in this issue: six bell success from the 1 guild news and

Autumn 2019 Number 157

SALISBURY

DIOCESAN GUILD

OF RINGERS

NEWSLETTER

Deadline for next issue: 1 February 2020—[email protected]

In this issue:

From the President

1

Guild News and Features

2

End Second World War 75th

Anniversary 2020

5

LEBRF News

and Features 7

Recruitment and Education

8

Young Ringers 10

And in Other

News ... 14

Profile:

Margaret Romano

16

Branch News and Features

17

Calne 17

Devizes 17

Dorchester 20

East Dorset 21

Marlborough 22

Mere 23

Salisbury 24

West Dorset 27

Obituaries 29

Branch Business Meetings

34

SIX BELL SUCCESS

Top left: Six Bell Winners Downton. Teams in ringing order: Sturminster Newton, Gillingham,

Wimborne Minster X, Puddletown, Wimborne Minster Y, Upwey, Downton, Evershot, Melksham,

Calne, Spetisbury Spectacular (also bottom left with Novice Pat Cotton Trophy). Pictures Kathryn Tyson

From the President

It was extremely heartening to see so many teams entering the Six Bell Striking Competition, this year

held at Child Okeford. A very close contest with the top two teams separated by only one point. Downton, in the Salisbury Branch, the victors (see pages 2-3). Unfortunately there was only one novice team entered this time, which begs the question ―WHY‖; is it because you think you might look foolish, a lack of confidence or you just didn‘t know about it? Notice of

events come from the Guild and the Branch Secretaries but do Tower Correspondents and /or Tower Captains pass it on to their members? Do

check with your Tower Correspondent about what events are coming up. It is argued that notices are on the Guild Website, which they are, but many ringers seldom, if ever, look at it. Many grew up with the

fountain pen and written notices on the belfry notice board and still view the computer and mobile phone with healthy suspicion. By the time this issue of Face to Face is published we will be nearing Christmas and a New Ringing Year. Some of our Branches will already have held their AGMs. I have noticed that

quite a few towers in our Guild do not hold any Tower meetings. An Annual meeting should not be seen as threatening, rather it is an opportunity for a change

of officers (if that is the wish of members) but primarily it is an opportunity for each member to say what they would like to achieve in ringing over the next 12 months. The Incumbent could be asked to

join your Tower meeting so that he or she can give notice of events and when bells would be required and hear what the ringers are doing. The Anglican Church is becoming much more interested in the activities of us bell ringers and this, along with the increasing emphasis on safeguarding, health and safety and the need for Tower Captains, Ringing

Masters and Training Officers to be DBS checked and

to hold safeguarding certificates, makes it more essential than ever that all towers are compliant. Many people who started to ring in the last five years or so have been taught by ―The Learning the Ropes‖ scheme, set up by the Association of Ringing

Teachers (ART). Its five levels develop key skills from bell handling, listening and improving striking to understanding ringing jargon and conducting. It can be used in conjunction with other established teaching methods or as a standalone teaching resource. It is viewed by some with much suspicion but I urge you to look again-I think you will find some

good ideas and helpful tips. You will see many reports

on its activities in this edition. For further information contact your local ART teacher (if you don‘t know who that is ask our Guild Education Officer: [email protected]). There is a lot of help available out there, so swallow your pride look in the Guild Handbook or even throw caution to the wind,

fire up your computer and look on the Guild Website: https://sdgr.org.uk or the ART site: http://

ringingteachers.org/ Judith

GUILD QUARTER PEAL

WEEK Salisbury Guild Quarter Peal Week

runs from Saturday 2nd November

until Sunday 10th November

2019. This is a great opportunity to organise quarters in your towers and branches, and

to give members the chance to ring their first quarters, and their first quarters in new methods,

and even their first quarters as conductor. The week

embraces Remembrance Sunday which is also an excellent time to draw the attention of parishioners to the purpose of bells with a quarter peal. Please

will conductors link their successful quarter peals to the SDGR Quarter Peal Week event on Bellboard, so

that all quarters can be collated and sent to The Ringing World for publication together.

GUILD PEAL WEEK Guild Peal Week runs during the week of Christmas

celebrations, 24th December 2019 to 1st January 2020. In 2018 we scored four successful

peals during the week, and it is our ambition to better that figure in 2019. It would be a great achievement to score a peal in every branch-

perhaps Branch Ringing Masters could each take up the challenge of organising a peal in their Branch,

encouraging members who have not yet attempted their first peal?

David Warwick (Peal Secretary) [email protected]

YOUR FACE TO FACE At the July meeting of the Guild Executive a number of decisions were made on the future of the Guild

newsletter. It was agreed that:

the colour format throughout will

be retained;

the maximum size will be 34

numbered pages (on rare occasions it may be larger if there is a special reason);

it will be published three times a year (February,

July, November);

the inside front cover may be used for content;

and,

generally, the calendar to be restricted to Branch

AGMs and Business meetings.

There are three ways of reading your Face to Face: on line at: https://sdgr.org.uk/face-to-face/; the printed copy that goes to every tower and

should be available to all members in that tower;

and, a personal printed copy (for a year—i.e. three

editions, this costs £8 (£12 if posted), and this

needs to be paid in advance by 1 February). For details contact me.

Robert Wellen (Face to Face Editor) [email protected]

Inside Cover Pictures: LtoR: „Patriotic threads‟; Frank‟s Retirement (picture: Elizabeth Olkowicz) (p14); Dorchester Tour (p20); Lytchett Matravers Bells (p22); Bob Doubles

Challenge (p21); Spanner in Hand at Lytchett (p22); Brian Honoured (p26) and Devizes visit Sherborne (p18).


GUILD SIX BELL STRIKING COMPETITION RESULTS 2019

Pos Team Branch Method Faults Ringing Order

Judges‘ Comments

1st Downton Salisbury Plain Bob Doubles

3 7 Metronomic (very good) ringing. Compliment to the tenor ringer for keeping a steady pace.

2nd Wimborne Minster X

East Dorset

Grandsire Doubles

4 3 Tenor sometimes late at backstroke (not always enough to be classed as a fault). Dodges at lead end not always well placed. As the treble reached 4th/5th place, it sometimes clipped the bell in front.

3rd Wimborne Minster Y

East Dorset

Grandsire Doubles

12 5 One method mistake. Striking improved as the test piece went on.

4th Melksham Devizes Cambridge 20 9 Practice piece was PB Minor which produced better ringing. There are no extra bonus points for ringing complex methods in a striking competition. The extra difficulty of placing the bells in Surprise does not always bear fruit, as judged here–striking faults were occurring with all bells, despite there being no major method mistakes.

5th Puddletown Dorchester Plain Bob Doubles

21 4 Practice piece was plain hunt–this meant that practice at proper handling of the dodges could not be refined. Good set of rounds at the start to settle the rhythm 3/4 down dodge sometimes clipped–each bell needs to make sure it reaches back up to 4ths place at back stroke properly. Hesitation at the first call.

6th Calne Calne Grandsire Doubles

30.5 10 Started fast and slowed up in the first few rounds. Tenor repeatedly clipped the bell in front (too fast a pace for the rest of the band?) No consistent set speed for the first few leads.

7th Gillingham Mere Call Changes

32 2 5th late at handstroke, leading inconsistent. Sometimes the striking was not allowed to settle between each of the called changes.

8th Sturminster Newton

Mere Call Changes

33 1 Good use made of practice session. Test piece –Lots of clipping of the small bells (3rd?), leading not consistent. A few faults around the 2nd call change. Striking settled down towards the end to give some good ringing for the last 50 judged changes.

9th Upwey Dorchester Plain Bob Doubles

40 6 Practice piece rung too fast–the leading sometimes fell into the back end of the previous change. The band could have spent a bit more time just ringing rounds to get used to the bells before their 5 minutes was up. In the test piece, the band could have allowed more time for the rhythm to settle before going into changes. As a result, there were a lot of method mistakes because of striking uncertainty.

10th Evershot West Dorset

Plain Bob Minor

50 8 Slightly faster than team 7. Plain hunt in practice piece –slowed down in changes (not all ringers followed this) so one change fell into the next. Test piece of two halves, spoilt by a method mistake at the first bob(?) Some good ringing in the 2nd half.

GUILD NOVICE STRIKING COMPETITION RESULTS 2019

Pos Team Branch Method Faults Ringing Order

Judges‘ Comments

1st Spetisbury Spectacular

East Dorset

Rounds 20 11 Test piece infinitely better than the practice. Bells 2,3 and 4 rang inconsistently faster than the rest of the band–leaving a gap before the 5th bell rings. As explained afterwards privately to the band, the tenor sets the metronomic pace; the treble then defines the start of the next change. The rest of the band must then mentally count out between these two fixed points ―1-2-3-4-5-6‖ to place their bell.


Downton wins Guild Six Bell

Striking Competition and Spetisbury are ‗Spectacular‘ as well!

From Robert Wellen: The Guild Six Be l l and Novice St r ik ing Competitions were held on the refurbished bells at Child Okeford

on Saturday 7 September 2019 (team pictures on the front page and full results and comments on

the previous page). Ten teams took part in the Six Bell competition from all but one of our branches. Pictured left is Chris

Caryer of the winning Downton team receiving the trophy from President Judith Williamson; the other team members being Rhoda

Willson, Tom Burslem, Liz Thornton, Patricia Davidson and Martin Willson. Unfortunately only one team

entered the Novice competition, but what a team, Spetisbury Spectacular; pictured below right is Jodie Miller receiving the Pat Cotton

Trophy from Judi th). The competitions were judged by Graham Darke from Wells in the Bath and Wells Association,

assisted by our own Judith Williamson, many thanks to both of them. After the results around 25 members stayed for Fish and Chips and a Quiz. Our thanks to all who helped with teas and fish and chips.

General comments from the Judge (Graham Darke): 1. All teams to be congratulated for entering and completing the test piece of 120 changes (doubles/ minor), or equivalent of call changes/ rounds.

2. Not all teams made good use of their practice time (see comments for each team) e.g. by ringing a different method at practice to what was rung in the test piece. Where the test piece was harder, or where dodging was required that had not been practised beforehand, method mistakes crept in (especially at bobs/ singles). 3. Although only one novice team entered, they were assessed for striking and received positive comments. We marked as if part of the main competition, although they were not. The point we as j udges wan ted t o encourage was that novice bands can produce as

good ringing as some of the other bands-and good rounds on a Sunday morning means, with the correct support, the band can then start to develop further. 4. The results show that, if an appropriate style of ringing is chosen for the abilities of the band, the perceived standard heard outside can be equally as pleasant to the public (and judges). 5. As per general comment 3, there are no bonus marks for complexity of method rung. Ringing minor compared to doubles (with cover) or surprise compared to plain minor does not gain kudos. The judges were purely looking at a band being able to strike the bells well with consistent

leading/ rhythm. Therefore, keep the method simple unless requested in the competition rules.

Salisbury Guild Celebrates its 4000th peal

From David Warwick (Peal Secretary): The first peal for the Guild was Grandsire Triples at Trowbridge on

22nd May 1886, conducted by William McCaffrey. Grandsire Triples was the

method for each of the first fifteen peals, St. Martin‘s Salisbury being the most frequent tower. By the end

of the nineteenth century, the Guild had rung 132 peals, mostly of Grandsire Triples (73), but also of Stedman Triples (21), Plain Bob Triples and Major, Double Norwich Court Bob

Major, Kent Treble Bob Major and eight of

Grandsire Caters, which were all rung on handbells, mostly conducted by James Washbrook. The first peal of Surprise was Superlative in 1909, followed a few months later by

one of London Surprise Major. Stedman Caters was first rung to celebrate the installation of the new Gillett and Johnston ten at Wimborne Minster in 1911, conducted by William Pye. The range of methods, and towers pealed, increased significantly in the years immediately before the outbreak of war, including the first peal for the Guild at Sherborne Abbey in 1912.

Doubles and Minor peals became increasingly popular after the war, and the 500th was a peal of Plain Bob

Minor rung at Potterne in 1931. The first twelve-bell peal was rung at Trowbridge in 1936-Stedman Cinques-followed by Plain Bob Maximus and Kent Treble Bob Maximus in 1938.

There was a resurgence in activity after the second war and a peal of Plain Bob Minor at Upwey in 1949 marked the 1000th peal for the Guild. It had taken 63 years to reach this total, but only another 23 years to double that figure-another peal of Plain Bob Minor at Broad Chalke in 1972. The later stages of this period

were dominated by two of the Guild‘s most prolific peal ringers (and conductors), namely Brian

Woodruffe and Timothy Collins who both did much to

Bradford Peverell, Dorset The Assumption

Fri 26 July 2019 in 2h 38m 5184 Spliced Surprise

Major 6m: 1152 Rutland, 960

Yorkshire, 768 Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Pudsey and Superlative with 149 com

Composed by Marcus Sherwood

1. Timothy F Collins

2. Patricia M Garrett 3. Thomas R Garrett 4. Felicity S Warwick

5. David A Warwick (C) 6. Robert D Crighton 7. Raymond Haines 8. Nigel R Woodruff

The 4000th peal for the Guild.

Ringing next

May for 75th

anniversary of

VE Day

Friday 8th May 2020 (Bank Holiday)

7pm–Ringing out for Peace In association with the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, bells in cathedrals, churches and other locations will ring out at 7pm in a collective

celebration of peace. Church bells will be rung throughout our nation and around the world in celebration of the peace and friendships we

share today.

https://www.veday75.org/get-involved/ringing-out-for-

peace/

https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?DoveID=BRADFODPEV


broaden the scope of peal ringing within the Guild. Peal ringing was at its peak in the Guild during the

late 1960s through to the 1980s. The 3000th peal for the Guild was a special one, 12000 changes of Doubles in 35 methods rung on handbells by Ceri, Brian and Christopher Woodruffe on 27th December 1989-a mere 17 years after the 2000th. Peal ringing has been a little less popular in recent years and it has taken a further 30 years to reach the 4000th.

During this last period, the variety of methods has burgeoned, showing a particular emphasis on Spliced Surprise Major and, latterly, more peals of Surprise

Maximus. From Neil Skelton: Evidently Bishop Andrew‘s visit on

Sunday 3rd August had a profound effect on him. The conse rva t i on vo l unt ee r , Christopher, referred to met him at a service at Wilsford (Pewsey) the previous week

and mentioned that he helped maintain the churchyard at Imber. Andrew asked if he could visit en route to a service at Sutton Veny which I attended

and so I was asked if I would provide him with access to the church. He spent some time there and climbed to the tower roof. I told him the Imber story and the thousands of visitors it attracts each year. I was the

lone volunteer who ‗tugged‘ the bells as he and Christopher left. Curiously my Rector in Wilton mused, ‗If only we could replicate the Imber numbers at Wilton‘. I suggested he might consider opening the church for just twenty days in each year! Clearly the bishop and myself were thinking on similar lines. I thought his piece beautifully written and I might ask

him if I can put up a copy in Imber church but after

publication of F2F. A historical postscript: in 1943 it was the War Office which evacuated Imber. Its successor, the MOD, is a more recent incarnation of the same government department. With all that now goes on at Imber and the publicity it receives I would

say that it has long since eclipsed Tyneham as the better known of the two.

Preserved in Imber

Imber isn‘t easy to see. Camouflaged like a curlew, the stone tower of St Giles‘ Church

emerges about half a mile from the village, as you approach from the south. This is about as deep into Salisbury Plain as it is possible to be: ‗Little Imber on the down; seven miles from any town‘, ran the local rhyme, before civilian access to the village was blocked by the MoD during the War. Like its better-known counterpart in Dorset, Tyneham, Imber was evacuated in 1943, to

provide a training area for US troops preparing for the allied invasion of Europe. A lane leading into the village, ‗American Road‘, is one reminder of their residency, as are the railway tracks strengthening the curbs against Sherman tanks in nearby Shrewton. Imber is now open to the public for twenty days a year, during which the well-preserved parish church receives nigh on fifteen thousand visitors. Hearing this, I‘m momentarily tempted to call for the evacuation and closure of all Wiltshire‘s parishes, in order to spark their nostalgic revival, rather like the annexation of the Isle of Wight in Julian Barnes‘ bright satire on national heritage, England, England. But what draws them? Surely the myth of settlement and the irresistible thrill of decline: black-eyed homes, overgrown greenery and the uncanny thought that, when every other village is lit, Imber will remain dark. Yet whatever kind of place Imber is today: part stage set for army manoeuvres (ironically, these husks of houses are used for urban operations training), part pop-up museum or pilgrimage site, it is hardly a lost Eden and by no means abandoned. During the Afghanistan conflict, I learn, seven hundred Afghans were brought here in order to recreate a bustling oriental bazaar, around which troops patrolled, observed from above by incredulous buzzards. Nature reigns in Imber and comes uncommonly close: roe deer lope over the road, a red kite takes flight, mere feet away, and the encircling fields jitter with butterflies. My guide, a conservation volunteer with a privileged red pass to visit these restricted areas, has spent twenty years mapping and logging them–butterflies, ponds (all 290 of them) and the winterbournes that vein this pulsing landscape. The detailed attention of such latter-day Gilbert Whites means that Salisbury Plain, while barely inhabited, remains deeply, devoutly known. Ghosted by plastic sheeting, the altar in St Giles‘ awaits the next service (like the buses, there are two or three a year)–a baptism, remarkably, although the incumbent informs me he will need to bring a salad bowl, the font having long since departed. Quite regularly, I come across furnishings from Imber that were scattered across the diocese when the future of the church was in question. Happily, the Churches Conservation Trust now cares for the building, which is already realising its singular potential as an emblem of persistent Anglican faith. We aren‘t to stray beyond the road: military debris is everywhere strewn in this mock battlefield. Passing

carcasses of never-inhabited homes erected in the seventies for training, it can appear that everything here is a facade–with an emotional force highly-charged but, ultimately, blank. Then you realise Imber was dwelt in for nine hundred years, making its zero return in the national census (shown continually since 1951), deeply poignant–pregnant even. As we leave, a lone volunteer tugs the bells of St Giles into life. For us? Maybe, but as they ring across the unharvested fields, it feels as though the land could be rising to worship.

