FROM SHIP’S ENGINEER TO IMPRESARIO - Romantic Story of a Swansea Man - Mr. Mostyn Bell
FROM SHIP’S ENGINEER TO IMPRESARIO Romantic Story of a Swansea Man British Tutor in Vienna South Wales Daily Post A newspaper report published on 29 June 1926 in the South Wales Daily Post recounted the remarkable rise of Mr. Mostyn Bell , a Swansea-born engineer who became one of the best-known British impresarios in Vienna . Mr. Bell is the son of the late Mr. Wm. Bell , naval architect , who at the time of his son’s birth was engaged in the construction of the Swansea Docks . His mother, formerly Miss Barbara Davies , is also a native of Swansea, and her affection for her homeland remains undiminished. “ My mother was very loath to leave Wales ,” Mr. Bell remarked, “and even now she hates being away from her native country.” Although neither parent possessed musical inclinations—and his father was firmly opposed to his son pursuing a singer’s life—Mr. Bell was apprenticed at fifteen to the British Steam Navigation Company , following the engineering path laid out for him. By nine...
