Amy Bell

Herbert's service records show that he married an Amy McGee on 18th April 1915 at the Presbyterian Church in Willington, Durham. Their address was given as 6 Cumberland Terrace, Willington in County Durham. A transcription of their wedding certificate is available online (fee required). At this point Herbert had already enlisted and so this event was added to his service records:

The 1901 England and Wales Census lists a 10-yr-old Amy McGee living in Willington, birthplace Brancepeth Colliery, Durham and the 1911 Census shows a 20-yr-old Amy McGee still in Willington.

The next record that I could find was the Army's receipt which showed that on 6th July 1920 Amy Bell signed for Herbert's Memorial Plaque. Her address at that time was given as 1a Belle Vue, Willington. She received his British War Medal on 2nd February 1921 at the same address. Earlier in my search, the CWGC's indication that Amy was from "IA, Belle Vue" had led me to believe that she could have been from Bellevue, Iowa, in the US. As with Herbert's age and date of death, it seems that some errors had occurred during the heat of the conflict or during later transcription.

In Willington, both 6 Cumberland Terrace and 1a Belle Vue are still standing. The Bell brothers' family home, Quarry Burn, was pulled down when it was found to be unstable because of the mine workings below.