The Right Reverend Dr Andrew Rumsey is the Bishop of Ramsbury and a Vice Patron of the Guild. The above has been provided by the Bishop (adapted from a reflection written by him after visiting the Imber this summer).

OUR GUILD STILL NEEDS A

PUBLICITY OFFICER

Could you:

Write Reports on Guild Events?

Publicise Guild Events?

Keep Branches informed of Central

Council Press releases?

Be a point of contact for ‗the media‘?

Update the Guild website with news?

Develop ‗a social media strategy‘ for

the Guild?

Contact the Guild Master to discuss:

[email protected]

End of Second World War 75th Anniversary 2020

Ringers from the Guild who Died in

the Second World War 1939-45

From Robert Wellen: 2020 sees the

75th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May (the end of the war in Europe) and VJ Day on 15 August (the end of the war in the Pacific and the Second World War). Published here are some details of the 11 ringers from the Diocese of

Salisbury known (now) to have died in

that war (all Guild members), *indicates names on the original Roll of Honour. Thanks to Alan Regin, Steward of the Central Council Rolls of Honour, for his assistance in compiling this article. Alan admits that the ―WWII Roll of Honour is very much a work in progress”; so if you have any more details on any of

those listed below, or you have evidence of other ringers who died in this conflict please let me know. I am pretty confident myself from a preliminary look at the Guild reports that there are more. 1941 Pilot Officer (Obs.) Paul Francis Opperman*,

Rowde. Died 26/09/1941 age 19. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Commemorated at Rowde (St. Matthew) Churchyard (pictured left). Son of Percival Herman Opperman and Jessie Opperman, of Ventnor, Isle of

Wight. He held ―Police Rank of Junior Clerk‖ for a short while. He is commemorated on the Wiltshire Constabulary Memorials, Police Headquarters, London Road,

Devizes. At 11.50 hours on 26 September 1941, Pilot Officer James Richard Harrison took off with other

squadron aircraft in Bristol Beaufort W6483 WM-A for an attack on a reported merchant vessel. Owing to bad visibility, Beaufort W6483 hit Tregonning Hill to the northwest of Helston, Cornwall. All crew were killed. Pilot Officer Paul Francis Opperman was Observer in the four man crew.

Electrical Artificer 3rd Class James Alfred George Leighton*, Wyke Regis. Died 25/11/1941 age 24. Royal Navy, H.M.S. Barham. Commemorated at Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Born 16/02/1917. Eldest of two boys of Alfred Leighton and Isabel (CWGC has Iris) M. Leighton (née Whiteman).

Husband of Dorothy V. Leighton (née Gill) whom he married in December 1938, of Northfield, Warwickshire. He attended Weymouth technical school and was a keen sportsman, sports played included rugby, on occasions for Weymouth rugby club, and also tennis and badminton. On 24/11/1941 HMS Barham sailed from Alexandria and on

25/11/1941 was hit on the port side by three torpedoes fired from U-331 causing it to list heavily and spread fire towards the ammunition storages which exploded killing 862 out of its roughly 1260 man complement, Electrical Artificer 3rd Class Leighton was one of those that died.

1942 Sergeant Brian William Swaffield*, Wyke Regis.

Died 12/06/1942. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Commemorated at King's Lynn (Gayton Road) Cemetery (also on Wyke Regis war memorial panel, pictured below). 114 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Flying Bristol Blenheim Mk. IV. Died in King‘s Lynn, Norfolk, 19 June 1942.

Aged 22. Killed in "The Eagle" public house when it was bombed

and demolished. Serjeant Albert Owen Wrintmore*, Calne (formerly Hilmarton). Died 12/06/1942 age 34. Home

Guard, 1st Wiltshire (Chippenham) Bn. Commemorated at Hilmarton (St. Laurence) Churchyard (pictured below). He conducted peals. A report in The Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, Saturday 13 June 1942: ―HG DIES IN BATH HOSPITAL Hand Grenade Burst

During Exercise: Albert Owen Wrintmore, 34, sergeant in the Home Guard, of Hilmarton, near

Calne, died in the R.U.H Bath, as a result of a hand grenade explosion during Home Guard exercises at Hilmarton on

Thursday evening. He passed away after an operation in hospital. He was an acting sub-inspector on the permanent way of the G.W.R. at Chippenham, and leaves a widow and one child”.

Gunner Douglas Percy Arnold* Child Okeford. Died

04/12/1942 age 22. Royal Artillery, 28 Field Regt. Commemorated at Ancona War Cemetery, Italy (pictured below name on Child Okeford Roll of Honour). Son of Frederick Henry Arnold and Lily

Elizabeth Arnold, of Child Okeford. Private Douglas Arnold of the Royal Signals Regiment was the only son of elderly parents who lived at the School House. He was taken prisoner in the fighting in Italy and died while held captive. Douglas

Arnold died so young at Macerata Sforzacosta

Prisoner of War Camp. Final resting place after exhumation from Macerata on January 1st 1945 at Ancona War Cemetery. 1943 Civilian Frederick George Samuel Cole, Poole.

Died 06/09/1943 age 39. Civilian War Dead. Son of James Cole and Mary Cole of 6 Frampton Buildings, Upton, Poole, Dorset. Husband of Nora Cole of 114 Elmbridge Road, Gloucester. Died at Brockworth Aerodrome. Described in 1943-44 Report as ―one of our ablest conductors” and that his death ―has cut

short a ringing career of great promise”. In a letter

published in The Ringing World, 13th November

End of Second World War 75th Anniversary 2020

2009, Phil Tocock spoke of Frederick Cole calling a peal in the late 1930s and he goes on to say ―Making

some enquiries some years later I was informed that Fred Cole lost his life when the aircraft factory in which he was working was destroyed during the Blitz. Perhaps his name should have been included in the Rolls of Honour?‖

1944 Corporal William Edmund Greene* (ROH says

Green), Hazelbury Bryan. Died 09/04/1944 age 37. Royal Armoured Corps. Commemorated at Bone War

Cemetery, Annaba, Algeria. Son of Albert Henry Greene and Hannah Greene. Husband of Maud Ena Jane Greene (nee Sanders) who

he married in 1926, of Sturminster Newton. Born: Stockton, Warwickshire. Resided: Hazelbury Bryan

at a house called "Wonston". Pictured an inscription in a memorial Bible in Hazelbury Bryan church.

Private Sidney Walter Cousins* Warminster. Died

10/07/1944 age 23. Wiltshire Regiment, 4th Bn. Commemorated at St. Manvieu War Cemetery, Cheux, France. Son of Walter Cousins and Louisa Cousins, of Warminster. Born: Somerset.

Sergeant (Pilot) Stanley Charles Slade*, Preston. Died 25/07/1944 age 22. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Commemorated at Preston (St. Andrew) Churchyard (pictured below). Born circa 1922, Sgt

Slade was a flying instructor at 29 EFTS (E l ementa ry F l y i ng

Training School), but it is

not known when he arrived there. There was a low flying fatality on the afternoon of Tuesday 25th July 1944, when Tiger

Moth T7463, with pilot instructor Sgt Stanley Charles Slade RAFVR in the front cockpit and pupil Pilot Officer John Miller Paton in the rear, struck a tree in the low flying area. The aircraft caught fire and crashed northeast of Braydon Pond near Wootton Bassett (RAF Clyffe Pypard). Sgt Slade was killed and his pupil suffered second degree bums to his face and

a fractured skull. Sgt Slade was buried in St Andrew‘s

churchyard, Preston in Dorset on 29th July 1944. Private Dennis George Gumm*, Westbury (formerly Bratton). Died 07/08/1944 age 33. Wiltshire Regiment, 5th Bn. Commemorated at Banneville-La-Campagne War Cemetery, France

(pictured, name on North Bradley war memorial). Husband of Gertrude Louise Gumm of Chieveley, Berkshire. Born: Yarnbrook, North Bradley. Dennis Gumm was born in the

March Quarter of 1911. He

was born in Yarnbrook,

North Bradley, the son of William Frederick and Lily Amy Gumm. We know that he married Gertrude

Louise Masters in the December Quarter of 1934. There does not appear to be any children. During WWII he served in the North-West Europe Theatre of War. Dennis was killed in action on the 7th August 1944. Initially buried at Le Quesnel, Somme, France he was re-interred at Banneville-La-Campagne War Cemetery, Calvados, France on the 24th June 1946.

1945 Private George James Burden, Fontmell Magna.

Died 20/03/1945 age 25. Dorsetshire Regiment, 2nd Bn. Commemorated at Taukkyan War Cemetery, Burma. Son of Victor Thomas Burden and Ann Burden of Shaftesbury. George was educated at St Andrew‘s,

Fontmell Magna, and at Shaftesbury Grammar School, and worked as a groundsman at Clayesmore School. He was killed in action before Mandalay–while acting as a stretcher bearer taking a wounded man to the Aid Post, a shell burst and he was killed instantaneously. The Parish Magazine recorded that

George, in a very direct way, ―laid down his life for his friends”. “We shall miss him. He was a regular Churchgoer, Communicant, and Bell-ringer, the sort

of fellow that is a real loss to any Parish when he is taken away. When the news came a Peal was rung, with his Bell muffled, a tribute to the

respect in which he was held”. His name is on his parents‘ gravestone at East Orchard church (pictured).

Peals Rung in May 1945

Tuesday 8 May 1945: 5040 Grandsire Doubles at North Bradley conducted by Percival Harding (peal board pictured below left, courtesy Tony Longdon).

Wednesday 9 May 1945: 5040 Grandsire Doubles at Abbotsbury conducted by J H Hayne.

Wednesday 9 May 1945: 5040 Doubles (Plain Bob and Grandsire) at Lytchett Matravers conducted by Harold E White.

Wednesday 9 May 1945: 5040 Grandsire Doubles at Devizes (Southbroom) conducted by Joseph S Weeks.

Saturday 12 May 1945: 5040 Grandsire Doubles at Wool conducted by Sergt P Tocock (peal board pictured below right, courtesy Phil Miles).

Sunday 13 May 1945: 5040 Grandsire Triples at Bishops Cannings conducted by Sidney G Grant.

Saturday 19 May 1945: 5003 Grandsire Caters at Trowbridge conducted by Gilbert H Harding.

Monday 21 May 1945: 5040 Plain Bob Minor at Lytchett Matravers conducted by William C Shute.

LEBRF News and Features

LEBRF Update 2019

To introduce myself, I am Anne Wardell the new Administrator for the LEBRF, having taken over this

summer from Jo Barter who has been carrying out sterling work in

this role for the past nine years. I support the LEBRF Trustees as they manage the Bell Restoration Fund and I live in the Pewsey area, ringing at Milton Lilbourne, Pewsey and Upavon Churches. Many of you

will already know my husband, Chris Wardell, as he‘s

been ringing around here for decades! The Llewellyn Edwards Bell Restoration Fund, Registered Charity no 270529 in the UK, makes grants towards the restoration and augmentation of church bells in the

Diocese of Salisbury. During the last five years we have made grants of over £28,500 and the graphic above gives details of some of our work during 2019.

The LEBRF Trustees meet three times a year in February, June and October to review and allocate grants from the Fund. These grants are valid for two years and are always paid on completion of the work. If your tower has a bells restoration project planned,

do please contact us–the Fund is of most value when it is being used to protect and preserve our ringing heritage, rather than just sitting in the bank! You can contact me and the LEBRF by e-mailing

[email protected], plus you can find out more about the LEBRF and download an application form by clicking on https://sdgr.org.uk/lebrf/

LEBRF Open Day 2019: A Great Success!

From Louise Gay (LEBRF Trustee for Salisbury Branch): A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the LEBRF Open Day hosted by the Salisbury Branch on Saturday 17th August 2019. An equally

huge thank you to all involved in the preparation for

this event. Together we raised an amazing £1187 for

the Salisbury Guild's Bell

Res to ra t ion Fund (the LEBRF). After all the plan-ning, it was exciting to witness ring-

ing com-mence at Ber-wick St John

at 09:00, and then flow through the Branch over the next 10 hours as the event took on a

life of it's own. The route covered 24 towers in beautiful and varied Wiltshire countryside along five river valleys (Chalke, Ebble, Nadder, Woodford and Wylye), ending on Salisbury Plain at Durrington. It included nine towers not offered when the Salisbury Branch last hosted the event in 2012. The initial

weather forecast was dire, but the storm went through early and the day turned unexpectedly warm and sunny-perfect for an Open Day. The forecast

didn't deter visitors. As well as Salisbury Guild ringers, they came from as far afield as North Yorkshire, Wales, Kent, Essex, Greater Manchester and the West Country. There was one lady from

Sydney, Australia, but she hadn't just come for the day! Some visitors had arranged a longer stay to ring in the area. The 6-bell tower at Middle Woodford counted 63 visitors, and were amazed as they kept coming and coming. We are grateful for all the thanks and comments we have received. In particular, a number of ringers said how great it was to be able to

get round all 24 towers. Ringing is thirsty work so the

refreshments were very welcome. One tower took £55 and that chocolate fridge cake was described as ―heavenly‖. As one steward summed it up "everyone was happy, relaxed and having a good time; I can't wait to do it again in seven years time!".

Sketch Map, with thanks to Martin Willson.

Top left: Louise Gay (left,

Organiser) and Rosemary Pegrum

(Steward).

Top right: West Dorset ringers enjoying lunch at Stratford-sub-Castle and bottom: an „orderly queue‟ at

Ebbesbourne Wake.


Awards and Training From David Hacker (Guild Education Officer): We are fast approaching the time of Quarter Peal Week, AGMs, Christmas, Peal Week and the start of another year. In view of this, it is now time to consider fellow

members who you might like to see nominated for The Ringer of the Year Awards, if you think someone is worthy of nomination put their name forward to your Branch Committee for further consideration. Remember when the Education Committee considers

the nominations they are not only looking for people who have made good progress with their ringing but

also will look at what the nominee has done for their fellow ringers, their local Church and community or for their Branch and possibly the Guild, which opens up the field considerably for nominations. The closing date for nominations will be 29th February 2020 (so you have an extra day to ‘make a leap!‘) and more details (including former winners) and nomination

forms can be found on the website: https://sdgr.org.uk/guild-awards/ As you will see on page 9 an ART Mini Conference

was held recently at Puddletown and following on from that I am considering expanding the idea to be

used as the basis for our Guild Training Day on 30th April 2020. We are in the very early stages of planning at the moment but a general outline is for the morning to have presentations on various topics which affect us all with plenty of time for questions, answers and general discussion, a simple lunch and then in the afternoon a series of workshops on ringing

related subjects where those attending can become involved practically in something which might interest them; watch this space, there will be much more about the day in the next issue.

