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This date suggests the possibility that he may have taken part in a raid against the Messina marshalling yards where two aircraft were lost.     This raid appears on the flying log of Sgt David Cumming.    

As part of the raid, it appears that 70 Squadron Wellington III DF680/X  took off at 20.51, captained by Sgt E. R. Norburn, RAF, and an hour later reported engine trouble on the outward journey. The aircraft was plotted over the coast returning early, but plots then faded with the last signal from DF680 being heard at 23.50, although interference made the message unintelligible.  Lost without trace, the five crew are commemorated at the Alamein Memorial.   The crew also included;

Navigator: NZ42301 Flt Sgt Gordon Phillip McBain, RNZAF - Age 34

Air Bomber: NZ422672 Flt Sgt Arthur Ernest Watson, RNZAF - Age 24

Lee Anderson has contributed a letter that Sgt Bell wrote to Lee's grandmother the month before he was killed.   This poignant document gives a picture of life in the North Africa campaign together with typical concerns of the airmen.

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