Tom Bell was born to Thomas James and Alice H Bell, and was one of the first group of boys to join the newly-formed High School, in May, 1885.

He left in 1891 to attend Rossall School as a boarder, after which he trained as a solicitor, and was admitted to the Solicitors' Roll in 1899.

He married Mary Frances Hick in 1905, and they raised a family at their home in Morpeth Avenue, South Shields.

Tom joined the Northumbrian Howitzer Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery as a Captain in the Home Service in 1915, and served in France from the end of the war for about six months.

Tom died in the Ingham Infirmary, South Shields, in July, 1960.