Thomas George Bell 1910 - 2011

We are gathered here this morning to honour the memory of Thomas George Bell, otherwise known to you as Tom, Tommy or even TG. I shall call him father or Tom.

Tom was born on 1st August 1910 in the family farmhouse at Tardree, Kells, Co.Antrim and he always retained a great pride in his Co.Antrim roots and his Ulster Scots heritage. Last month he asked me how Ballymena were doing in the league.. I would lie that they were winning. He had 5 brothers and sisters, one of whom died in 1917 aged 16. His father Robert Gawn Bell had previously been a sheep shearer and gold digger in Australia and New Zealand. It must have been very tough raising a family on a farm in those days, but my father always spoke of a happy childhood and thought the world of his parents and their family.

He had a very quick sense of humour as most of you here would know. When asked about his earliest memory he would say that it was of someone crying out "it's a boy!!" This boy was born before the Titanic sailed, before the 1st World War, and before Northern Ireland even existed. He could personally recall the sombre atmosphere that pervaded Ulster when news seeped through of the casualties at the Somme. He would tell me of the isolation precautions that his family took to avoid the influenza pandemic sweeping the country in 1918.

For 12 years he attended Tardree National School just 300 yards from the farm. He was always so complimentary of the teachers there who obviously gave him such an excellent and comprehensive education. My father's handwriting was immaculate, his spelling flawless and his grammar perfect, and the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword was usually completed by 10am. Right up to his final year, he could recite poetry and quote Shakespeare that he had learnt at school.

He won a scholarship to Ballymena Technical College to study commerce and for a couple of years cycled the 9 miles there and 9 miles back, whatever the weather.

His first job (which lasted only 44 years) was in the Presbyterian Bookshop in the centre of Belfast initially working in the stockroom. In 1941 he was appointed manager and he continued to work in that capacity until 1972. He soon got to know all the church luminaries as they came in and out of the bookshop and could get quite annoyed when some of them might venture their adverse opinions on some of the books he chose to stock.

In 1939 he married my mother Jannetta Reid from Doagh and they set up home in north Belfast only to have their home in Shandarragh Park destroyed in 1941 by the German Luftwaffe. Fortunately they were not in it at the time. My father was an ARP and in the Home Guard and recalled removing bodies from blitzed houses in the Sunningdale area of the city.

My brother Ian was born 2 months later in Doagh and the house was rebuilt in time for my arrival in 1946. We moved to nearby Cavehill Road a few years later.

Tom had become a well known figure in the Ulster book trade and twice served as President of the Northern Ireland Booksellers Association. For 3 years he would have flown monthly for meetings with his counterparts in England, but he always flew home the same night so that my mother would not be left overnight on her own. He was also successful in bringing the annual conference of the British Booksellers Association to Northern Ireland for the first and only time.

When he retired from the Bookshop in 1972, he featured in an article in the Presbyterian Herald from which I quote

"Mr Bell is a member of Kirk session in his own congregation of Fortwilliam Park, Belfast, and one of our finest Presbyterian laymen. Perhaps no other layman of our Church is better known or more highly respected and trusted by ministers, superintendents, teachers and the book-buying membership of the Church generally. In professional and philanthropic circles, his worth is equally recognised."

Tom had been a member of the Belfast Chamber of Trade for a number of years before he became President in 1970 at a time when the city was being ravaged by riots, bombs and shootings. He participated in countless meetings with Government ministers and officials during his year in office, when businesses in Belfast were virtually in despair.

He was also for some years Vice Chairman of the Ulster Institute for the Deaf, in College Square North and a keen bowler at Salisbury Bowling Club.

After leaving the Bookshop in 1972 he worked for a couple of years in Brian Morton's estate agents in Arthur Street in Belfast and greatly enjoyed it.

My father decided to sell our home in Cavehill Road in 1974 when car hijackers came perilously close to our house and in early 1975 moved to Bangor West for a more peaceful retirement and never regretted it.

He was very attentive to my mother especially in her later years and was completely heartbroken when she died suddenly in 1993. However looking after her had taught him certain housekeeping and basic culinary skills that helped him survive on his own for another 16 years. He was determined to be as independent as possible, for as long as possible.

He joined Bangor Historical Society and enthusiastically went to as many of their meetings as he could and he was proud of his collection of books on Ireland - some quite rare - built up over many years.

He also joined Bangor West Probus Club. Membership of this wonderful organisation brought him great enjoyment and comfort over his later years. The camaraderie of his fellow members meant so much to him, particularly after the death of my mother.

He became a volunteer driver for Social Services taking blind people to and from appointments. Perhaps it was fortuitous that they couldn't see as my father's own eyesight was deteriorating at the time. Unfortunately he insisted on driving for at least a couple of years beyond a more appropriate time.

He became a well known figure in Bangor West, out walking with his white stick. He kept fit by walking for miles, confident in the fact that somewhere in the Highway code it states that drivers must give way to any pedestrian waving a white stick who wished to cross the road.

After a few falls and accidents in the kitchen, Social Services provided a domiciliary package for him, whereby carers came in 4 times a day to get him up, cook his meals and put him to bed. He couldn't see them very well but he called them his angels. They were indeed very good to him.

In November 2009, when he was 99 years old, even that level of support became insufficient, as he was in constant danger of falling. He was extremely lucky to find a place in Sunnyside house off the Donaghadee Road - a wonderful residential home run by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland - Board of Social Witness. He was extremely happy there and often described it as heaven on earth. If it hadn't been for the great care he received at Sunnyside he would never have lived long enough to receive his proverbial 'Queen's Telegram' in August 2010. The staff at Sunnyside undoubtedly prolonged his life at a time when he could still enjoy it and for that, the family are extremely grateful.

By this time his eyesight and hearing had greatly deteriorated. He was often unsure of which carer was attending to him. But it made no difference as he would flirt and joke with them all.

This sense of humour, even if sometimes warped, and his ability to come off with one liners, was with him all his life.

Several months ago when someone brought him a bunch of flowers to his room in Sunnyside he quipped ' I hope those are for that vase over there and not to lay on my chest.'

His humour often reflected his origins and his work. He loved recalling the one about a Ballymena man brought before the court for beating his wife... on the Sabbath Day.  It’s actually true, but it was back in the 17^th century.

And the one when, in the Garden of Eden, Eve told Adam some story and Adam responded by asking ' Who told you that?'

I remember him last year being checked over by a doctor with a stethoscope...

"Right Mr Bell, give me some big breaths. OK..Ok.. And just one last breath"

"I hope not!!!!" said my dad.

And when handing over a specimen to the doctor, he would always say

"Look after that now, it's 1910 vintage!"

He was also a stickler for punctuality, which usually meant for him, turning up half an hour early for practically everything. However patience was not his strong point as many of you would know. Waiting in a queue was a torture to him. He was an early riser and would often call with people or phone them before they were out of bed.

We can all remember him as a humorous, quick-witted, intelligent, well read man, of great integrity. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, uncle and friend. He was born into a loving family and departed from a loving family and that meant everything to him.

After 101 years I think he decided that he'd seen and experienced enough. He told me in hospital that when he wakened up in the morning he'd first check out whether he was dead or not, and for a couple of months he was to be disappointed. Despite eating or drinking virtually nothing during his stay in hospital, his heart proved too strong for his own good. The

 doctors and nurses were all amazed at how long he lasted.

None of us here have ever known the world without him. So there will be a gap of sorts in all our lives from now on. He was a one-off!!

On behalf of his family I would like to thank you all for coming here today to celebrate the life of a truly extraordinary man.

    Colin Bell 21^st October 2011