James Bell (F 63-66). Andrew Mitchell (FS 63-68) and James’ daughter Carolyn have submitted the following notice. “Former old boy James Bell, known to everyone at St Bees as Jimmy Riddle, died on 12th August 2022 after a short illness. James was a man of many talents and hugely engaging. He was born James Richard Bell in Carlisle to Lance and Edith on the 28th April 1950. He had a younger brother, David, who also attended St Bees, and a younger sister Christine. They lived near Longtown, north of Carlisle where his father was a vet and his mother was a local magistrate. At St Bees James excelled in all school subjects. It is also where he pursued and developed a keen eye for shooting and flying. In fact, he was always incredibly proud of two achievements at school: being named the best shot at a schools’ competition in 1967 at Catterick as part of the team that won the Cultybraggan Cup; and being awarded a Royal Navy Flying Scholarship. Subsequently he attained his private pilot’s licence after many hours of flying practice which was no small achievement. James had a rebellious streak. I recall one Sunday morning on the pretext of going to Kendal we decided to cycle 50 miles to his home in Longtown. Much to the displeasure of his mother Edith, who then had to return both us and the bikes to St Bees. He put his rock-climbing skills to use by climbing the outside of the school chapel when it wasn’t an approved activity! Given his passion for cars from an early age, it is no surprise that following a chance meeting with a head-hunter, James decided to pursue a career in road haulage. He had a fantastic skill for logistics, solutions and managing people, which saw him named the youngest manager of Atlas Express early in his career. Always looking for a challenge, he was promoted to working for Atlas Express Air at Heathrow. After which, he spent many years as managing director in various haulage companies. He absolutely believed in getting involved, with a first to arrive and last to leave work ethic and leading from the front. His involvement in both the Road Haulage Association and the Leicester Chambers of Commerce enabled him to be part of discussions for change and a part of the solutions, a trait that stayed with James all through his life.
He had the privilege to work all over the UK in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, London, Daventry, Leicester and all over the world including China, Africa, Canada, Russia, Turkey, Denmark, France and Italy. When he returned to his great love of science, he had a vision of green energy that was ahead of his time, working with a biofuels plant in Denmark, looking at anaerobic digestion as a form of power in the meat industry, and using microwaves to look at carbon emissions. He worked with several people to get wind turbines built in the early days. He thoroughly enjoyed his time working with the PhD students at Glasgow University researching a carbon neutral burner. He was a pioneering thinker who always tried to develop new ideas outside the mainstream of thinking.
In 1974 James married Christine. They had been together for 51 years and married for 48. I was very surprised when 40 years later he showed me the telegram that I had sent to them from Darwin on their wedding day. In 1977 he and Christine welcomed their only child, Carolyn, and in 2007 their only grandchild Oliver was born. James was lucky enough to spend much of Oliver’s young years with him: teaching him to ride his bike, building tree houses, digging up ponds together and lining up troops of miniature soldiers as Napoleon and Wellington (to name a few)! Papa, as he was known, couldn’t have been prouder of the young man that Oliver is becoming and regularly told anyone he was speaking with that his grandson played chess for Scotland. I don’t think you can talk about James Bell without mentioning his passion for cars, an interest which ran though him from his teens to his final days. Building cars, racing cars, driving cars were a huge part of his whole life. The infamous beach buggy which gave so much undiluted pleasure to him and many others and latterly his Jaguar XJS which he was rebuilding with a few ‘James’ special features on it.  James’s interest in his own history as one of the Border Reiver families led him to create a working replica costume of his distant ancestor William ‘Redcloak’ Bell, who was a participant in the notorious rescue of Kinmont Willie from Carlisle Castle. More recently an interest in his grandfather George led him to create a magnificent life size diorama of George and his horse Paddy along with WW1 replica field equipment. James and Christine donated George and Paddy to the Border Regiment Museum at Carlisle Castle where he can be seen in all his glory by the many tourists that visit. It is lovely to think that his creativity and enthusiasm will live on in that display for many other people to enjoy. In addition, he had a deep commitment and enthusiasm for the church. First as church warden at St Michaels and All Angels, Arthuret, Longtown, for 15 years, and then as Rector’s warden to the Reverend Russell Tague. James embraced the fabric of the church, the beautiful churchyard, and the congregation. I remember his seeking my advice on alternative methods of stopping the rabbits and foxes digging up and toppling the head stones. The Longtown Community was always important to James. When foot and mouth had taken hold of the county, his background in carbon emissions and the environment made him ideally placed to speak up against the pyres. He spoke eloquently, with passion and knowledge, to challenge the veracity of the evidence provided as to the impact of the pyres on the community. His family were and are immensely proud of the role he played that night in stopping the pyres in Longtown. James was always more than happy to give up his time to help others, to provide enjoyment and happiness, to offer solutions to problems.  As he repeatedly said to Christine over the years, ‘I couldn’t do the things I do without you behind me.’ It is with sadness that he and I lost touch; living in Australia didn’t help. I tried many times to find him and was eventually successful on a visit to the UK in 2012. Through Martin Field (FS 63- 66) and his brother David, I managed to track him down and had one of the more memorable phone calls in my life. My son and I visited him in Gretna, and affable as ever he embarked on a tour of places of interest. I know he would have liked to have visited Australia and I would have enjoyed reciprocating his kindness in showing him around. We know that James spent his whole life loving deeply his family and being so very proud of their achievements. To those that knew him he was an extraordinary man with an outstanding intellect, time for everyone and a huge heart. His thirst for knowledge and advancement were always ahead of his time. In his family’s words, ‘He was simply the best’ and ‘A total one off.’ He leaves his wife Christine, their daughter Carolyn and grandson Oliver. I will miss a good friend.”

 

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