Howard A. Bell

Howard A. Bell (1888–1974) of Wrington was one of the first anglers to adopt an imitative approach to fly fishing on reservoirs in the early twentieth century. At a time when employing flashy 'attractor' patterns was the norm he employed the alternative tactic of using artificial flies that represented the shape and form of the creatures present in Blagdon Water where he fished regularly.

Conrad Voss Bark, BBC political correspondent and angling historian, had these words to say about him, "Dr Bell of Blagdon had the greatest formative influence of any man on the development of reservoir fishing in the first half of this century".

Howard Alexander Bell was born at Bletchingley, near Reigate, Surrey and studied to become a General Practitioner at Cambridge and St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He was enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps and served abroad in Flanders and Palestine in World War I.

He was a shy, sensitive and reserved individual and the horrors of war affected him deeply. He was one of the few who survived the Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) in 1917. The emotional scars of what he had witnessed as he tended the wounded and dying in Flanders were to remain with him for the rest of his life. It could well be that his wartime experiences led to his desire to live in idyllic surroundings and pursue the gentle art of fly fishing with such single-minded dedication.

A biography entitled ''Dr Bell of Wrington: Pioneer of Reservoir Fly Fishing'' written by Adrian Freer was published in 2019. Provided by Wikipedia