F. S. Bell Falkland Islands. The captain, eight officers and 79 members of the crew were given the Freedom of the City of Exeter on 29 February 1940, and were welcomed by a crowd of 50,000 cheering residents. The crew marched through the streets with fixed bayonets, carrying HMS "Exeter's" shell-torn White Ensign through the streets. Bell also commanded in 1945. He retired from the Navy owing to ill health on 8 January 1948. In the 1956 film "The Battle of the River Plate", Bell was played by John Gregson. During the film, Bell's nickname of 'Hookie', because of his distinctive nose, is
HMS Alcmene (1794) to board her before her captain could throw overboard any dispatches she was carrying for Napoleon Bonaparte, then in Egypt. Hope was unsuccessful, but two seamen from "Alcmene"s crew jumped overboard and were able to retrieve the dispatches before they sank. One of "Alcemene"s boats was able to rescue the intrepid seamen. The Royal Navy took the gunboat into service as HMS "Legere". In 1799, "Alcmene" helped Horatio Nelson to evacuate the Neapolitan Royal family from Naples ahead of the advancing French armies. She then returned to the Lisbon station. "Alcmene" captured the privateer on 26 June 1799. "Courageaux" had