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Auction: 20003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 288

'The old soldier summed it up as he left the cemetery: "He might have had no money in his pocket but he didn't go a pauper."

Private Robert Bell was awarded the Military Medal by George VI - one of the highest honours - for a single-handed act of bravery while fighting Germans in Vincigliata Castle, Florence, Italy, on August 27, 1944.

The Bren gunner and sniper was part of a patrol that came under heavy fire from the castle.
Private Bell left his cover and, according to his citation, showed "the most magnificent and complete disregard of his personal safety" and ran towards the castle and fired into the windows and slits of the castle.

He silenced at least one of the Germans' automatic weapons and then gave covering fire as the patrol withdrew.

But the former Scots Guard (sic) died penniless at the age of 86 in the Beamish Residential Home at West Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, in County Durham.

With no living relatives it looked as if his end would be marked by what Chester-le-Street calls a "social funeral'" in which his ashes would have been scattered in a garden of remembrance.

Others thought a hero deserved better and today Private Bell was laid to rest with full military honours after a service at Holy Trinity Church, Pelton, attended by more than 250 people … '

The Northern Echo, 20 August 2001, refers.

An outstanding Second World War Italy operations M.M. group of five awarded to Private R. Bell, Royal Scots, who displayed marked courage at the Castel de Vincigliata in August 1944

The formidable castle - otherwise known as 'Mussolini's Colditz' - was the former home of such distinguished inmates as Adrian Carton de Wiart, V.C., who, in the company of six other senior officers, masterminded a daring escape in 1943, a story admirably related in Mark Felton's Castle of Eagles

But the formidable nature of the castle also became known to Bell and his fighting patrol of the 2nd Royal Scots, sent to checkout its strength on 27 August 1944. Having crossed the outer wall and moat, the patrol was spotted and subjected to a murderous fire: Bell broke cover with his Bren gun, firing at point blank range into the windows and weapon slits of the castle, thereby allowing his comrades to escape the killing zone

In complete contrast to the events of August 1944 - and likely Bell's care for such trivia - Castel de Vincigliata has since become a striking setting for 'celeb' marriages

Military Medal, G.VI.R. (5954839 Pte. R. Bell, R. Scots); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, very fine or better (5)

M.M. London Gazette 12 April 1945. The original recommendation - for an immediate D.C.M. - states:

'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at Vinciguata (sic) on 27 August 1944. At this time Vinciguata, a castle of great natural strength surrounded by an 8-ft. wall and a moat, was held by the enemy. Private Bell was a Bren gunner in the fighting patrol which was sent to discover in what strength the castle was held.

The patrol had succeeded in crossing the moat and the outer wall, when heavy M.G. fire was opened on them from positions in and around the castle. Private Bell with his Bren gun silenced one of the positions, but further M.G. and automatic fire opened up from other positions including from the windows of the castle itself. At this stage the patrol commander was wounded.

The situation was now extremely perilous and the patrol was in danger of being completely wiped out by the heavy cross fire. Private Bell, seeing that the greatest danger lay in the fire which was coming from the castle itself, left his cover and with the most magnificent and complete disregard of his personal safety, dashed across the bullet swept ground and fired his gun at point blank range into the windows and slits of the castle. He was successful in silencing at least one of the enemy automatics.

When the patrol was ordered to withdraw, Private Bell covered them out, fearlessly bringing fire to bear on any target he could see. He himself was one of the last to leave. Throughout the action he displayed the highest quality of personal courage and there is no doubt that it was largely as a direct result of his determination and devotion to duty that his comrades were enabled to withdraw successfully.'

Robert Bell - and his comrades in 2nd Battalion, The Royal Scots - had recently secured Revezzano Ford on the River Arno and were deployed on an aggressive patrolling programme to probe the strength of German positions in the foothills south of the Apennines. As described in the regimental history, they had some notable clashes with determined 'stay behind parties.' One such clash occurred at the Castel de Vincigliata on 27 August 1944:

'Two days later a fighting patrol was sent to the hamlet of Vincigliata about half-a-mile south west of Castel di Poggio, and again dominated by a stone castle. This time the patrol managed to scale the wall before they were seen and came under heavy fire from different directions.

Private Robert Bell, a Bren gunner, managed to silence one of the German machine-guns while Lieutenant Anderson, the patrol commander withdrew the patrol, which was in danger of being wiped out, back across the outer wall and moat. He was wounded whilst doing this and again subsequently. Bell covered this withdrawal by racing up to the Castle wall and firing his Bren gun at point-blank range into windows and weapon slits. He continued to cover the patrol as it withdrew out of action leaving Lieutenant Anderson, on his direct orders, behind. For his actions that day Bell was awarded the Military Medal. Anderson managed to get himself into some woods where he was found by an Italian partisan who helped him back to Battalion Headquarters. For his leadership he was subsequently awarded the Military Cross … '

The scene today

The castle's fascinating history remains a matter for ongoing study, whether by way of its earlier origins or the Second World War era. Its role as a fortress home to a string of senior British and Commonwealth officers, captured in the Mediterranean theatre of war, has been the subject of considerable commentary; a role since marked by the publication of Mark Felton's related history, Castle of Eagles.

Today, the Castel de Vincigliata, with its sweeping views across the Tuscany countryside, is better known as a popular destination for 'celeb' marriages, among them England and Arsenal footballer Theo Walcott to Melanie Slade in 2012, and Westlife star, Brian McFadden, to model Vogue Williams, in the previous year.



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Sold for
£2,500

Starting price
£900