Richard
Bell
was born at Merthyr Tydfil in 1859. He
joined the Great Western Railway Company
in 1876. Bell was active in the Amalgamated
Society of Railway Servants and became organizing secretary of
the union in 1893. Five years later he was elected General Secretary
of the railway union.
Bell was selected as the Labour Representation
Committee (LRC) candidate for Derby.
In the 1900 General ElectionBell joined James
Keir Hardie as the two LRC members of the House
of Commons. However, once in Parliament, Richard Bell associated
himself with the Liberal Party.
Bell was replaced by another railwayman, Jimmy
Thomas, at the 1910 General Election
. After leaving the House of Commons, Bell
joined the Employment Exchange branch of the Board
of Trade. Bell retired from the Board of Trade in 1920 but continued
in local politics and served as a member of the Southgate Urban District
Council (1922-29). Richard Bell died on 1st May, 1930.
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