​               FLIGHT SERGEANT PILOT 42361

                      GEORGE GOODALL BELL

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George Goodall Bell was born near Blackburn in Scotland on Friday 1st September 1922.  His father Henry was a miner, descended from the Bell clan on the Scottish/English border and his mother Elizabeth, whose maiden name was Goodall, was descended from the Cameron clan.  George's parents married on the 3rd January 1907 in Lanark and emigrated to New Zealand with their first four children who were Harry, Grace, George and John.

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Setting up home in Rununga on the West Coast of the South Island, approximately 8 kilometres north of Greymouth, school life for George and his siblings proved difficult - not only as immigrants but due to their 'funny' accent.  In a loving home however, George flourished at school, being referred to as the 'bright one' of the family but constantly dreamed, even as a young lad, of flying! In order to help George with his schooling, siblings Harry and Grace left school early in order to help fund their brother's education.  George attended Greymouth Technical High School, completed his education by correspondence and went to work at Brunner Collieries in Wallsend, involved in the administration of the business. The family increased with the birth of Susan.  

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​"From an early age, George was fascinated by flying and aircraft" recalls his nephew 

Bill Rawlings, whose mother was Susan Bell. "He would make models from bits and pieces

he scavenged from around the district and house."  It was a rare occasion to see an 

aircraft on the West Coast but during a town fair, when George was a young lad, an

aircraft was there to provide rides.  "He saved his pennies for a ride" recalls Bill. For

George however, bad luck struck when the 'rather large' lady sitting next to him, broke

her wicker seat on the plane!  Much to George's upset, but with polite upbringing, he was 

obliged to offer her his own seat and George was placed on a wooden box.  "He still 

got his flight though" says Bill. 

With the outbreak of World War Il, George was keen to enlist for pilot training in November

of 1939.  He had received a good education and filled out his application forms... only to be turned down by the Air Force, due to a medical 'condition'.  Undeterred, George tried again and was accepted, having recovered from the mystery 'condition'. 

George finally enlisted in January 1942 at the the RNZAF camp in Levin.  In March he was posted to the Elementary Flying Training School in Taieri and by the 10th of May he was on his way to Canada, having embarked on the Boschfontein from Auckland. He left behind his parents, his siblings, his friends and a sweetheart named Marion. In Canada he undertook Pilot training at No.12 Flying Training School in Calgary and by the 5th November 1942, he had arrived at the NZ Reception Centre in Brighton where he awaited a posting.  The following month in December, George was posted to No.15 Advanced Flying Unit at Greenham Common in Berkshire, followed in March of 1943 by a posting to No.15 Operational Training Unit at Hampstead Norris, also in Berkshire.  In June he was posted to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at Marston Moor in Yorkshire where he adapted his skills to fly Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers. His final posting was to 78 Squadron that was based at RAF Breighton where he undertook operational sorties.

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George wrote home when time permitted, saying that he didn't often hear from folks back home. Letters often took months to travel across the globe.... "How are all the folks at home? ... At the moment we are quite busy and one day I’ll settle down to write.  Don’t get me wrong, I get a bit tired of writing to everybody and not receiving many. Well mum I must be going now, please give my love and regards to the others, and all.  Love and kisses to you… Cheerio for now… Your most affectionate son…George xxxxxxxxxx For Sue xxx”

 

On the 24th August, returning to base from a successful bombing mission over Berlin, that had seen 20 other bombers from his squadron accompany George's Halifax BB373, bad weather eventually caused a disaster for George and his crew. Safely over the North sea, news of bad visibility was received and George was directed to divert to Leconfield, some 27 kilometres from their base at Breighton.  Now in a circling pattern, awaiting to land at Leconfield, George received a further update from his Navigator that they should now divert to Cranswick.  George once again changed his heading and began his approach. Within seconds, it was all over for George and his crew as the Halifax collided mid-air with returning Halifax JB874.  Both planes crashed into the ground in flames near Hull Bridge, between the village of Tickton and the nearby town of Beverley. They were just a few kilometres from Cranswick.

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George's first mission as a pilot with 78 Squadron had been on the night of the 3rd July.  When George crashed, he had survived one week longer than the average aviator's lifespan, once undertaking operational missions. Miraculously, the Tail Gunner survived the twisted metal wreckage.The night of the 23rd and the morning of the 24th August 1943 had seen a total of 57 bombers lost in the Berlin operation, five of them were from 78 Squadron.  That one night alone, approximately 400 aviators lost their lives.  Approximately 800 mothers and fathers scattered around the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth would soon receive the news that their son was gone. Henry and Elizabeth Bell were two of those parents.  When George died, so too died 24 year old David Walton from Cremorne, New South Wales who was George’s Mid Upper-Gunner and whose young daughter Jill was the namesake of their 'kite'.  The two are buried side by side at Stonefall. 

 

Many years later, George's brother Harry received a letter from Marion,

outlining how she had received the news of her sweetheart George's death.

"On August 24th 1943 the day of my sister’s birthday I was on night duty .  I had

a strange experience.  ...Suddenly I felt myself walking over to our huge window

which overlooked the city and looked up at the sky. It was like dark blue velvet

and the stars were shaped like the Southern Cross.  Then a soft gentle voice

said, “George has left you”. I was numb and first I quickly turned around.

Nobody was there.  I thought I had imagined the voice and felt sick and silly. 

I know George was in bombing raids over Germany. I looked at my watch.  It was early

morning and something kept telling me George and his crew were in trouble".

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A few days later, Marion received the news of George’s death. The thoughts that she had experienced that morning of having lost her love, turned into a reality.  

"We were all terribly upset on hearing this awful news, I remember Dad and Mum saying ... poor Bessie and Henry. Well Harry, I certainly wasn’t the only one when the world went mad those years. I had to pull myself together and get on with my life best way possible. I planned to return to Scotland to my roots, I would find out where George was laid to rest and visit his grave and say my goodbyes".

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                                                          GEORGE GOODALL BELL IS BURIED IN SECTION C, ROW B, GRAVE 1​