Veteran's family honour 'humble, generous' man

THE family of a World War II veteran from Northumberland have paid tribute to an “honest and generous man” after his death at the age of 102.

- OWEN YOUNGER

Arnold Ritson Bell, from Prudhoe, died peacefully on May 8, 80 years after VE Day marked the end of the war in Europe.

He leaves behind his beloved wife Kathleen, and his friends and family, including son Ian Bell, who described his dad as a “humble” man.

Born on August 20, 1922, Arnold lived his early life in the Milton Grove area of Prudhoe, alongside his eight siblings - six brothers and two sisters.

He worked as a delivery boy for local bakery Longstaff’s in his teen age years, and satiated his passion for music by playing in the Mickley Colliery Band with his brothers before the war.

He met his wife Kathleen Jane Loughead on the bus and the couple married on November 16, 1942, when Arnold was given a 48-hour pass from duty with the RAF, which he joined on May 20, 1942.