There are still spaces on the Simulator Awareness Day being held at Marlborough on Saturday 30th

November 2019, see the notice on page 9. If you have a simulator in your tower, or are considering installing one, then this day will be an invaluable source of information for you. The Saxilby is still available for use during the winter months although it will most likely need to be indoors. It has been well

used during the summer (during one month it was used every weekend) and it has proved very popular previously when a local band has promoted ringing at a Christmas Bazaar. May I also remind you the new

banners are there for your use, all of this material can be booked through me, simply send a request to [email protected]

Feedback–

‘Mind Your Language!‘

Have you found

that feedback is sometimes treated as though it is a dirty word? Whilst it is true that false praise, such as ―That was good‖ when it obviously wasn‘t, is

worthless, feedback actually has nothing to do with praise; it is information given to someone about

their performance so that they can improve next time. In the context of teaching bell handling, if you start by recognising that a new ringer doesn‘t know the difference between good and bad movements, then your feedback allows them to understand when

they are doing something right or wrong and tells them how they can improve. Without such feedback the learner might well judge their performance by how in control they feel or the look on your face, and then have to guess how to improve. Verbal feedback can be positive, negative or neutral–

informational with no positive or negative connotations–such as, ‗Remember to keep your

handstroke lead open‘. Positive feedback provides encouragement; ringers like to receive praise when it is sincere and honest. Negative feedback does not encourage, may be demotivating and contribute to ringers giving up easily. The way in which you use

feedback will affect the way the learner feels. You should aim to use feedback in a manner which leaves the ringer feeling positive. ―DON‘T‖ is one of the most negative words you can use. Used frequently it will demotivate, but unfortunately, it is commonly used. Teachers are notorious for recognising and correcting errors more often than

noticing correct aspects of movements. Remember

to recognise positive aspects of a ringer‘s performance and use them in the feedback you give to them. If you find it difficult to avoid the "don't" word, then

try using the following technique: Good–start with what was good about the

ringer‘s performance or attitude. Better–then give feedback about what needs to

be worked on. How–provide advice on how to improve

performance.

Your feedback will be most useful if it is given immediately after the performance. If the feedback is delayed it is more likely that the ringer will have forgotten exactly how they performed. And to give

the ringer the best chance of improving, try to give them the opportunity to practise what needs to be improved straight away. So, feedback isn‘t a dirty word, it is a powerful and necessary teaching tool. When used carefully and thoughtfully it can lead to significant performance improvement and leave the learner feeling both positive and ready for more.

Lesley Belcher (ART Chair)

Are you a Learner?

If you have recently taken up ringing I would like to hear from you for a

‗Learner‘s Corner‘ which I hope to introduce as a regular feature in Face to Face. What has worked

for you? What hasn‘t? Highs, lows, frustrations, light bulb moments—share with fellow learners and help our teachers. Contributions to Robert Wellen, the

Editor, at [email protected].


ART Dorset Mini Conference

21st September 2019 From Nigel Pridmore: On

a sunny September Saturday Puddletown tower hosted the first mini conference for Dorset (and Wiltshire). Being a ‗first‘ always

means that one is never

sure how many will turn up and the date inevitably clashed with various outings, weddings and so forth, but for the twenty or so who attended the mood was positive. After a welcoming coffee, Roger Booth (member of the ART Management Committee, Tutor and owner of the Charmborough Ring) spoke briefly

on the development of the Association of Ringing Teachers across the country from a standing start over the last eight years, and new developments that are being initiated during the next twelve months: Upgrading of IT systems to cope with the rapid

growth of ART, including replacement of the ‗SmART Ringer‘ website with easier access to

booking courses and teaching resources. Improvements to the ‗mentoring‘ system, so that

new teachers are properly supported. Encouraging teachers to work together in local

groups or ‗hubs‘. More emphasis on ‗foundation skills‘ (a variety of

interesting exercises to help improve bell-handling

and listening skills as well as teaching people how to count places and gain ropesight in simple easily manageable steps) as part of not only tower practice nights but also as a possibility for District and Branch practices.

The success of the booklet 50 Ringing Things

which encourages a multitude of opportunities to ringers to ‗get involved‘ in their tower, Branch or

District events. More emphasis on striking as part of the ‗Learning

the Ropes‘ programme. Working with the Central Council to provide

training for future leaders and tower captains through the ART modules. Also workshop sessions such as calling simple touches, steeple keeping, simulators, listening skills, tower leadership and recruitment and retention.

ART Champions–to promote ART in their area, and

help follow up people who attend teacher training

modules and those who enrol on the ‗Learning the

Ropes‘ programme. Following this Debbie Phipps (Tower Captain of Lytchett Matravers, pictured top right) gave a presentation on ‗Recruiting Ringers whilst raising money for tower repairs.‘ A few years ago she began with four ringers (including herself) and showed us

how through using the ideas from ART, as well as her own initiatives, she now has a strong band of 16. Debbie shared lots of realistic ideas on how to nurture the ringers and help them to grow. Her analysis of recruitment shows that links to the church and word

of mouth (inviting friends and neighbours) make a good combination for recruiting. She strongly

advocates that retention involves taking an interest in every ringer‘s individual progress and running specific practice sessions on perhaps listening skills alongside and as separate sessions to a regular practice. In addition to their own development

Debbie and her band have been fund raising for repair to the bells as reported in this

journal. Debbie‘s motto of ‗recruit, inspire, retain‘ certainly inspired all of us and gave us many ideas to take

back to our own towers. Following a ‗networking‘ coffee break, where ringers shared and expressed thoughts and ideas, the morning was ‗pulled together‘ with an open forum. Questions were put to speakers and there was much

debate on how we move forward and what we as Dorset and Wiltshire ringers envisage for the future. There was some disappointment at the small turn-out

(for over 200 towers that had been invited). Ideas were discussed on ways to improve communication links. From a local perspective within Dorset and Wiltshire talks are now underway to provide more

information on the work of teaching ringing through ART methods and other successful approaches, so watch out for future training opportunities during the next twelve months. Visit the ART website: http://ringingteachers.org/

Abel

Simulator Workshop

Saturday 30 November 2019

9.30am–5.00pm-Marlborough

https://sdgr.org.uk/simulator-workshop-30-november-2019/

A simulator is a valuable learning tool that can be used at home and in the tower. It can significantly speed up the learning process and give you the opportunity to practise your ringing without the need for a full band of ringers, or teach your beginners far more efficiently. This workshop is

designed for those with limited or no knowledge of simulators, and those who are considering installing one in

their own tower, or using one in a nearby tower. The morning session explains the various items of hardware

available, and their advantages and disadvantages, and an opportunity to try the software. The afternoon session

goes into Abel in depth, taking people through the various stages from ringing rounds, plain hunting and ringing a

bell inside to simple methods. The majority of the

workshop will be spent in practical exercises, so that you should go away fully conversant with Abel/ how to use it.

The workshop can accommodate up to sixteen delegates, but early booking is advisable. To register and book:

https://events.bellringing.org/events/workshops. The cost is £20 per student to be paid on the day. For more

information or advice contact the Guild Education Officer at [email protected] or call 01225 791821.

Young Ringers

Congratulations from Bishop

Nicholas From Robert Wellen (Guild Master): On hearing about

our team Go Bellistic taking part in the RWNYC in Liverpool, I received the following from our Patron, the Right Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury: ―Many thanks for letting me know about the young ringers from the Diocese. I am glad to know they took part in the competition and it sounds as though

they had a great day. It is so good to see such young

ringers taking their place in the Diocesan Guild. God bless. + Nicholas”.

Guild Young Ringers Day in Bath From Robert Wellen: The latest excursion by the young ringers of the Guild was to the historic city of

Bath. The day was warm and sunny, quite a relief after

s o m e r e c e n t downpours. It was W e d n e s d a y 2 1 August 2019 and 12

young ringers, family and friends (a total party of 25) travelled to Bath by train or

by car and park and ride. We all gathered at our first tower, Bathwick, at ten o‘clock for an hour of ringing on this lovely ring of 10 bells. We rang lots of rounds,

call changes and plain hunt all day, and here we also

had a touch of Grandsire Caters. Our party included Pat and Ian Davidson and their two grandchildren (potential future young ringers?) who did their popularity no harm by handing out delicious chocolate cake as we exited the tower! Then on foot to our

second tower, Bath St Michael. We arrived with plenty of time for the mandatory group picture and some refreshments in the cafe in the church. We then rang on these 8 bells for another hour (after a couple of goes at getting the back two up right!)-very nice; this time adding Grandsire Triples and Plain Bob Major to our achievements. Everyone had been issued with

City Tour tickets so we then lunched and started

‗hopping on‘ and ‗hopping off‘ buses as we pleased, heading north to our afternoon ring at Bath Walcot (Christ Church) at 3 p.m. Some of us had time for an ice cream and a look at the chandeliers at the Assembly Rooms before our final hour of ringing on the fine 8 bells at Christ Church, adding Stedman

Triples to our ringing. We then all headed off again by the City Tour bus to the Pizza Express for a well deserved meal and home. Many thanks to Molly, Philipa and Will for their hospitality at our three towers and to Hilary Child for organising the ringing so well. Everyone had a good time and it‘s so good to

see the progress made by our young ringers since we

started these outings.

‗Young Ringers‘ Cycling Tour comes

to Dorset

From (a youthful) Ruth Beavin: In 1972 the Revd. Geoff Stickland started a cycling tour for young bell

ringers around towers in the Forest of Dean, staying in Youth Hostels. Nowadays, anyone who feels up to the challenge of cycling an average of 30 miles a day

for a week and ringing at 5-6 towers each day is welcome to join. We no longer stay in hostels but stay the whole week at a centre, going out in a circular route in a different direction each day. Revd.

Tom Pelham, Curate at Canford Cliffs has now taken on much of the organising and since 2015 a group of us from the north of the Guild have joined the tour (average are 50+)! This year, the tour was in our Guild and about 25 of us (though we did have 30 or so people at various times as some people only came for a part of the week or a day) stayed at Bryanston

School, Blandford. Here we had very comfortable

accommodation, sumptuous food, and the use of their brand new 25 metre swimming pool. Our total cycling distance was approximately 150 miles and we rang at 31 towers including the newly rehung bells at Child Okeford, two four bell towers at Winterbourne

Stickland and Winterbourne Zelston, and going along to Blandford on their practice night, which they kindly gave over to us for the evening. All abilities of both ringing and cycling are catered for and although some of us aren‘t so young anymore, Hannah Simpson joined us at the end of the week having just turned 18 and young Max Knight from Wimborne came for

the first time. There were a couple of barrels of beer

on tap during the week and one evening was the traditional night of beer and hymn singing. Our last night is always games, cheese, port and presentation of a tee shirt to the ‗Wally of the Week‘, which this year fell to me: I‘d lifted my rather heavy, old fashioned, six gear bike, over a stile when I could

have just opened the gate next to it and wheeled it through. We had very good weather all week. Not too hot and mostly missing the showers at the end of the week. We are all waiting to find out where the tour will be next year, but if you‘re a young ringer (or not so young) and enjoy cycling, it‘s a great way to spend

a week.

Young Ringers

Young Ringers Everywhere!

From Hilary Child: Although a few of our practices over the spring and summer were specifically to prepare for the RWNYC in Liverpool, the majority of them were practices open to all younger ringers, both

from the East Dorset Branch and further afield. In April we visited Broad Chalke (8) and Fovant (6), with methods rung ranging from mixed Doubles to Plain Bob and Grandsire Triples. There was also plenty of Plain Hunt and Call Changes. Go Bellistic Plus (some

of the RWNYC team plus some slightly older young ringers) took part in the Guild 8 bell striking

competition at Whitchurch Canonicorum in May as reported in the last Face to Face. May and June saw us practising at Fordingbridge (8) and Wareham (10) for the RWNYC and then at Cattistock (8) and Charminster (10). During this particular afternoon we also sent a band over to Evershot to take part in the West Dorset Branch 6-bell striking competition and

they were pleased to be placed 4th. The West Dorset Branch Secretary (AKA Ed‘s mum!) reported back: ―Everyone was very impressed with the team and how they got themselves organised.” Max called the

changes to give Alfie a break! As ever, please contact me ([email protected]) if you know

of any young ringers who might like to get involved with the group. Anyone in their teens (or younger) or twenties is very welcome.

Well Done Lara From Robert Wellen: Very well done Lara, a very promising young ringer from the Devizes Branch, on ringing the treble to the heaviest ring of eight in the

world (Sherborne Abbey) during the Devizes Branch Afternoon Outing–on 3 August 2019 (full report on page 18). I was there to see it! Pictured is Lara with Branch Ringing Master Chris Jenkins.

Young Ringers–The Wider Picture From Hilary Child: On Sunday 8th September 2019

Tom Garrett and I spent the day at the Mini

Roadshow which was part of the Central Council meeting weekend at Goldsmith‘s University in London. One of the seminars we attended was on the subject of young ringers‘ groups. Leading the session was David Pearson who is involved with the Guildford Diocesan Guild Young Ringers group and he had

gathered half a dozen ringers from the south-east, all under the age of 18, to give their views. No ‗magic formula‘ emerged for recruiting or retaining younger ringers, but the session did show that the challenges we face in doing this are pretty much the same across the country–although it is fair to say that

several areas do have a larger ‗pool‘ of younger

ringers than the Salisbury Guild currently does. I

thought that the main points raised might be of interest to all those who

are involved with younger ringers, whether that be at the individual tower level or at the practices and outings which we arrange specifically for our younger members. In no particular order: Young ringers like to feel that they

get plenty of ringing time during a

practice and many like to be

challenged and given new things to try.

Young ringers will need to cut down

on the amount of ringing they do in the run-up to GCSE and A Level exams-and we need to not make an issue of this, but keep encouraging them when they are able to

come. Roughly half of young ringers are from non-ringing

families; it's important to build good relationships and communicate clearly with all parents but perhaps particularly with the non-ringing ones.

Young ringers are almost always dependent on

parents for lifts to practices and also have to fit in with other family commitments; they aren‘t always in control of their own free time, unlike adults.

Safeguarding requirements present a challenge

when organising lifts to practices. Email is a good way to communicate with many

parents-but the young ringers themselves are much more likely to engage with social media.

Some of the young ringers spoke about some

Guild/ Association websites which either don't

work well or which don't look appealing to a younger audience; online is the first place which

young ringers will look for information (the SDGR website does now have a tab at the top of the home page which goes straight to the write-ups of young ringer events, but we could do more with

this). Young ringers might not talk about their hobby to

their friends-either because they don't want to be seen as ‗odd‘ or because they like doing something different and don't want others to do the same! So hopes that young ringers might bring their friends along too might not be very realistic.

Young ringers‘ groups–the large size of many

Guilds and Associations (including SDGR) makes

the formation and operation of these challenging (do you have a young ringers‘ practice for

everyone together, thus requiring some people to travel huge distances, or do you have a north and a south practice separately, for example?).

When organising activities specifically for younger

ringers, cake is important! Other activities can be good, but ringing should always be kept as the major part of any session as that is the one thing which the young ringers have in common; they

aren't necessarily going to contact other members of the group in their free time or become friends outside of ringing.

Young Ringers

ART-Learning the Ropes Masterclass

Birmingham: 7th September 2019 (As featured in The Ringing World-4 October 2019)

From Max: When my Dad forwarded an email to me letting me know that me and my brother, Alfie, had been invited to an ART bell ringing Masterclass in

Birmingham because we

had comp leted the ‗Learning the Ropes‘ Level 5* the previous year in 2018 I didn‘t know what to think! I‘d heard that Birmingham is a city filled

with amazing bell ringers who take the hobby so seriously that there‘s even a School of Bell Ringing incorporating multiple towers in the teaching process. Frankly I wasn‘t

expecting it to be particularly special and thought it would be just like any other tower outing, simply with better ringers. I was delighted to discover otherwise. All the students who had passed LtR 5 in 2018 started the day by meeting up. Once signed in, we were provided with a ‗packed lunch‘, told to look for the

seats with our names on, and then issued with an ART organised folder setting out a schedule and plenty of information for the full day ahead. We were placed next to our assigned tutors, who would be working closely with us for the day, trying to help us in any way that they could to progress our ringing, to make sure we got the best out of the weekend‘s

activities. Right from the off, it was obvious that the organisers had spent a huge amount of time getting everything in place so that we would have a productive day. The meeting started off with the Masterclass organiser, Stephanie Warboys, introducing herself to the group and setting out the plan for the weekend. Stephanie then introduced our

three group leaders for the day, being herself, Arthur Reeves and Simon Linford, and the members of the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing who would be assisting. Steph then walked us through a striking workshop where we saw 7 short clips of 6 bell ringing recorded at St Martin‘s in the Bull Ring (picture

below). In each short burst there would be one or multiple ringers making persistent striking errors, each progressively harder to distinguish than the last. We students filled in some sheets where we had to determine which

ringer(s) was making the error and what the error was, and our tutors would help us to gain a deeper understanding after we‘d made our own judgements. I found that this was a great way to start because it

set the bar at a certain level, and we were then in a critical mind-set of our own striking for the whole

day. It encouraged us to talk to our tutors and ask for help/ guidance. When we weren‘t ringing Arthur advised us to stand with our tutors, and discuss/ analyse methods, striking and progress with our tutors. This close 1:1 style of tuition worked really well for me and my brother. It was great that we were able to ring both plain courses and touches of

different methods that we wouldn‘t normally be able to ring or achieve with our home band. Being able to ring with such experienced ringers who can ring

faultlessly and strike perfectly made it so much easier to try things I hadn‘t been able to do before. For the first time ever, I got to ring in touches of Stedman Triples,

Grandsire Caters and Kent Treble Bob-which for me was great and was the highlight of the weekend. It was really good to be able to make these ‗steps forward‘ on the day, and

hopeful ly this can be something I can carry on with and build on. We also got to

focus on our 12-bell striking in plain hunt, and ringing as a group on 16. Additionally, ringing with such excellent

ringers has given me more confidence, and has made me think about what other things I can possibly do and achieve. Saying I got a lot out of the experience would be an understatement. The day finished with all 3 groups ringing on the 16 at St Martin‘s, receiving certificates and listening to closing

remarks and inspiring words from Steph and Arthur.

