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
USS S-26 (SS-131) London on 10 December 1941, and arrived at Coco Solo, Panama on 19 December. Accidentally rammed by the submarine chaser at night in the Gulf of Panama, "S-26" sank on 24 January 1942 with the loss of 46 men. Three men (the captain, executive officer, and a lookout) survived. Though divers were sent down to the wreck over the following days, her hull was not salvaged. USS S-26 (SS-131) USS "S-26" (SS-131) was an "S"-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 7 November 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts.