posts, working to keep the lights and the power on in order for distress signals to get out and they all died in the bowels of the Titanic. Bell was last seen by some crewmen at around 2:00 a.m. trying to telephone the ship's bridge for information, but never receiving a reply. However, there is evidence to suggest that at least some of the engineers were released to come on deck, when the flooding became severe by 1:20 a.m.; between approximately 1:50 and 1:55 a.m., Greaser Frederick Scott testified to seeing eight engineers standing up against the electric crane on the starboard Boat Deck; by then, all the lifeboats had gone.

Legacy
Bell's wife and brother-in-law, William Ralph, inherited his farm in Farlam; he had become its full owner since 1904 after his father's death. The farm was immediately sold because both Bell's wife and children never wanted to live in Farlam.

The parish church of St Faith in Waterloo near Liverpool has a plate commemorating Bell. The village cemetery at Farlam also has a memorial to Bell. The Titanic Engineers' Memorial in Southampton names and commemorates Bell and the other engineers of the ship.

Portrayals

 * Harry Cording (1953) (Titanic)
 * Emerton Court (1958) (A Night to Remember) (British film)
 * Tony Haygarth (1979) (S.O.S. Titanic; TV Movie)
 * Stephen Dimopoulos (1996) Titanic (minseries)
 * Terry Forrestal (1997) Titanic)
 * David Wilmot (2012) (Saving The Titanic); PBS TV Movie