Charles Bell

BELL, Charles Edward Wallace  (1916-2011)
Cartoonist

Charles Edward Bell was born in La Prairie, Manitoba in 1916 to parents E.G.W. Guy and Jean Bell.  The family moved to Weyburn for a time and in 1924 settled in Regina.  Charles attended elementary school at Thompson and later Central Collegiate. 

Active in the sport of rowing, Charlie was a member of the Regina Boat Club and in 1935 became a Navy Cadet while working for the Canadian Farm Loan Board.  He joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1938 and was called to active service in 1940.  After the war he returned to Regina and rejoined the Naval Reserve and Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Queen.  Bell enjoyed painting and in 1947 was hired by the Regina Leader Post as a cartoonist where he spent the next 35 years working in various editorial positions, including Associate Editor before he retired in 1982.

Charles Bell’s paintings are included in the permanent collections of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the City of Regina and various private collections, he was a member of the Navel Officers Association of Canada and the Royal United Services Institute.  Charles Bell passed away in January 2011.

Revised by Elizabeth Seitz, 2015

Archival Collections (Finding Aids in PDF format)

83-14 - Charles Bell’s Collection of Cartoons by Others, n.d.