We then all met up for dinner to chat over the day. The next day, Alfie and I rang in the Sunday morning ringing at St Philip‘s Cathedral where we were made welcome. All of us students had been invited to join the Sunday morning ringing at the various

Birmingham towers (and participate in some hand-bell ringing as well) and a number of quarter peals had been organised for those who could stay for the whole day. I would like to say thank you to all the helpers from Birmingham and elsewhere who all had impeccable striking giving us the students the best possible experience in progressing our ringing and a

massive thank you to Steph who made this all

possible through her fantastic organisational skills and patience. But most of all, I would love to say thank you to Alistair Cherry (Alfie‘s tutor) and Ewan Hull (my tutor) because without them, we wouldn‘t have been able to achieve what we were able to achieve in just one day.

*Level 5-the final Level in the Learning the Ropes scheme,

Level 5 guides ringers up to confidently ringing methods and onto trebling to complex methods.

Wow, what an amazing experience, well done Max and Alfie on all your work on achieving Level 5 and for sharing your adventure with us. (Also, well done Dad, Matthew, for all your support for the boys).

Max, left, with his mentor, Ewan Hull.

Alfie, right, with his mentor, Alistair Cherry.

Young Ringers

Max and Alfie ‗Do Grandsire‘

York 2020: Set to ‗Go Bellistic!‘

Hilary Child (our „team

manager!‟) has written: The venue (York) is going to be challenging

for us again, but I am very happy to organise a squad to go if people are keen. We can do some fundraising again to help with the cost of transport and accommodation. The headquarters for the day will be

York Minster (which will hopefully mean that there will be the opportunity to ring there) and the

competition is going to be at All Saints, North Street which are a 7cwt ring of eight, so quite different from the heavier bells we had this year.

THE EDINGERS

A Short History by Christine Purnell Part 1—The Early Years 2010-12

When The Edington Ringing Centre opened in January 2010, The Western Daily Press

very kindly produced a four page feature detailing our recruitment drive at Easter. We were very fortunate that we managed to attract six youngsters. With much help from Patsy Thorn and many Branch members, they very quickly bonded and we held another ‗Open‘ session during

the summer holidays of that year when we managed to welcome two more, a Jack from Bradford and a Jack from Melksham. Adam, Brodie, Elen, Emily, James, Katherine, Matthew and Sophie soon decided on the name ‗Edingers‘. After learning to handle a bell they moved onto Rounds and Call Changes quite quickly and we managed with help to ring all ten bells for ‗Nine Lessons and Carols‘ at Christmas. Sophie designed the Edingers‘ logo and her Mum, Julia ordered a variety of sweat shirts and tee shirts. The Sworder family (then living in Steeple Ashton) were very supportive and Robert especially, just back from Uni, was invaluable during that summer. The Purnells and the Thorns ran Car Boot Sales and Coffee Breaks on Ringing Courses, to raise money for the Outings and Christmas treats. One very kind Training Officer gave £100 to supplement our fund. Later we also had grants from the Ringing Centre Committee. 2011: During 2011 practices continued and some Edingers were ringing changes on five bells, we held our

first outing–with Georgie and Dan from Wylye joining in the ringing at Southbroom (pictured left), Rowde and finishing with a BBQ and ringing at Edington. We also rang at ‗Piglet‘ and Marston Bigot dur i ng the

Christmas Holidays. Adam was "most improved young ringer" in The Devizes Branch (pictured right with Gill our Chairman), and rang his first quarter peal. 2012: Practices continued with two more lads joining us, Joe from Rowde and Matthew from Frome. Adam entered his first Striking Competition where we came fifth. A trip around the Benefice on St George's Day resulted in all three peals of bells being heard and a very enjoyable ‗grab‘ by many of our new young people. Tuesday May 22nd saw us ringing at Christ Church, Bradford as the Olympic torch went by. Ella and Oscar were our new beginners that summer. On 28th May 2012, Adam (age 14) rang his first peal for The Queen's Diamond Jubilee; it was a very hot evening and we were all delighted when we scored. An Outing was organised by Christine Purnell (pictured below left) to take the youngsters and helpers to

London to ring on Friday 27th July (the actual day of the opening of the Olympic Games), we rang at Edington before catching the train to Waterloo, a boat trip on the Thames followed with ringing at St Olave's, Hart Street; then onto St Clement Danes before a Fish and Chips supper. We were joined

by two other Guild youngsters from Wylye.

More Next Time

Pictured LtoR: David Haysom, Ian Tucker, Eleanor Wallace, Robert Wellen, Max, Tim Rose (C), Alfie, and Matthew Pike

after ringing a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples at Dorchester St Peter on Saturday 28 September 2019, a

first quarter of Grandsire for Max and Alfie.

Caption Corner

Many thanks to Alan Bentley from Wimborne Minster for providing this family picture of a visit

to Wimborne Model Village (or is it?). The

original caption was ―Oh Look, Granny, I can see Harry Blamire

pulling the tenor in to

Zanussi‖. (Zanussi is a Maximus method and Harry is a Wimborne ringer, if you didn‘t

know!) At the quiz after the Six Bell/ Novice

Striking Competitions our President judged that ―Another Matthew

Higby mini-ring project‖, a submission

by Andrew Woolley, from Calne, was the winner.

And in Other News ...

Peal for a Local Hero The following is an extract from a r e po r t b y J ames Me r c e r (reproduced with his permission): On Saturday 27 July 2019, on the

128th anniversary of his birth, a peal was rung on the bells of St Nicholas, Worth Matravers to celebrate the remarkable career of Wing Commander Louis Arbon

Strange DSO, OBE, MC, DFC (pictured left). Members of the

Strange family and local and military dignitaries attended a service to share the story of Louis Strange‘s adventurous and eventful life and to rededicate a renovated churchyard memorial in his memory. One of the many remarkable tales told about Louis Strange, recalls his amazing combination of skill, bravery and luck. In May 1915

Strange equipped his Martinsyde S.1 scout plane with a Lewis gun, mounted on the top wing above the cockpit-a pioneering innovation of Strange‘s own design. Strange sought out the enemy to try out the

new arrangement and attacked a German Aviatik two-seater aircraft. In order to change the empty drum

on the Lewis, Strange had to stand up in the cockpit. Immediately the machine flipped on its back, throwing Strange out of the plane, which went into a flat downwards spin. Strange, hanging onto the ammunition drum of the Lewis gun, managed to swing back into the cockpit and kick the stick over to right the aircraft only 500 feet above the ground.

Strange rejoined the RAF in 1940 at the age of 49. Too old for a regular commission, he became a pilot officer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve and as the Allies

fled northern France, he was posted to Merville as Aerodrome Control Officer, tasked with saving as much equipment as possible. As the enemy

advanced, he patched up a Hurricane, a plane deemed unfit to fly, with no armament and missing instruments-a plane he had never flown before. He made it to the cockpit with the enemy about 100 yards away and took off. Ground fire forced Strange to climb higher and higher, whereupon he fell prey to

eight Messerschmitts, which chased him almost at ground level through village streets and the boulevards of a grand chateau. Strange used all his skills and tricks to keep ahead of them until he got

close enough to the naval ships at sea, which gave him covering fire. He returned the Hurricane, intact,

to England. The exploit earned him a bar to his DFC. After the war Louis Strange lived and farmed in Worth Matravers in Purbeck where he continued to pioneer creative solutions to challenges, including a rocket-powered grass-drying machine. Eventually the privations of conflict took their toll and Louis Strange

died on 15th November 1966 at seventy-five years of age. The Peal was of seven Minor methods and was conducted by David Warwick. James Mercer rang the

treble.

90th Great War Ringer

From Robert Wellen: The 90th ringer from the Dio-

cese of Salis-bury known to have died in The Great War has recently

been added to the Central Council Roll of Honour. His name did not

appear in the Great War Memorial Booklet. On ringing a peal at Corfe Mullen I noticed the plaque (pictured) in the church below the war memorial. He was not a Guild member. The soldier is Lance Serjeant Percy Horace James Ellis, Corfe Mullen, Corfe Mullen Parish Ringers. Died 02/08/1916 age 23. Dorsetshire Regiment 1st/4th Bn. Commemorated at Baghdad

(North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq. Born 3rd quarter 1893. Son of James Ellis and Elizabeth Ellis (née Taunton) of Rose Farm, Broadstone, Dorset. At the time of the 1911 census, he was working as a

domestic gardener. He was a pre-war territorial soldier serving with the 4th Bn Dorset Regiment. He

went to India with his Battalion in 1914 and was one of the few chosen volunteers selected to reinforce the 2nd Battalion in Mesopotamia in 1915. He was taken Prisoner of War at the fall of Kut after months of siege. Born: Corscombe. Enlisted: Wimborne. Resided: (1911 Census): Near Glendon, Corfe Mullen, Dorset.

Two Branch Tribute to Frank From Len Roberts

(picture: Elizabeth Olkowicz): On Sa t u rday 3 r d August 2019 a group of Mere Branch members travelled to Ab-

botsbury, in the D o r c h e s t e r Branch, at the in-v i t a t i o n o f

Abbotsbury Tower to ring and attend a reception for Frank Attrill (pictured centre) a former Mere Branch

Member (and Treasurer). Frank has recently handed over the Tower Captaincy at Abbotsbury to Matthew Bakewell, one of the team that Frank taught to ring after his move to the village from Bourton. In recognition of the service that Frank has given to ringing, he was presented with a ticket for him and his wife, Jan, to enjoy a tall ship sailing experience.

He was also presented with an Edinburgh cut glass crystal bowl, complete with a locally made wooden plinth which was suitably inscribed. Our thanks go to Abbotsbury members for inviting the Mere Branch and for the wonderful reception they provided.

And in Other News ...

Outing to the Chew Valley 2019

From Nigel Pridmore: Saturday 31st August 2019 was the Annual DCA outing, this year to the Chew Valley. 28 ringers, including two children, enjoyed a tour of six towers all around

the Chew Valley (Butcombe, 6 bells, 6 cwt, pictured left). Mostly members of SDGR, the attendees included 23 DCA members and five other ringers from Salisbury, Staffordshire and Sussex.

The second tower at Chew Stoke was of special note

because the 5th bell was the first bell cast at the Bilbie Foundry which was established in Chew Stoke itself. The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers and Edward Bilbie I (1666–1724) cast this first bell in 1698. Everyone made their own arrangements for lunch with some going to the Stoke Inn and others going to the Salt & Malt at Chew

Valley Lake. 19 ended the day at Whitstone's Fish & Chip restaurant in Shepton Mallet. The day was made extra special as all were light six bell rings within just a couple of miles of each other. Thanks goes to Robin

Mears for his organisation of a memorable day.

Mini Rings, Insurance and ‗Don‘t

Mention the War‘: Our Day at the

CCCBR Mini Roadshow From Pat and Ian Davidson: It was quite a shock to the system

to have to get up on Sunday 8th September 2019 at the crack of dawn and even more of a shock to set foot outside in a

temperature of 3c! Our destination was the Mini Roadshow held as part of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers 2019 Council

Weekend at Goldsmith‘s College, London. After a 50 minute coach journey to circumnavigate engineering works on the line we picked up the 07.46 train at Andover for Waterloo. A short bus journey later, and with Goldsmith‘s College now in our view, it was a case of ‗find the way in!‘ After being given rather vague directions by a gate keeper, who was there to

direct new students to their Halls, we were alerted to the sound of bells so knew we must be close. Signage was still in the process of being positioned but, once

spotted by an efficient steward, we were soon directed to the welcome desk. A quick glance through the programme and we had mapped out how we were

going to spend the day. First port of call was to hear one of the many speakers, Marcus Booth from Ecclesiastical Insurance (E.I.), his talk entitled ‗Insurance and Bellringing–All you need to know.‘ Being responsible to the Guild (as Guild Treasurer) for handing over some of its money to E.I., Pat thought it was her duty to go to this talk. Was she going to be

any the wiser? It was a bit of a challenge to find the room, named for the day, the Avon Ropes Room. It was located on the third floor and on our way to

finding it we were able to admire the breath-taking

view of the London skyline from the balcony. The room was

almost full and Marcus gave an e x c e l l e n t p r e s e n t a t i o n , demystifying the perceptions people have about the subject and how E.I. approach ringing as a whole. With plenty of questions coming from the

audience the hour sped by. It was now time to stop for a bite to eat, we wandered outside,

found a bench in the sun and sat down to enjoy our picnic overlooking College Green and the sound of the mini rings. It was now our chance to

enjoy the three sets of bells which had been set up on the Green. Wandering over to the Charmborough Ring (―probably the best light ring of bells in the world– with a ¾ cwt weight tenor the heaviest portable ring currently in existence‖) a regular at past Ringing Roadshows, we teamed up with some other

ringers and rang a touch of Plain Bob Minor. We also enjoyed hearing a group of youngsters from The Lilliputters Guild being put through their paces ringing

just rounds, back rounds and Queens but with instantaneous changes! We then moved on to the Dewbys Bells–8 bells, 22lbs and our first ever ring on these bells-an enjoyable course of Little Bob Major.

The third ring, also a first time, was the StallpitsBells-6 bells, 6lbs (pictured above right)–these took a little more getting used to but we managed a good touch of St Clement‘s Minor. Back inside to take a closer look at the various stalls and exhibits including a colourful array of sallies from Avon Ropes, books and publications, handbells, simulators and training bells.

A ring of training bells configured in an innovative

‗maypole‘ design attracted much interest and amusement as people tried their hand at ringing them. We were persuaded by a familiar face from Melksham on Matthew Higby‘s stand to try out the

Standard Training Bell, ideal for

teaching bell handling and with a feel very like a tower bell. Just time for a cuppa before heading off to the Main Hall to hear the final talk of the day–‗When the ringing had to stop……….‘, an interesting and very entertaining

story of ringing during the

Second World War. It seems that not much ringing actually stopped which was due to confusion and also caused much confusion! This was brought to

life by Steve Coleman with help from six readers. We

had had an enjoyable day and a chance to catch up with ringing friends from far and wide. After this we headed back to Waterloo Station for the train journey home which, thankfully ran through to Salisbury. We arrived back slightly weary and very glad that we had parked the car (free!) in the Central Car Park ready

for the final leg home.

Profile: Margaret Romano

I was born in Dublin in June 1953 but we

moved to England when I was 2 years old. I was brought up as a Roman Catholic so bells were never part of my upbringing. When I was 14 some boys asked my

friend to go ringing but she didn‘t want to go on her own and asked me

to go with her. She gave up three months later! We started at St. Mary‘s, Guildford which at that

time was a lumpy, anti-clockwise 6. There were several other learners who had been learning for some time and when I had a go at backstroke my instructor disappeared towards the ceiling, when an already weakened stay broke. I‘ve often thought that most people would have given up at that point! After

five months I was invited to go to the Cathedral and that was really where I learnt to ring. There were six other learners, all around my age and we had lots of

fun learning to ring together and becoming good friends, but over the years the others all gave up and I am the only one still ringing. When I started at the Cathedral it was a new ring of 10 and I developed a

love of 10 bell ringing although I also attended many other local practices. I wasn‘t a particularly fast learner and it was years before I understood how to listen to my bell and I rang with little or no understanding of the jumble of sound up above. In 1975 I moved to Salisbury and went to ring at St.

