Joseph Bell (1861-1912)
Chief Engineer
The unsung hero of the Titanic was born in Maryport, Cumbria in May 1861. At time of the disaster he lived with his wife and family at 1 Belvidere Rd, Crosby. He also held the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in the RNR and had been awarded the Royal Decoration.
There is a memorial plaque at St. Faith's Church, Waterloo to Joseph Bell and his engineers, all of whom stayed at their posts to the end and were lost. Without their self-sacrifice, the Titanic would have lost electrical power much earlier, and without wireless, pumps and lights the death toll would have undoubtedly been even higher. He died at his post with all his fellow engineers, trying to correct the mistakes of others. He knew enough about the damage to the Titanic to know there was no chance for the ship, or for the men who chose to remain in the engine room. But he stayed there, keeping the pumps going and lights burning until 2 minutes before she sank. Thomas Andrews, the ship’s designer, thought the Titanic would last for an hour. Joseph Bell and his men kept her alive for 2 hours 40 minutes.
It’s interesting to consider what might have happened if the engineers had acted differently. The water would have overwhelmed the boilers and engine compartment much earlier, causing explosions which would have sent the ship to the bottom sooner. The power would have gone, plunging the ship into darkness. No distress call could have been sent, and panic would have broken out amongst the passengers. It’s unlikely many boats would have been launched, and no rescue ships would have raced to the Titanic’s position. The Titanic would have simply vanished, just like the White Star liner Naronic did in 1893. No survivors. No-one knew what happened, but an iceberg was suspected…….
Chief Bell was quite comfortably well-off by 1912 standards, and his estate came to £6,457 2s 10d. He left a widow, Maud, and four children; the eldest boy, 16 years old, had recently begun an apprenticeship at Harland & Wolff. He had accompanied his father aboard Titanic on her sea trials, sailing on the ship from Belfast to Southampton.
See the poignant Engineers Site by Denis Griffiths of Liverpool John Moores University for more details..