4456672 Corporal Joseph Russell Bell, 10^th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry died 24 July 1943 when held as a Prisoner of War in Stalag XXA, Thorn.  He was shot while trying to escape and was buried in Garnisonfriedhof, Thorn.  After the war he was re-buried at Malbork Commonwealth Cemetery, Poland.  Corporal. J.R. Bell is commemorated on the Evenwood War Memorial.  He was 28 years old, born 29 August 1915 at Evenwood to William and Florence Bell and brother to Leslie, Doreen, Cecil, Jack, Sadie and Billy.  

4456672 Corporal Joseph Russell Bell

20 May 1940: Corporal J.R. Bell was wounded and captured at Villiers, France during the same action when 4456730 Private A.R. Brown, also from Evenwood, was killed.  

10 June 1940:  Corporal J.R. Bell arrived at Stalag XXA.

5 October 1940: His family was informed that he was a POW and taken to Stalag XXA, Germany – he was given POW number 10558.

24 July 1943: Corporal J.R. Bell was shot while trying to escape.

Corporal J.R. Bell was awarded a certificate to recognise that he was, “Mentioned in Despatches” (the date it was received by his family is unknown).

Burial

Malbork Commonwealth War Cemetery

Malbork (Marienburg) is located between Torun and Gdansk and when hostilities ceased, the Graves Service of the British Army of the Rhine moved graves from local burial grounds to this war cemetery.  The largest number came from Torun.  It contains 232 WW2 burials, mostly POWs from the following camps:

• Stalag IA was at Stablack
• Stalag IIA was at Starograd 
• Stalag XXA was at Torun (Thorn) 
• Stalag XXB was a camp of some size at Malbork

Corporal J.R. Bell is buried at Plot 5 Row A Grave 11.

Cpl. J.R. Bell is buried at Plot 5 Row A Grave 11.

Further details can be found at the following posts:

10th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry in action.

Corporal J.R. Bell as a POW.

The Bell family’s visit to Poland

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Bell family, Evenwood.