Thomas‘s. There were lots of opportunities to go

ringing and I used to go to Amesbury on Mondays, St. Martin‘s on Tuesdays, St. Thomas‘s on Wednesdays, Fordingbridge on Thursdays and Martin or Damerham on Fridays. I was young, unemployed and had no family commitments, so I had plenty of time for

ringing. I met Peter Wright at a practice at Amesbury and in due course, we moved into a bungalow in Porton and rang at Middle Woodford. We got married in September 1978 and in 1979 we bought a house in Salisbury and returned to ringing at St. Thomas‘s. In 1983 Pete got a job in Derbyshire so we moved to South Normanton where there is a ring of 6. The local

ringers weren‘t really interested in ringing and just

used to ring on Sunday evenings but after a while I persuaded them to have a weekly practice. Then, one Sunday, ringing was cancelled and no-one bothered to let me know, so I gave up on the local tower and went to ring at Chesterfield–back to 10 bells–that was good! There was a thriving band at Chesterfield and I

was enjoying ringing there and when the tower captain announced he was going to move away the other ringers nominated me to replace him. However, the vicar wanted someone who worshipped at the church and he elected a ringer from another tower who never even rang with us. This prompted a

strike by the Chesterfield ringers and we even hit the

national press. The tower was silent for some months

and eventually the vicar got his way but several ringers went to ring elsewhere. I moved to North

Wingfield which has a ring of 8. Although I have no formal teaching experience I have taught many ringers over the years and had lots of fun doing it. Reluctantly, I took on the post of Branch Ringing Master because no-one else wanted to do it, but I didn‘t enjoy it! I got involved with some very good handbell ringers who were very patient and

encouraging and I have rung two peals of Plain Bob Major and one of Royal, (all on the tenors)! I also introduced a group of ringers from another tower to

tune ringing on hand bells. They thoroughly enjoyed it and became very enthusiastic and even acquired their own set of handbells.

In 1989 Pete and I decided to go our separate ways and I had more time for ringing again. I was invited into many peals at this time, often by Gordon Halls, who‘s ambition was to ring a peal at all the 10s in the country (sadly, he passed away before achieving this goal)! We used to go on ringing weekends–travel to a

destination on Friday evening after work, ring two peals on Saturday, another on Sunday morning, travel home in the afternoon and back to work on

Monday for a rest! I never had a career as I never knew what I wanted to do, so I worked in a variety of offices, most of

which were quite boring! In 1994 I decided I had a job I didn‘t care about and a house I didn‘t want, so I sold the house, resigned from the job, and returned South to live with my recently widowed Father in Guildford. The Cathedral had been augmented to 12 so I was able to do some 12 bell ringing, but I still prefer 10. I went on a long trip visiting my brother in

Japan and then on to stay with friends in Australia.

That was a brilliant trip and I managed to ring at quite a few towers. In 1995 I returned to Salisbury, rejoined St. Thomas‘s and when Pauline Champion moved away I took over as tower captain and held that post for 18 years. I got a job at a Day Centre,

working with adults with learning disabilities, which was hard work but lots of fun as well. After that I worked with disabled people in their own homes and I retired in 2017. In 2001 I started a tune ringing handbell group at St. Thomas‘s and we now have a group of experienced

people (including some non-ringers) achieving an

increasingly high standard. I also take part in two method ringing handbell groups and we have lots of laughs. My first Quarter-peal was treble to Grandsire Triples, in March 1970 at Guildford Cathedral and my first

peal was treble to Cambridge Surprise Major at Cranleigh in June 1974. To date I have rung 305 peals and 484 Quarter-peals. I have been a Branch committee member for many years. I now have very few family commitments and do as much as I can to support local ringing.

Many thanks Margaret.


Trying Something New!

From Jane Ridgwell: You will probably be tired of hearing that the Calne Branch is the smallest Branch in the SDGR. This fact is our strength in some ways,

because we visit every tower in the Branch every year and everyone knows someone, if they go to a

Branch meeting. However it does mean that our annual programme of meetings can get rather monotonous, so we like to try something different from time to time. This summer has been no exception. In July we had our normal monthly meeting with ringing, afternoon and evening, tea, service and raffle, visiting Yatesbury. There was also

a successful quarter peal at Compton Bassett; we decided not to have open ringing there this year, due to the very limited length of time that we are currently allowed to ring there. We are always made

very welcome at Yatesbury, although there is only one Guild member there; HLM Valerie Goddard. Shortly after the Branch meeting at Yatesbury we

were asked to go and ring for the RAF Yatesbury Association service on 11th August. The aim of the association is to preserve the memories and history of the RAF stations around Yatesbury and all who were involved particularly those that gave their lives in the service of their country. Sadly the decision was made

that the service at Yatesbury would be the last, due to diminishing numbers of those who served there, able to attend. In August we agreed that we would have an evening meeting. We went to Broad Hinton

and we went on a Thursday evening as none of our Branch towers have a practice night on Thursdays. We would not have been surprised if the attendance

was low, due to holidays and the change of time for the branch practice. We were pleasantly surprised as we had 18 ringers present and Hilmarton even cancelled their own practice night to attend. They found the light bells at Broad Hinton a big change from their own bells and enjoyed the evening. September was also different because we decided to

arrange some training workshops and have a social evening for our visit to Lyneham. Branch Training Officer, Andrew Woolley, organised a listening skills

workshop, which he ran himself, and an introduction

to handbells session, run by Bob Purnell of the Devizes Branch, ably assisted by David and Wendy

Bishop (pictured left). Whilst those attending the listening skills workshop looked very studious when a check was made during the afternoon, the handbell workshop produced great hilarity as those of us present tried to get to grips with the very different skills needed for handbell ringing. By the end of the afternoon progress was made in both sessions and

some useful insights were gained. We even had a non-ringer present who got an introduction to how methods work on handbells. The ‗lapping‘ exercise

was probably the most entertaining as we were unable to remember which way to pass the bells. More hilarity ensued during the evening when 12 of us stayed on for a Beetle Drive. There was much fast

and furious throwing of dice and drawing of beetles. The Beetle Drive was won by Brian Vickers, after a deciding throw of the dice.

Devizes Branch ‗Event‘–6 July 2019 Market Lavington and Great

Cheverell

From Julia Russell: On the afternoon of Saturday 6 July 2019, members of the Devizes Branch were joined by a number of visitors including Judith

Williamson, our Guild President, and Robert Wellen, Guild Master, at Market Lavington. We enjoyed ringing, from the ground floor, a variety of methods

on the six bells. Our service was taken by Michael Challinor, Lay Worship Leader from West Lavington, who advised us that he very much enjoyed listening to the bells in the benefice and would miss them when he and his wife shortly move to Shropshire. We were very grateful to ringer and organist Chris Bush for accompanying our hymn singing. We then

decamped to the ‗Old School‘ where we enjoyed a delicious tea and a raffle which raised £52 for LEBRF. This was followed by a number of presentations

kindly made by Judith Williamson which included:-

Calne

CALNE BRANCH BELL

RESTORATION 200 CLUB Raise money for bell restoration and

maintenance and win cash prizes

Each month there are prizes of up to £50, £30 and £10, with £100 bonus prizes, dependent on membership

numbers. It‘s easy to join and costs only £2.50 per month (£30 per year) per share. Anyone over the age of 16 can

take part. After prizes and expenses, ALL profit will be made available to Calne Branch bell restoration and maintenance

projects. Donations may also be made to the Llewellyn Edwards Bell Restoration Fund (LEBRF).

For more information about the 200 Club or to request an application form, please contact the promoter, Andrew

Woolley, using the contact details: (H) 01249 816260 (M) 07722 038262 email: [email protected]

Devizes


HLM certificates to Peter Bushell (pictured top left)

and June Bushell (pictured top right); Commendation to Lara (pictured top left) for being

nominated for the Guild Young Ringer of the Year

award;

LtR Level 1 certificates to Lara (bottom left),

Yasmin McKenzie (bottom right) and Paul Whiffin (bottom centre) (certificates were presented to Sally Hutton, Graham Pruveuneers and Anthony Robson at a later date). All pictured with Judith.

Robert Wellen then gave a very interesting presentation about the Great War Memorial Booklet

focussing on the Devizes Branch ringers who lost their lives in the Great War including the greatest losses-six ringers from Edington and five from Bishops Cannings. We were very pleased that Robert was able to display the original painting by Helen

Chester (the front cover picture of the Booklet),

which we all agreed was a very special and moving tribute to all those who are featured. Our evening ringing was at St Peter‘s Great Cheverell, six bells, ground floor, where a variety of methods were rung before a great thirst overtook the ringers who then moved swiftly to ‗The Bell‘ next door!

Devizes Branch Rounds Competition: 20 July 2019

From Julia Russell: On the afternoon of Saturday 20

July 2019, five teams competed in the Rounds

Striking Competition at Edington Ringing Centre

where they also enjoyed afternoon tea! The competition, very efficiently run by Bob and Chris Purnell, has a handicap system whereby experienced ringers incur penalties dependent upon the number of

years they have been ringing. The winners this year were Seend B Team with Seend A coming a very close second–picture of Seend ringers above (LtoR: Robert McGrane (photoshopped in!), Len Murray (TC), Alan Bryer, Ann Blake, Steve Johnstone, Rachele Taylor, Jeremy Parnell and Michael Taylor). Many

congratulations to them all. Many thanks to Bob and Chris Purnell for organising a very enjoyable competition and to Julian Ferrar for judging.

Devizes Branch Afternoon Outing

3 August 2019

A personal account by Lesley Walford (Upavon):

Saturday 3rd August had been looming as a ‗big day‘ for me for several weeks. I was thrilled to see that Devizes Branch had arranged for us to ring at the beautiful Sherborne Abbey–but was I up to it? As a ringer of less than a year, I wasn‘t at all sure. I sent a quick email to Chris Jenkins, who assured me that all levels of ringers were welcome, but that I didn‘t have

to ring if I didn‘t feel ready. I was relieved by his response, though still hoped I would be brave enough to do it. We began in North Cheriton, five bells. There must have been about a dozen of us, all appreciative of this pretty village church, set very rurally with immaculately cut grass all around. The bells were kind and easy to ring from the ground floor. I rang

rounds then a few simple call changes and was happy with that. Other more experienced ringers rang much more complicated methods but I was happy to listen and watch. The youngest ringer was Lara, who stood on a box and gave of her best (see page 11). I admired her bravery in coming to a completely

strange bell chamber and just getting on with it. She was by far the youngest ringer of our group and did very well, with help and encouragement from Chris. Next we drove a few short miles to Charlton Horethorne, eight bells. This was a church I had driven past many times on our way to parents-in-law in Sherborne, so stopping to go inside was another

bonus of the day. Here the bells were up steep narrow steps and the ringing chamber was tiny. Some had to stand in the stairwell while waiting their turn and I made myself very small in a corner or behind someone else so that I could observe their ringing. We were joined by more ringers who had been


delayed due to ringing for weddings in their home towers. Again, rounds and call changes were enough for me, while various other methods were called and rung by others of greater experience. On to the beautiful town of Sherborne and the abbey

(eight bells, 46-0-5). I revelled in many happy memories of time spent in the town, and I saw my parents-in-law‘s old house, which they left behind

many years ago. Inside the abbey we wound our way up 80 steps to the ringing chamber–huge in comparison with our previous two towers. Talking of huge, the tenor had to be raised by three people, no

less! I have a video to prove it and have watched it many times since. The bell always goes up ‗wrong‘ however, so I followed Chris up to the bell tower and watched while he pulled the clapper across to the ‗right‘ side with a purpose made clapper catcher (this may not be the technical word for it!). The ringing from then on was wonderful to witness, and I feel

very privileged to have been able to watch from close

quarters while those around me made such a beautiful noise. Everyone took a rope and off they went, seemingly without any nerves at being in such an immense building in a completely new environment. I was much encouraged, and took my

turn slightly nervously on the number two bell, just rounds, but that was enough for me. I had done it, and was delighted to have rung in such a prestigious place (Sherborne Abbey!!!!) I could see that everyone else was just as thrilled as I was to be there. Chris Jenkins made sure that all levels of

experience were happy in what they

were doing and he and Chris Bush, and others, made encouraging noises and helpful comments which I very much appreciated. It was a big day for a novice ringer, a thrilling day, a team day, a happy day! An ice-cream

rounded off my day very very well, while others went on to find supper in the town. Thank you Devizes branch and Chris Jenkins for organising such a great day out. I will never forget it. Due to the number attending this

Outing, we were able to donate a

profit of £81 to LEBRF.

Devizes Branch ‗Solo Striking

Competition‘ 2019

From Chris Bush: The idea for a

solo striking competition, using a ringing simulator as a judge, was the brainchild of Giles Wood. It was decided to have two rounds, the first of which would be an eliminator followed by a final for

those qualifying. We were not

aware of any other Branch, Association or Guild who had

tried this before so it was very much an experimental event! We decided that the eliminator should be open to anyone that could ring rounds. Doing some investigation on the web we discovered that

HawkEAR, as used at the National 12 Bell Competition, was freely available and was compatible with Abel so we thought we would use that in addition to the Abel score which we planned to use. HawkEAR can be downloaded from http://www.12bell.org.uk/hawkear/. The first round of the competition was held in June where competitors were asked to ring rounds

for 2½ minutes. Each contestant was allowed up to two minutes practising with the simulator and once they were ready the clock started and each rang for the required time. We decided that they could start the test during their practice ringing, as this would avoid that settling down period you get when you first

pull off. 2½ minutes seems like a very long time just ringing rounds and it is far more challenging than it sounds! All of the contestants found the exercise

Pictured: „Tenor Queen‟ Ruth Beavin in

full swing!

Ringing

Simulators

From Chris Bush:

Having and using a ringing simulator

installation in your tower can be a really useful additional feature. It can be used to allow one person to practice learning to handle without annoying the neighbours, a team can silently learn a new method

or an individual ringer can practice a method .You can practice when you like and for as long as you like

or even run solo striking competitions! A simulator will help you get more practice at whatever stage you

are at. If you are interested in finding out more

about the use of simulators see details of a simulator workshop to be held at Marlborough on 30th

November 2019 on page 9. I attended the last simulator workshop held at Bryanston School in

January and found it well worthwhile. As a result of this course a couple of towers expressed an interest

in getting a simulator installed, so I investigated systems and decided that the Liverpool simulator

system was a cost effective and flexible system. So

far, I have built three systems and installed one, so if anybody interested in the possibility of getting a

simulator installed in their tower, please do get in touch via the editor: [email protected].


useful. You knew that all the other computer-generated ringers would be ringing in exactly the right place so if there was a clip or a gap, that would be you! We gave ringers the option of changing the

speed of the ringing and offered them any of the front six at Edington to ring as the fourth bell in the simulated rounds. On all metrics, the winner of the

first round was clear but the idea was to take forward the best ringers from the first round into the final. We hadn‘t decided in advance how many places there would be in the final so we had to make this decision

once the results were in. The best division seemed to be to take the top two thirds of the table. As we had 21 entrants for the first round that meant places in the final were awarded to 14 ringers. The day of the final was set for the morning of 21 September. Having perused the list of entrants we asked them to ring the treble to 120 changes of Plain Bob Doubles

(with the fourth bell observation). Again, they could

choose any of the front six bells at Edington. We allowed them to alter the speed of ringing and could have a practice ringing two leads of Bob Doubles (two consecutive bobs). As we were moving at a leisurely pace, some reviewed their striking using the Abel

striking display before continuing to the competition piece. We used the Abel score as the main determiner of position in the table, followed by the HawkEAR percentage score and then HawkEAR faults, if there was a tie. The table above gives the results. Congratulations to Ben Kipling on topping the table! We hope to encourage entrants to enter again next

year to see if they can improve on their scores from

this year. If you would like to discuss the technical details of arranging a competition like this please contact me via the editor: [email protected].

‗Crowds‘ for Tower Tours at St Peter‘s, Dorchester

From Kate Forrester: Dorchester celebrated its rich history this year on Sunday 15 September 2019 by holding a Heritage Open Day. The main street

through the town was closed to traffic and many historic buildings were open to the public, including the ringing chamber and belfry of the 15th century St Peter‘s church. We had drummed up a few

volunteers, set up a table in the road outside the church, with an old sheet enterprisingly painted with gold bells as a table cloth, a collection of handbells

and a working model of a bell, kindly loaned by St George‘s Fordington tower. We had made some plans, but having never hosted such an event, we were not sure what the uptake would be. We rang at

11.30 to announce the opening of the Heritage Day, then a couple of us came down to stand at the table. We had planned five tours, on the hour every hour, over the course of the afternoon, with a maximum of ten people, no children under 8. Well...within about ten minutes, we had filled up the five tours and still

people crowded around the table. Run up the tower–

‗can we have more than 10 people on a tour?‘ So the numbers swelled to 15 or more. ‗Please, I‘d love to come up, but my son is only 6, and he‘s really keen, having heard the bells!‘ Ok, fine. But still the crowds surged to our table. Run up the tower–‗Can we

squeeze more tours in, on the half hour too?‘ Fine, tower captain agreed to talk less, blurb was produced on paper which people could read while waiting. In the end, we signed up more than 100 people to visit the tower. When the visitors got up to the ringing chamber, the tower captain, Will Haydock, gave a quick talk about the history of the tower, explaining

the peal boards and demonstrating how the bells

worked, including the difference between chiming and actual ringing. He then gave everyone who wanted a chance first to swing and chime a bell, and then to ring a few backstrokes–in this he was ably assisted by Beryl Shuttleworth, Alastair Simpson and Eleanor Wallace. After everyone had had a go, small groups

were taken up to have a quick look at the bells in the belfry. By about 1.30 we were running half an hour late–the obvious result of trying to squash an hour‘s tour into half the time with almost double the numbers–and as the afternoon wore on we never managed to catch up and the people on the table

spent much time mollifying hordes of visitors

champing at the bit to get up the tower. But we also

Name Tower ABEL

score

HawkEAR

%

HawkEAR

Faults

Ben

Kipling

Trowbridge 9.0 98% 9

Giles

Wood


Chris

Bush

Melksham 8.6 95% 26

Anne

Willis

Westwood 8.1 93% 41

Julia

Russell

West

Lavington

7.5 92% 40

Rob

Quartley


Hilary

Jenkins

Corsley 4.3 80% 98

Dorchester


spoke to people who had come down from the tower, and the reactions were overwhelmingly positive ‗It

was worth the wait!‘ (music to our harassed ears), ‗It was brilliant, it‘s just another world!‘, ‗Your tower captain is fantastic!‘, and of a six year old boy, ‗He was transfixed from beginning to end!‘ At the end of the day, we rang again, with the last group of visitors still in the tower. Of course we have ideas for how we could make it all better and run more smoothly next

time, but for a first attempt, we were pleased with how it went, and that over 100 people now have a new awareness and appreciation of what goes on in a

church tower. And we have already had three new people turn up to our Monday practice!

