Edward Wells Bell
General Edward Wells Bell was a senior British Army officer and Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.
He joined the British army as an Ensign and was promoted Lieutenant in 1811, Captain in 1822, Major in 1826, Lieutenant-Colonel in 1830, Colonel in 1846, Lieutenant-General in 1860 and full General in 1868.
He served with the 7th Regiment of Foot during the Peninsular War and took part in the Battles of Vittoria, Salamanca, Nivelle and Nive, amongst others.
He then fought in North America in 1814–15, where he was present at the Battle of New Orleans before moving to command the troops in Jamaica, where he was appointed Lieutenant Governor in 1856.
In 1859 he was given the Colonelcy of the 66th Regiment of Foot, which he held until his death in 1870.
He married Mary Anne Chapman, widow of Captain Henry Robert Battersby RN, daughter of William Chapman and Isabella Nevin, and niece of Sir Benjamin Chapman and Sir Thomas Chapman Kt of Killua Castle, County Westmeath. Their son Major-General Edward William Derrington Bell won the VC during the Crimean War.
