Lieut Commander Ac Bell

History of the Manchester Regimentfirst and Second Battalions 1922-1948 Lieut Commander Ac Bell

After strenuous service in the Great War, the 1st Battalion of the Manchesters returned to Britain in 1919, but were soon back in action fighting the guerilla action that preceded Irish independence. After garrison duty in various corners of the Empire between the wars, the 1st was converted to a machine-gun battalion in Egypt in 1936 , and were rushed to Palestine to quell an Arab revolt. here they took part in the Soecuakl Night Squads counterinsurgency pioneered by Orde Wingate. In 1938 the Battalion were fatally deployed to Singapore, where they were captured by the Japanese following the islands capitulation. The 2nd