Brownsea Bells Open Day Saturday 13 July 2019

From Alison Butler: After some cons i de rab l e planning and organisation

that involved consulting with the National Trust and The John Lewis Partnership and the churchwardens at St Mary‘s Brownsea, as well

as eating cake and drinking coffee and more cake and more coffee whilst we were at the organising stage, we finally arrived at Brownsea off the 10 a.m. public boat from both Sandbanks and Poole. We set up a new and rather lovely Gazebo in the church grounds: our HQ for the day! The SDGR banners were displayed in church, (three of our number were on

one of the banners!) The risk assessment was logged as fully updated and the fuel was in the locked metal box!! The ‗Bell cam‘ was up and running. Fourteen members of the Brownsea band (just about everyone!) swung in to action to provide timed tours of the tower with a great talk about the history of bellringing, bells at Brownsea and information about

how to ring and change ringing. We rotated around so that we all gained a lunch break and time to babysit the generator! Not something that everyone does on a usual tower open day. We had a good response from visitors to Brownsea who were interested in our ancient art and threatened to visit a tower near them!

Our donations will help with our sound proofing and strengthened ties with the island community. We had several National Trust workers up the tower as well as our own churchwarden and his wife. A great day with perfect weather. Perhaps we may even do it again!!?! Thanks to all the Brownsea Team and Alan Bentley and Kim Matthews.

Sponsored Bob Doubles Challenge ‗Completed‘

From Debbie Phipps: On a chilly December day last

year, seven Lytchett ringers began their sponsored

Bob Doubles ring to raise funds for the Bell Restoration at Lytchett Matravers and also to gain experience ringing Bob Doubles which they were unable to get in their own towers. We started with

trepidation but were comforted to have around 6 helpers each month who gave up their time to join us and stand or ring depending on what we were doing.

Over the 8 months we had the privilege of ringing with 21 experienced ringers. We rang at 22 East Dorset Towers and tasted the local cuisine at 7 pubs. Coffee and biscuits were supplied by our ringers but

we were grateful for refreshments offered at one of the towers we visited. Our Grand Finale was on August 3rd 2019 when we rang at both Lytchett towers giving our supporters a rest! This was followed by a lunch supplied by our ringers. We have had great fun, forged friendships, benefitted from the experience of some of our best East Dorset ringers,

improved the ringing in two East Dorset towers and

raised a small amount for the bell restoration at Lytchett Matravers. The sum we have raised will be funding one of the new clappers. But it is not all over, Lytchett Minster will soon be starting the same idea focussing on a different method, Reverse Canterbury

–really to give our well suffering helpers a bit of a change. Our thanks go to: Alan Bentley, Jack Pease, Gillian Richards, Ben and Rosemary Duke, Steff Smith-Cooper, Ross Bradley, Paul and Kathryn Tyson, Ed and Stella Warren, John Close, Phil and Trish Stephens, Richard Picker, Hilary Childs, Kate Brice, Alan and Alison Butler, Jane and Nigel Pridmore and

Peter Basil Murdock-Saint.

“From a complete novice to being able to ring a plain course of BD‟s is a journey that I feel I have been taking for many years. Its been hard work, frustrating at times but completely rewarding and enjoyable. I‟m so very grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of this project and greatly appreciate all the advice from our willing helpers and to Debbie for setting us the challenge!” Maureen Kirkham “The Bob Doubles Challenge has been a great endeavour and I am so grateful to Debbie and Jack and all our helpers plus the intrepid band who have made it all possible. We have had great fun, explored new towers and bells, the Dorset countryside and country pubs and improved our skills and gained confidence and enjoyed good company. A big thank you to everyone” Chrissie Hibbitt

East Dorset


Bell Restoration ‗Underway‘ at Lytchett

Matravers From Debbie Phipps: After just

under a year o f g rant applications, fundraising events and talks, St Mary‘s Church Lytchett Matravers have raised just over £30,000 to begin the process of preparing their bells

for restoration. On Friday 16th

August 2019, I as Tower Captain, removed the first stay (pictured left). Organised by our Steeple Keeper, Gordon Paterson, we had a great ‗Clapper Team‘ who removed all the stays, sliders,

clappers and wheels. On Monday 19th August we were all set when

Andrew Mills from Taylors arrived around lunchtime to dismantle the bells. Andrew had time for a quick cup of tea and I made him a sandwich, as he hadn‘t eaten all day, but then he wanted to crack on. An early start by 8:30 on Tuesday 20th. A beam was

placed on the ledges above the bells and across the exit to the roof so that the pulleys could be attached to this. Andrew got cracking setting up the pulleys while Gordon and John started unscrewing nuts. Bell 5 was the first one down as it was immediately above the trapdoor. By 9:20 the first bell was down with

Andrew guiding it to a safe position on boarding put on the Ringing Chamber floor. Our oldest Bell 4 landed just before 10 am. The third bell down was Bell 3 and 1 and 2 were still tucked inside the raised frame. Three bells safely down by 11am. Time for a short coffee break. Now some of the frame had to be dismantled to get at Bell 2 and Treble—these two

bells were safely lowered to the ground by 1pm. Time for lunch. Cathy and Viv were released to make the sandwiches but ensuring health and safety rules they still wore their hats and made sure they had white bread for Andrew. We had a beautiful day so were lucky to be able to enjoy lunch outside where we were joined by Ben who was on duty for the

afternoon. Andrew knew we were going to have a problem with the tenor as it was going to be too wide to pass through the frame where the fifth had hung. The headstock had to be removed but still no luck despite tipping it slightly and pushing

it with some hefty boots! Nuts and bolts were removed from the frame but then they had to get out the angle grinder. There was a lot of

banging going on as the frame was being b e a t e n i n t o submission to gain an extra half inch. The bell was turned

to try to find a narrower diameter and eventually by 4:50pm the tenor was being lowered. All finished by

6pm. Morning of Wednesday 20th. The transport was due to arrive at 9:30am so I thought I had time to clear away breakfast. As I drove down the hill towards the church I saw a vehicle with what appeared to be rather small bells on so decided the transport had arrived with another load on. However, on closer inspection they were our bells–five of them

on already as the transport had arrived at 8:30. The tenor however was too big to come out of the North door so preparations were being made to wheel it up

a ramp and through the South door. It took five strong men to heave it out of the door and onto the transport by 9am–closely followed by its headstock which had been removed the day before. The wheels

and all other parts were put onto the transport and by 12:15 the church looked like we had never been there. A few people had gathered to see them off but sadly, as it all happened so quickly some missed the

excitement and now wait for their return before the end of the year. A huge thank you to

Taylors for setting us on this journey and to Andrew (pictured right) for his skill and easy personality.

(PS: from Debbie “Bishop Karen [Bishop of Sherborne] can do Sunday January 26th 2020 for our Bells Re-dedication at 4pm”).

Well Done Max on your First Peal

From Robert Wellen: Congratulations

to Max Knight, a member of the Wimborne Minster band and the East Dorset Branch Treasurer, on ringing

his first peal on Saturday 28 September 2019, ringing No 3 to Grandsire Triples at Ringwood. The peal band came from the Minster and was conducted by tower captain David Warwick. Max is one of our ‗older

younger‘ ringers and is a great supporter of tower, branch and Guild events. He is pictured left receiving his certificate as a nominee for last year‘s

Ringer of the Year Award.

Get Well Soon Dorothy

From David Close: Dorothy Blythe fell during July, and broke her left arm. It is still causing her some difficulties, preventing her ringing, but nevertheless she keeps a close eye on the ringing in Marlborough and the Branch. I‘m sure she was a ‗model patient‘ at the hospital given her years of nursing!

Bottom LtoR:–Gordon, Alec, Phil, John. Top under the bell–Paul.

Marlborough


Branch Outing to Test Valley F rom Dav i d C l o s e : O u r Branch outing last Saturday (5

October 2019) returned to the Test Valley in Hampshire, re-visiting Upper

and Goodworth Clatford, but

starting bright and early at 9.00 at Thruxton, where work is currently under-

way in the tower, and part of the hatch is unfixed, so the bells were quite loud (to put it politely). We were

only seven ringers for the day. After ringing at the two Clatfords (only the original back six at Goodworth) we ‗retired‘ to the White Hart in Stockbridge for a well-earned lunch, with seemingly

more bar staff than clientele. Perhaps we were just early lunchers, with two even sampling the desserts!

Onto the first floor six at Stockbridge, to be met by Micki Nadal, who recounted her early ringing at Marlborough with her father and Don Lee. Rehung in 2016, and now with almost brand new ropes, (no springiness!) these bells are a very comfortable ring of six. Something that felt like a treasure hunt took us up the River Test valley to Hurstbourne Priors, our

second eight bell tower for the day, but again only ringing the back six to doubles and minor methods. Our final tower was St Mary, Bourne now rung from a gallery. By then we were all slightly suffering from a

surfeit of ringing; nevertheless after touches of Bob Minor we were extremely pleased to be able to leave all but the tenor up ready for the Service ringing the

next morning.

Other Branch News

From Julie Miles: Use of t h e s i m u l a t o r a t Marlborough continues on the fourth Saturday of each month with ringers from other branches and

Guilds joining us. We h a v e i n ve s t e d i n additional equipment to enable us to offer practice

sessions for ringers using their own laptops and headphones to further develop their ringing and listening skills. Preshute recently celebrated 20 years

since forming a band for the Millennium. It was a great celebration with past and present ringers gathering to ring before being joined by family to enjoy a fine spread (and beer of course!). We remember Jim Griffin–Upper Chute (see page 29) and Stephen Hurd–Mildenhall.

Mere Branch Summer Social From Michael W i l l i a m s : Branch mem-bers gathered

at Tisbury for their Summer Social event

on Saturday 20 t h July 2019. Ringing b e f o r e h a n d

was available during the afternoon before members gathered to partake of a most enjoyable ‗bring and share‘ supper. A quiz to test the wits and memories of those present, put together by the Branch Secretary (me!), was won by Christopher and Julie Sykes and also a

raffle was available which raised funds to cover (well, almost) the cost of the hall hire. After supper we were

entertained by our very own Mike Durkee (pictured centre with guitar!) who sang songs, written by himself and accompanied with his guitar, playing and singing to the great enjoyment and amusement of the whole company.

Mere Practice Honours Legacy

From Maggie Durkee: In January 2019 the Mere bell ringers rang for the funeral of June Ireland, long-time resident and supporter of the church of St Michael‘s

Mere. She and her husband Ted were married there

in November 1958 and her father Leo Bagnall-Oakeley who rang the communion bell each Sunday is commemorated in a plaque on the wall of the tower porch. Four months later we were delighted to receive a bequest in her will for the tower funds and as a thank you to her family we arranged to dedicate our

monthly practice night (on Wednesday 7 August 2019) to June‘s memory. Ringers from around the area turned up to help us ring the 8 bells and June‘s husband and sons came along to the church yard to listen. There were 18 ringers in the tower and everyone had a chance to ring. This special practice

was announced on local social media and many local

people enjoyed the fine ringing. Robert Sargant of

Mere


Mere tower was presented with his Guild membership certificate by Robert Wellen.

Bring a Picnic and Ring

From Pat Kennedy:

This great idea for an August Saturday (10th) this summer encour-aged new and experi-enced ringers alike to

travel to Silton Church and have a go at

ringing some of the oldest bells in the county, and to meet

other ringing members of the Mere Branch. Thanks go to Len Roberts for organising the event and for providing the drinks and fruit for the picnic.

Our Visit to Imber

From Pat Kennedy: With the opportunity to ring at a church which is seldom open to the public, Maggie

Durkee, Mere Tower, (pictured third from right) thought it was too good an opportunity to miss, and gathered together a band of ringers, to make the short journey to Imber Church (see page 4). Thousands visited during the long open weekend (15-19 August 2019) recently and were no doubt entertained by the tinkling sound of the bells. Many

visitors arrived on vintage London buses which operated a shuttle service. The ringers found the bells to be very light to handle, all bells weighing under 3 cwt. Ringers from across the country who were visiting Imber, joined the band and enjoyed an hour of enjoyable but challenging ringing.

Presentation of LTR Certificates to Mere Branch Members

From Len Roberts: LTR (Learning the Ropes) certificates at Levels 1 and 2, completed this year, were presented by the Guild President Judith Williamson, to ringers from several different towers, at the 28 September 2019 Quarterly Meeting held at

Maiden Bradley. In presenting the Certificates Judith praised the commitment and dedication of both the students and tutors in achieving these awards. The

LTR scheme is delivered nationwide by members of

ART (Association o f R i n g i n g

Teachers). Cur-rently in the Mere Branch there are two associate mem-bers and one member of the

a s s o c i a t i o n . Level 1 Certifi-c a t e s we r e

awarded to: Jo-sephine Brad-ford and Elspeth Scott (Margaret

Marsh); Corinne Tucker (Melbury Abbas); Caroline Owen (Compton Abbas); Dylan Trevor (Fifehead Magdalen); James Kennedy (Maiden Bradley) and Catherine Pratley (Marnhull). Level 2 Certificates were awarded to: David Hurrion (Sturminster Newton); Eddie Cox,

Georgina Muir, Sue Todd (Zeals); Pat Kennedy (Maiden Bradley); Mary Wilson (Mere); Michelle

Dimbleby (Bourton) and Caroline Owen (Compton Abbas).

Bishop and President at Licensing

From Nick Claypoole: The Bishop of Salisbury and the Guild President joined in the ringing prior to the

Licensing and Installation of the Reverend Trudy Hobson as Priest in Charge of the Upper Wylye Valley Team, which took place at Heytesbury on Monday 29th July 2019.

Bells and Beer Evenings From Albert Spreadbury: After a number of years of poorly attended monthly Branch Practices, especially

during the winter months, the Committee decided to

Pictured with the Guild President (first left) and tutors Michael Williams (third left) and Len Roberts (second right) are

some of the LTR recipients.

Salisbury

LtoR: Annabel Elliott, Joe Charlesworth, Bishop Nicholas, Guild President Judith Williamson and Nick Claypoole.

(Photo by Jo Pearce).


try something different in 2019. In the spring and summer we held

five ‗Bells and Beer‘ evenings with an emphasis on the social side of ringing. I am pleased to say that these evenings, which were spread across the Branch in order to involve more local ringers, proved very popular. Enford (The Swan)

April; Stratford-sub-Castle (The Wheatsheaf) June; Coombe Bissett (The Fox and Goose) incorporating the Branch Striking

Competition, July; Stapleford (The Pelican) August; and Fordingbridge (The Ship) September, were this year‘s host towers. More ‗Bells and Beer‘ evenings are already being planned for 2020. Thank you to the

host towers and to those ringers who supported the evenings. Cheers!

Salisbury Branch Striking

Competition: Saturday 27th July 2019 at Coombe Bissett

From Chris Caryer: Ten bands entered this year‘s Competition which was a vast improvement on the last few years when it has been cancelled due to lack of support. It was a warm sunny afternoon when teams assembled for the draw, and following a short

service conducted by Reverend Jenny Taylor, the

Competition got under way, slightly delayed for finding the judges a suitable position. During the Competition members were able to enjoy refreshments in the church kindly provided by the Coombe Bissett ringers and following that assembled for the results. The judges were David and Flick

Warwick of Wimborne Minster and David began by congratulating all the teams and giving some very encouraging and helpful comments to each one. Flick then gave the marks and results. The placings in the table above right. Sadly, the tenth team did not complete their touch so were not marked but still

received helpful comments. Congratulations to the

winning teams and to all 10 teams that entered the

competition and thank you David and Flick for giving up time to come and be our judges. Following the results the Bells and Beer element of the afternoon

kicked in and people adjourned to the Fox and Goose for further refreshment and socialising.

