Colour-Sergeant A. G. Bell of the Shillong Rifle Volunteers photographed a few days after representing his corps at the coronation of Edward VI in London which took place on 9 August 1902.
The few details that have come to light regarding Colour-Sergeant Bell include his employment as a government librarian in Shillong.
He was awarded the Volunteer Long Service Medal (India Gazette, 8 May 1903) from which we can infer his membership in the volunteers since at least 1883. The Shillong Rifle Volunteers were established on 11th August 1882 so it seems likely that Bell was a member of the corps since its inception.
As mentioned above, Bell was selected to represent his corps at the Edward VI coronation in London for which he was presented with the Coronation Medal.
In 1906 Bell presented an ancient silver coin he had found to the Provincial
Cabinet of Coins of Eastern Bengal & Assam. The collection was coincidentally housed in the library where Bell worked.
I believe that A. G. Bell was Alfred George Bell who was born on Christmas Day 1848 to Henry Augustus Bell and Eleanor Clark at St. John's Wood. Alfred married Mary Anna Eliza McBride in 1876 in Bangalore, British India. The couple would have at least six children: Gertrude Amelia (b. 1877), Frederick James (b. 1878), George Alfred (b. 1881), Edith Grace (b. 1883), Frank Edward (b. 1886), and Mary Alice (b.1892).
Alfred George Bell died in Bangalore on 22 April 1914.