WW2 for the Bell family
The story begins with information shared with me some time after my father had a stroke early 1990s. A photo I had never seen as well as documents and photos I had seen were shown to me by my father.
The story started with a 1937 photo of my grandfather Mark my father Sam aged 14 and his brother Robert. My father told me his mum had died 1932 of TB and his father brought 5 of the 8 children up with some help from his oldest daughters while working as a pit sinker travelling the coal mines of Northumberland and Durham.
Dad's brother Thomas, who took the photo, was killed in 1941 when HMS Kelly was sunk in the Battle of Crete. Dad said the Germans shot Tom while he was in the water trying to escape.
Dad's brother Robert was killed while searching for shrapnel in 1942. Dad's Father Mark died 1943 aged 57.
Dad lied about his age and joined the Royal Marines in 1942 aged 16. He told me of a letter from a Dutch family that had helped him and some friends while fighting in Holland and that he had received a letter and some cake from one of these friends called Alf after the war.
After the war Mark junior and Sam returned to Gateshead and the coal mines.