Quarter for Alice‘s Graduation

From Ian Davidson: A quarter peal was rung on Friday August 16th 2019 at Compton Chamberlayne to congratulate Alice Nield on her recent graduation from Reading University. The footnote read: ―Congratulations to Alice on her graduation from the University of Reading with a BSc in Food Science

(First), also her 1st Quarter as conductor”. Alice and twin sister Sophie, aged 10,were taken to a practice one evening by their Mum, Helen, and following this

Alice decided she would like to learn to ring. She

Rounds Call Changes Method

1 Coombe Bissett

Nadder Valley Downton

2 Fordingbridge Fordingbridge SAGOR

3 Sarum St Thomas

Coombe Bissett

Fordingbridge

Downton band with Guild Master: LtoR: Tom Burslem and family, Bob Samuels, Robert Wellen, Rhoda Willson, Chris

Caryer, Martin Willson, Liz Thornton.

Left: From the Coombe Bissett Rounds band: LtoR: Geoff Stephens, Charles May, Abi Bird. Right: Rosemary Pegrum receives Call Change trophy from Guild Master for Nadder

Valley.

The band in order of ringing: LtoR: Rosemary Pegrum, Alice Nield, Ian Davidson, Patricia Davidson, Simon Ford,

David Whatley.


began having instruction from Max Symonds at Dinton in 2006. After learning basic handling Alice

was encouraged to visit other towers in the area for their practice nights. She was a frequent visitor at Wilton, Stratford sub Castle, and Broad Chalke and quickly progressed. In 2009 she rang her first quarter peal at Damerham, the treble to Bob Doubles. Alice tells me she owes much to the late Denzil Kerley of Martin who taught and encouraged her so much and

she was soon ringing quarter peals on inside bells. With a number of youngsters in the Salisbury Branch a monthly Young Ringers Practice was set up at

Downton and Alice was a regular attendee. It was great to see Alice and also Georgie Barter, who was another of the original youngsters, at this ‗young ringers‘ practice recently. In 2015 Alice set off for

studies at Reading University where she soon got involved with the local ringing scene and during term time has been a regular Sunday service ringer. Alice has kept in close contact with her fellow ringers from the Salisbury area and whenever home has supported the local practices, service ringing and rung for local

weddings. We congratulate Alice on her graduation and wish her every success with her future career (and ringing).

Brian Wright Honoured From Patricia Davidson: On Sunday 18 August 2019,

at Evensong at Stratford sub Castle, Brian Wright

was presented with his certificate of Associate Life

Membership (SDGR) by the Guild Master in

recognition of his 60 plus years of service to

bellringing. Prior to the service a Quarter Peal was

rung. After the service the family wrote: ―Thank you

so much for all the preparation and care which you took to help organise and arrange last evening for

Dad. [We] were so pleased to have been there and it was very good to see Mum and Dad enjoying themselves, happy memories”.

It was in September 1952 that Brian first started out on his ringing journey. He was a member of the choir at Christchurch Priory in Dorset and the young choir boys there were invited to come up to the tower and

have a go at bellringing. In the Winchester and Portsmouth Guild Report for 1953 it reports that Brian was made a Junior Member. He was to meet his future wife, Anice, in the belfry at the Priory and two years later in 1966 they were married there. Besides

ringing the bells on Sunday, Brian recalls ringing the bells at the Priory as a mark of respect on the day of

Winston Churchill‘s funeral in January 1965. The following year 1966 he rang for the Queen when she visited Christchurch, the first time a reigning monarch had visited the town. With a move to Wales in 1978, Brian did very little ringing-the nearest Church with bells was some distance away in the city of Bangor.

1983 bought Brain and Anice to Wiltshire and they settled in Durrington where Brian joined the local band and became a member of the Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers. In 1986, keen to pass his experience onto to others, Brian along with two

others started a small group which they called The

Salisbury Area Group of Ringers (SAGOR) attending tower practices within the Salisbury area to help

ringers progress. The aim of the group was to promote good striking and to encourage towers to partake in the Branch Striking Competition. Later, in

1994, regular monthly practices and three or four Saturday outings a year were organised. Eventually in October 1997 the present format of a monthly Monday meeting came into being. These monthly

Monday morning meetings, ringing at two towers and finishing with a pub lunch, have continued without a break up to the present time and until recently Brian was the main organiser of this group. By now Brian and Anice had moved from Durrington into their present home in Roman Road and he joined the band at St Martin‘s in Salisbury in 1996 and held the post

of Branch Assistant Ringing Master from 1997 to

1999. In 2000 he became a member of the band at Winterbourne Earls, during the sixteen years he was here Brian held the post of Tower Captain for a number of years and helped teach a number of new ringers. The bells at Winterbourne Earls were

becoming more difficult to ring and as Brian regularly joined the practices at Stratford sub Castle he joined the band there where he continued to ring until ill health forced him into retirement. At the heart of ringing for Brian was Sunday service ringing and well struck ringing. He was not a great lover of peal or quarter peal ringing. However he did ring in a Quarter

peal here at Stratford to mark his 75th birthday.

Salisbury Branch Outing: Saturday, 28 September 2019—Taunton

From Penny Ibbs: Departing from Salisbury Coach Station, with a pick-up at Wilton, 22 of us were well on our way to Somerset before 8am. The weather

was better than forecast, and enabled us to enjoy the views of harvested fields and autumnal colours. After a brief pit-stop, we arrived at Pitminster (8) at 9:40, to be met by three others who had travelled by car. Margaret Romano ran 45 minutes‘ ringing, on the ground floor beside the C15th font, comprising mostly

LtoR: Robert Wellen, Guild Master, with Anice and Brian Wright.


call changes and plain hunt, to suit our band of mixed

abilities, ending with a plain course of Stedman Triples. The Grade I listed church was delightful, with a beautiful ‗Fishers of Men‘ east window, flanked by two tombs with well-preserved stone effigies of John Coles‘ family. Negotiating narrow lanes, we passed heavy-laden orchards and gardens brimming with

Michaelmas daisies and white Japanese anemones as our coach took us back through Taunton to West Monkton (8). Unfortunately, a road diversion

shortened our ringing time, but Pat Davidson ran over half-an-hour of Grandsire Triples and call changes. The ropes were less easy to control, and the very tall tower swayed alarmingly. Here we learned that

‗hunkypunk‘ is the Somerset name for a gargoyle. We then travelled to St Mary Magdalene, Taunton (12), where Chris Caryer called changes on the back 10 and on the full 12 bells, supported by members of the resident band. The large ringing chamber was accommodating, and displayed a great many peal boards. We had a full hour to ring here, and

appreciated the experience and challenge of ringing

on 12 bells. The cathedral-like church was immense and humming with visitors. Our lunch break was in Taunton, where several of us took refreshment at the appropriately named Ring of Bells hostelry, which was convenient for our next tower: St James‘, Taunton

(8), where Neil Skelton ran 45 minutes of call changes, Grandsire Triples and Stedman Triples on quite heavy-going bells. There were many peal boards, mostly from the ‘20s and ‘30s and one from 1895, in the spacious ringing chamber. The church itself was very welcoming, with banners, information and lovely old stained glass windows. We went on to

Staplegrove (6), a ground floor ring in the porch,

where Jo Barter ran 45 minutes of plain hunt on 5, Bob Doubles, Cambridge and call changes on tricky odd-struck bells. The church was ornately decorated for harvest festival and had been tastefully refurbished within the last two years; some of the old pews had been fashioned to make the altar, and

there was a spectacular Tree of Life wrought iron organ screen. Our last tower, Ilton (6), was also a ground floor ring. Roger King ran 45 minutes of Reverse Canterbury, Cambridge Minor, plain hunt on 5 & 6, Plain Bob Minor and call changes. In the church, there was an interesting-if poorly maintained-

window engraved by Laurence Whistler. Thanks were

expressed to Pat Davidson for organising such a well-

paced and varied outing. We departed for home around 18:30, just as the rain came down-thankful

that it was our trusty driver Brett who had to brave the wet conditions-arriving back at Wilton at 8pm.

Pebbledash Farewell in Lyme Regis F r o m A n d r e w

Nicholson: I am sure that many if not most

of those ringers who have visited us over the years will have wondered at the a p p a l l i n g u g l y pebbledash with which the whole of the tower

and much of the porch is covered. Records indicate that the tower was first pebbledashed in the 1930‘s, though even then it must surely have been something of an anachronism

especially given that the core of the tower dates from around 980AD. The Portland cement render which is

the basis for the pebbledash is quite unsuited to such a building and over the years has become badly crazed thus allowing rainwater to enter the fabric of the tower. As well as causing serious damage to the decoration of the south and west walls of the ringing chamber, recently a good deal of the ceiling to the ground floor baptistery was brought down having

been badly affected by damp. It is therefore with great pleasure that we can announce that a major programme of repair and renewal is due to start in mid-September 2020 and if all goes to plan the work

should be finished by the end of the year. The work will include the removal of all areas of pebbledash, which will be renewed in lime plaster. All excellent

news! Sadly, however, there is a sting in the tail; it has been decided that all ringing must cease until the new plaster has had a chance to dry out and this is not likely to be much before Christmas at the very earliest. The Lyme ringers will continue to practice together each Thursday, ringing at Axminster on the

1st, 3rd and 5th Thursdays and with other venues found for the other two weeks. Anybody planning to visit us during that period should make contact via the tower secretary whose details may be found on

the Guild website.

First Peal for Nick and Andy From Andy Waring: How do you celebrate your 40th birthday? For West Dorset Branch Chairman, Nick Baker, it was to ring and conduct his first peal. On 19

July 2019 six ringers from West Dorset and Dorchester branches of the SDGR rang 5040 surprise

minor at Nick's home tower of Buckland Newton,

consisting of an extent each of Ipswich, Bourne,

York, Durham, Beverley, Surfleet and Cambridge, in

exactly 3 hours. As well as a first for Nick, it was also

West Dorset

Salisbury Branch Ringers outside the West Door of St James, Taunton (Photo by Marian Gentile)


a first peal for Andy Waring (me!) and the first on an

inside bell for Paul Cottingham.

Happy Birthday Dennis

F r o m A ndy Waring: On Saturday 10th August 2019,

w h a t h a s b e c o m e a

tradition was continued in celebration of Honorary Life Member, Dennis Fudge's 96th

birthday, with a quarter peal at Leigh (where Dennis

is the Tower Captain) of eleven doubles methods. At 96, Dennis is the oldest actively ringing member in West Dorset, and we believe in the whole Guild. Many happy returns Dennis from us all.

Good News from Corscombe

From Roger Hallett: Corscombe now has new bearings fitted to our six bell clappers which should see these working well for the foreseeable future. Funds were provided by both the PCC and the bell ringing team to ensure this could be done; the team

also took the opportunity to refurbish the tower ringing room which now looks very smart! Many

thanks to all concerned.

Beaminster ‗Happy Events‘

From Roger Lake: Beaminster Tower Outing: on Wednesday 24th July 2019 we rang at Whitchurch Canonicorum [8], Chideock [6], Symondsbury [6] and Askerswell [6]. At various times 18 ringers took part and a good time was had by all!

From Helen Day: The band at

Beaminster were delighted at the birth of George Terence Merley to former Tower Captain, Harry Murley and his wife Clare. George, who arrived on the 26th August 2019, joins a family of bellringers on his father's side. Harry's own parents, Julie and Andrew,

met after both learnt to ring in Beaminster. ―Their eyes met across the tower and the rest is history!” says Harry. All three of their sons learnt to ring as boys, though Harry had to wait until he was 13 years

old, as he was, in his own words, "a little...excitable!" Little George hasn‘t made it up the tower yet but is

reported to be looking forward to listening and to meeting everyone.

The band pictured in the Gaggle of Geese pub immediately following their successful peal. LtoR: Mark Symonds, Tim Phillips, Paul Cottingham, Andy Waring, David Marshall,

Nick Baker.

Corscombe Band LtoR: Beverley, Brinsley, Steve, Elizabeth, Charles and Clive. Roger (took the photo so

remains „unseen‟), we also have another member, Christopher.

SDGR CLOTHING

Is your SDGR clothing in need of replacement or maybe you have been thinking about purchasing

something new for yourself or new recruits? All details of clothing

(including an order form) can be found on the Guild website, so do

have a look as in the fairly recent past new colours have been introduced as well as some additional items. Polo Shirts cost £15 and Sweatshirts cost

£17.50

Contact: Patricia Davidson: [email protected]

Guild Festival and 8

Bell Striking Competition 2020

Saturday 9 May in the

Mere Branch

Striking Competition at Gillingham in the morning.

Guild Festival at Mere in the afternoon.

Preacher: the Right Reverend Dr Andrew Rumsey, the Bishop of Ramsbury.

Full details to be published later.

Please note the date in your calendar—the most

important day in the Guild calendar!

Obituaries

O Mighty God, the joy is ours To sound Thy welcome from our towers;

And when, at least, Thou callest „Stand‟ Let mercy rule at Thy right hand.

(Last verse of the hymn „O Mighty God, this earth is Thine‟ written for the Guild by Canon C C Cox)

Jim Griffin (28 November 1934–16 June 2019)

From David Brown: We are saddened to hear of the death of

Jim Griffin–formerly of The Old Hall, Chute Standen. The only boy in a large family of girls, Jim was brought up in Thames Ditton, and

after National Service joined the London Fire Brigade. In his spare time, Jim made things–working steam engines, most things mechanical, musical instruments

(though he was not a musician). He served in the Fire Service until his retirement in 1989 when he came to

live in Chute. A city man so far, Jim embraced Wiltshire country life–beating for the local shoots, bell

ringing at Upper Chute, volunteering at The Watercress Line, the Village Hall, making and mending things for his new friends and in the church. With his increasing circle of friends he helped sustain the viability of the Hatchet, Cross Keys, Cricketers

and Crown Inns. Jim rarely spoke of his time with the London Fire Brigade, except perhaps the challenges of learning to drive a powerful fire engine at speed through London streets, laden with several tons of water and equipment. At his recent funeral, we learned a little more about a quiet hero, including the

King‘s Cross Underground Station fire. Jim was there, but we don‘t think Jim ever spoke about this. Jim

Griffin–a great friend to many of us in Chute, and another lost to Alzheimer‘s.

David Pitts

From Anthony Lovell-Wood, Linda Jones and Peter Dalton: David Julian Pitts a committed bell-ringer for close on 30 years at St John's Tisbury died on 27th June 2019, aged 64. He could always be relied on to

be present to ring for Sunday services, ringing practice and special occasions, such as Remembrance Day and weddings. David's other great interest was

Morris Dancing, which he took part in for many years. He would often surprise us with the depth of his general knowledge when chatting in the tower, which was the result of taking part in pub quizzes over

many years. He is greatly missed.

Dorothy Peet (17 October 1941-30 June 2019)

From Julia Russell: Dorothy was born on 17 October 1941 and raised in Edington where her father farmed at Priory Farm. When she left Trowbridge High School for Girls she joined her father on the farm, milking

cows and delivering milk around the village. Every

Friday evening she would drive her father to the Horse and Jockey in

West Lavington which is where she met Mike in 1970. They were married on 2 October 1971 at Edington Priory Church. Mike organised eight ringers from Wilton, Bratton and Longbridge Deverill to ring Stedman Triples to

celebrate their marriage. Dorothy and Mike settled in their new home in West Lavington, very close to

the Church. Almost from when they first met, Dorothy would accompany Mike to the Wilton Monday practices and outings. Dorothy was often asked if she could ring, to which she replied, ―No, I‟m just a

chauffeur so that Mike can have a drink.‖ Their son, David, was born in 1972 so Dorothy was unable to accompany Mike for a few years but later, in the 1980‘s, she accompanied Mike to Edington where he was helping to teach a group of youngsters. On this occasion, when asked if she would like to have a go,

she took the opportunity and decided that she would in fact like to learn. Pat Chapman taught her to ring at West Lavington where she regularly attended

practices and rang for services, wedding and funerals. She particularly enjoyed ringing on Remembrance Sundays as she loved the sound of half-muffled bells. On 8 December 2000, Dorothy rang her first quarter

peal (treble to 1260 Plain Bob Doubles conducted by Derrick Bailey) at West Lavington in celebration of their son David‘s marriage to Suzanne Taylor. Dorothy and Mike regularly attended the Devizes Branch annual outings. Of all the many holidays taken by Dorothy and Mike, Dorothy‘s favourites were those on Lundy Island. They initially went on a day trip to

Lundy organised by Anthony Lovell-Wood in May

2000 where Dorothy rang the bells, but she and Mike loved the island so much that they returned nearly 20 times, several times taking their grandson Ryan. Dorothy accompanied Mike to many of the SAGOR meetings and although she didn‘t ring on these

occasions she very much enjoyed the social side of these events and made many friends. Dorothy worked as a Receptionist at St Patrick‘s Surgery in Littleton Panell which later re-located to the Courtyard Surgery in West Lavington. Due to her work, she was known and loved by many people. She retired in 2011 after 29 years service. Dorothy had to

give up ringing in 2017 due to dementia and died on

30 June 2019. Her funeral was held at West Lavington on 18 July when the bells were rung half-muffled before and after the service by ringers who knew her well. Dorothy is buried within the sound of the bells and we think of her when we are ringing. She is very sadly missed.

