In 1941, at the height of World War II, the War Office wrote to Astbury asking him to temporarily release Bell from her duties so she might become an Experimental Officer for the Ministry of Supply. Astbury replied that she was already involved in his work for the Ministry and was irreplaceable. "I am afraid I could hardly carry on without her help" he told them. However, between 1941 and 1943 the University listed her as "absent on National Service".

On loan from Special Collections, Astbury papers, folder B1