He grew up in Farlam, a small village in the Rural District of Brampton, in the county of Cumberland; he had three siblings: Jane (1864), Richard (1865) and John Jr.

In time, his younger brother John decided to migrate to Australia, embarking on the transatlantic SS Great Britain, while the rest of the family remained in Carlisle.

The two daughters remained at Ripley, cared for by both a housekeeper and their aunt and uncle (Bell's sister and brother-in-law), while the then fifteen-year-old Frank was studying at the Grosvenor College in Carlisle and later did an apprenticeship at the Harland & Wolff shipyards.

During Olympic's building, Bell had remained in Belfast during the whole time, superintending the ship's construction, "making any suggestions which he thought would lead to improvements.

On 10 April, after the ship left Southampton, Bell ordered Leading Fireman Frederick "Fred" Barrett to extinguish a fire in one of the coal bunkers, explaining "Builder's men want to inspect that bulkhead."

While anchored in Queenstown, White Star Line Chairman J. Bruce Ismay called Bell to his cabin and discussed the matter of the ship's performance.

After the collision, Ismay, proceeding from the bridge down towards his suite of rooms on B Deck and met Bell at the top of the staircase, and asked him if he believed that the ship was seriously damaged.

[citation needed] Popular belief persisted that Bell and his men stayed below decks, never abandoning their posts, working to keep the lights and the power on in order for distress signals to get out and they all died in the bowels of the Titanic.