Frederick Sidney (Fred) Slatford (Vice President)

(26 August 1927-29 July 2019) From the Tribute and Address given by the Reverend Anthony Longdon: People who are good and well liked

Obituaries

are often referred to as being ―the salt of the earth‖. Well

Fred was. He was a country boy, born in Westbury, and brought up with his two sisters Honour and Margaret in a loving Christian family (sadly in his youth he lost his father who died from

Tuberculosis). They lived in North Bradley where his forbears and ancestors had

been since the Middle Ages. Fred was a boy chorister for

some years in the parish church close to his home, but when his father taught him to ring, he became

hooked and from that time on bell ringing became a major part of his life. From North Bradley Primary School, Fred attended Nelson Haden School. After leaving school Fred worked for a time as an Inspector for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. Sometime later Fred joined Case and Sons in

Mortimer Street in Trowbridge where he met Doreen his future wife. They were married in 1957 and lived in Yarnbrook. Daughter Beverley came along in 1958

and son Peter in 1961. Fred was a loving husband and father and grandfather and the family home was a very happy one. Fred was a man of simple tastes: holidays were inevitably spent in Dorset, often in a

caravan at Bowleaze Cove, near Weymouth, or sometimes in Cornwall, where Padstow became a favourite. Fred loved sport, mainly on television and he was also a keen gardener, but his greatest love, outside his family, was of course, bellringing. Fred was a bellringer at North Bradley for around 70 years. To say he was accomplished is a gross

understatement. He was indeed a master of the art.

He taught me to ring when I was 11 years old. He had an incredible brain. On one occasion he was due to ring a Peal of Grandsire Doubles at Sutton Veny, but shortly before it was due to take place found himself one short, so he asked a novice ringer at the

time, Jim Case, who had not even plain hunted on the treble. He said to Jim, don‘t worry, you ring the treble and I will tell you each bell to ring over and when to lead. Now to do that and ring your own bell at the same time for 5040 changes I find remarkable. [This peal was rung on 28 February 1953]. If you go into the bell towers in this area you will see many peal

boards on which Fred is named. He was a popular

long standing officer of the Devizes branch and the Salisbury Guild for some years. Fred‘s help, encouragement and sense of duty and loyalty, both to his church, the branch and the Guild carried out with great skill, friendship and fun is exemplary. Fred was a true gentleman, a loving husband, father and

grandfather and a great friend. Fred was sustained throughout his life by his strong Christian faith which he upheld to the end. Whilst we mourn his passing with great sadness we can be comforted in the knowledge that he had a long, happy and fulfilled life, was much loved and respected by everyone, lived it

well and that he is now probably calling a touch of

Stedman in that heavenly dwelling place in the

company of all the saints in heaven who have gone before. May he rest in peace and rise with Christ in

glory. Here are a few reminiscences from Eric Hitchins: In 1942 four young choristers at North Bradley were ‗herded‘ up the tower by the tower captain, the late Percy Harding, who introduced them to bellringing. They were Frederick S Slatford, Donald E Lee,

Laurence E Hitchins and me, Eric J Hitchins. Fred was the eldest and I was the youngest. We certainly started to learn with the bells tied and silent and

probably rang open for the first time for the El Alamein victory on 15 November 1942. What is certain is that we continued with the bells tied for practices and open on Sundays until Easter 1943

when the ringing ban was completely lifted. We all progressed under Percy‘s direction and teaching and in November 1943, at Seend, at the monthly meeting of the Devizes Branch of the Salisbury Diocesan Guild, we were elected members of the Guild, nearly 76 years ago! Fred, Laurence and I rang our first

peal, Grandsire Doubles at North Bradley, on VE Day. It seems unlikely that when Percy introduced us to ringing that he could have anticipated such a ringing

future for us all. I rang in many more peals with Fred, notably his 100th tower peal, Grandsire Triples at North Bradley, on 18 January 1958 and, for the fortieth anniversary of Fred, Don, Laurie and me

being made members of the Salisbury DG, Cambridge Surprise Major at North Bradley on 19 November 1983, which I conducted and all four of us rang in. From Robert Wellen: Fred was elected a Guild member in 1943, he was Secretary of the Devizes Branch from 1948-1956 and General Secretary of the

Guild from 1967-1972. In 1993 Fred became an HLM

with 50 years‘ service and a Guild Vice President in 1994. According to PealBase: Fred rang 199 peals (including 1 on handbells) between 1945 and 1985. His first peal was at North Bradley; Grandsire Doubles on 8 May 1945 (VE Day) conducted by Percival

Harding; Fred rang the fourth (see page 6). It was also the first peal for Eric and Laurie Hitchins. His last peal was Yorkshire S Major at Melksham on 6 May 1985, when he rang the treble, the band again included Eric and Laurie and was rung ―to mark the 40th anniversary of the first peal by [Fred, Laurie and Eric] rung at North Bradley on VE Day 1945”. His

leading tower for peals was North Bradley (49),

followed by Trowbridge (22) and Melksham (17). He conducted 59 peals, including 15 of Grandsire Triples and 8 of Stedman Triples. Fred‘s funeral was held on Thursday 15 August 2019 at West Wiltshire Crematorium surrounded by family and many ringing friends. In the afternoon a quarter peal of Stedman

Triples was rung at North Bradley in his honour. Since when Eric Hitchins has written: “It is with sadness that I wish to inform you that my brother Laurence E Hitchins passed away on Monday September 30th at the age of 90. He learnt to ring in

North Bradley in 1942 along with Fred Slatford,

Donald Lee and myself. He was a Sunday service

Obituaries

ringer there for 20 years and then at Melksham for another 6 years before moving to Gloucestershire. He

was elected to the Salisbury Guild in 1943 and was a member for 25 years. In Gloucestershire he joined the G&B and was Tower Captain at Stroud for nearly 40 years”. A fuller obituary will hopefully follow.

Dennis George Chalk BEM (HLM) From Neil Skelton: The name of Dennis Chalk and names of

other Broad Chalke ringers who learned to ring at about the

same time first appeared in the Guild Report for the year 1946 however, he was not elected a Guild member until the Salisbury Branch AGM at St Thomas‘s, Salisbury on 23rd January 1960. Thus at the time

of his death he had been a member 59 years but had been ringing 63 years. In those far

off days it was not uncommon for names to appear in

the Guild Report before election. At a Salisbury Branch Meeting held at Enford on 16th July 1960

Dennis was awarded a Certificate on qualifying as a Change Ringing Member of the Guild. To achieve this one had to be able to ring the treble unaided to 120 half-pull changes on either tower or hand-bells. During his time as a ringer at Broad Chalke, Dennis held the office of Tower Correspondent and Tower Captain. On 5th August 1967 he rang his first and only

peal (Grandsire Doubles) at Broad Chalke, conducted by the late Reginald T. Jones. With the exception of the conductor it was the first peal for the band which included Neil Skelton. In 1960 Dennis joined the

Woodfalls Band which won a number of national band contests and the Grand Shield in 1974. It was during 1965 that Dennis, a peripatetic teacher of brass

instruments and at the time on the staff of Wilton Middle School, founded The Wilton School Band, which in 1970 became The Wilton and District Youth Band. It was well known in the Salisbury and Wilton area and played for numerous events. Dennis retired as conductor in 2007. He would have been dismayed

to learn that the band was formally dissolved in March 2019. However, a number of those he nurtured in the world of brass band music continue to play in The Wilton Town Royal British Legion Band. Dennis

was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to music and education in 1987. Dennis‘s late wife, Mary, was organist at All Saints‘ Church, Broad

Chalke. She was not herself a ringer. Dennis is survived by a daughter and son. Dennis died aged 90 years on 5th September 2019. A service of thanksgiving is to be held at All Saints‘, Broad Chalke at 2pm on Wednesday 30th October 2019. His funeral has taken place.

Nicki Tinkler adds: he made legendary lardy cake the recipe for which was a closely guarded secret!

‘Just one Peal’

In this new feature I will be

asking leading peal ringers resident in the Guild to recall „just one peal‟ from all that they have rung and tell us what makes it special. I start w i th John Hunt f rom

Shaftesbury, „D John Hunt‟ in the peal columns!

Persistence Pays Off

I rang my first peal on 9th April 1958 and since then

have built my peal total up to 2162. Robert has asked me to select ―just one peal‖ and tell a story about it–not easy! The inclination would be to go for one of the prestigious cathedrals or 12 bell towers I have been to, but after much deliberation I have decided to choose my first peal, which was very hard earned! I started ringing at St Ambrose, Bristol

during 1953 at the age of 13. The tower captain Charlie Baker taught me to handle a bell but my mentors were Reg Hopper and later on Albert Tyler, tower captain at Stephen Bristol. In my early years

I kept a record of my quarter peals and peal attempts, which I still have in my possession. This

shows that in 1956 I was invited to ring a peal of Grandsire Doubles at St Michael‘s Bristol–this lasted 39 minutes and was stopped by the conductor because he considered it to be below standard (probably my fault). I had three more attempts that year, Grandsire Doubles (again), Grandsire Triples, and Kent Treble Bob Minor–all ended in miserable

failure. During 1956 there was only one attempt–Grandsire Triples at St Ambrose, which I was encouraged to conduct. We rang for 2 hours 15 minutes then, alas, I got ahead of myself and called

a bob a lead too early in the 10th part of Parkers 12 part. There were five abortive attempts during 1957 including another one of Grandsire Triples at St

Ambrose. After 2 hours 46 minutes Vic on the 6th missed a dodge. Vic was a steady ringer but was one of those who when he went wrong there was nothing anyone could say or do to get him right. So that fired up with less than 5 minutes to go. Attempts for Grandsire Caters and Stedman Triples

(2 hours 15 minutes) came to grief early in 1958. Then I was invited again to participate in the regular first Monday in the month peal at St Stephen‘s, Bristol. The method Grandsire Caters,

composer Albert Tyler, conductor Reg Hooper, who asked me to ring the 4th. There was no clock in the ringing chamber so I had no idea of time; I just

kept my head down expecting something to go wrong at any minute. But nothing did and after what seemed an age I heard the magic words ―That‘s all‖. It took some while for it to sink in–after waiting for over 3 years and at the 13th attempt I had rung my first peal–5021 Grandsire Caters in 3 hours and 12 minutes. Celebrations were called for,

and enjoyed in the usual manner at ‗The Naval Volunteer‘.

Obituaries

Peter George Martin (ALM) From John Burrows: I have to report the death of Peter George Martin, aka ‗The Doctor‘, on 9th September

2019, aged 81. Peter was the tower captain at Silton Church, where he rang for 70 years. He always said that he only took up bell

ringing at the age of 12 in order to get out of some of

the household chores, like milking the cows, at his parents‘ smallholding. Over the past two years Peter had become increasingly frail and his family and friends were all saddened to watch him slowly deteriorate. It is therefore with mixed feelings that we heard that Peter had ‗Gone on‘, as he would have put it. Peter was very much a

country boy and rarely ventured far from Silton. One of his favourite quotes was ―I went on holiday once. It rained and I came home.‖ Apart from ringing, he never seemed happier than when he was driving his

vintage tractor, especially when he could use it help others with jobs such as removing trees. It was also

common to see him riding around the area on a horse and cart, until a car ran in the back and threw him out onto his head. This accident affected his memory and consequently he only felt comfortable ringing tenor, where he maintained his last bell position by rope sight. His friends would often visit him at ‗The Silton Café‘ in the afternoon for tea and chocolate

digestive biscuits, sitting in front of the wood burner with a large saucepan of ‗rabbit stew‘ on the top (it was actually just full of water to prevent the stove from overheating). There we would watch cowboy

films on TV. Once again, his memory loss came into play as the films were well known to his visitors, but always seemed new to him. Another programme he

enjoyed was Doc Martin, from which he awarded himself the sobriquet ‗The Doctor‘ on account of the common surname. I first met Peter shortly after retiring down here in Dorset. After a busy working life I was becoming bored and he promptly said to my wife ―Why don‟t you send him to bell ringing.‖ And so

began a 10 year friendship where we worked together on both bell ringing and farming activities. A second accident with a horse and cart left him with a shattered ankle (oh how he loved to tell people the

gory details of that one). This made it difficult to climb the stairs at some towers, but did not stop him helping to rehang the bells at Zeals and Stourton

where his skills in securing heavy objects safely made him a valuable asset at ground level when hauling the bells up and down the towers. Although he spent much of the day on a tractor or working on his allotment, he was always careful about his appearance. A tie was always worn, except in July and August, and a comb kept in the top pocket of his

shirt to ensure that his hair was never out of place. Peter always tried to get people interested in ringing and enjoyed teaching beginners. His passing is not

only a loss to bell ringing, but especially to his friends

who will miss his sense of fun, willingness to help others and his little eccentricities like hoarding a

collection of rusting bicycles, a full sized model tiger, surf boards and all manner of items that he had no use for, but could not bear to part with. Peter was particularly proud of his daughter (Belinda) and grandson (Fred) and I‘m sure they will greatly miss his expert advice regarding farming matters, even if they were a little out of date.

Lewis Frank Cobb MBE (30 March 1938 to 11 September 2019)

From Julian Hemper: Lewis

was born on 30th March 1938 to Ernie and Jesse Cobb in Ringwood, Hampshire. Ernie was well known in Ringwood, playing football and cricket for many years in the local

area. Lewis attended schools in Ringwood before joining Brockenhurst

County High School in 1950. Later he would go on to attend the Bournemouth

Technical College to study in the Motor Industry, having been apprenticed as an Agricultural Engineer. Lewis was a member of the Boys section of the Ringwood Parish Church Choir and when his voice broke in 1952, he left the Choir and took up bellringing under the guidance of Bill Cheater. He got on well and rang his first Peal at Ringwood–Stedman

Triples-on 28th July 1954. Not describing himself as a sportsman, whilst in the Choir at Ringwood, Lewis played football for the New Forest Choirs League and

also cricket in the Ringwood Boys Cricket Team. Back in the Tower, he went on to be elected Deputy Ringing Master in 1959 holding the post for several years as well as being the Honorary Secretary of the

Christchurch and Southampton District of the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Ringers. He was elected to the Ancient Society of College Youths in May 1959. During his years as Deputy Ringing Master, he assisted with a lot of teaching and during such a training session at

Lymington, he met Elizabeth and later they were married on 13th May 1967 at Lymington Parish Church. After their marriage, Lewis and Elizabeth

moved to Swindon, when Lewis was appointed as Transport and Plant Officer at Swindon Borough Council. They joined the ringing band at Christ Church, Swindon, with Lewis taking up the positions

of Deputy Ringing Master as well as Tower and Bells Inspector and Advisor for the Diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Their first child, Bernard, was born in 1968, followed by twins Lee and Janette, in 1972. The offer of the position of Assistant Director of Operations (Transport) at the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan saw the family move to Lancashire. After a

brief spell in Ghana during 1977, the family settled in Crediton, Devon in 1978 before moving again to

Bristol in 1981. Lewis took up the position of Virger at

Obituaries

St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, a post he held until 1992. As well as ringing at St. Mary Redcliffe, Lewis and

Elizabeth found themselves heavily involved in music and together with the Director of Music at the time, they founded the St. Mary Redcliffe Academy, a concert choir consisting of 130 mixed singers. Their debut Concert was broadcast by BBC Radio. An invitation to become the Port Chaplain and Chief Executive Officer of the Mission to Seafarers, a

missionary society within the Church of England, saw another move in 1992, this time to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Lewis saw his work here very much as a

partnership with Elizabeth and together they oversaw many improvements to the facilities and buildings of the Centre including installing new generators and digging boreholes to ensure a constant supply of

fresh water. They were visited in 1998 by HRH The Princess Royal when she re-opened the Centre after the major works were completed and in 2003, Lewis was awarded the MBE in the Queen‘s Birthday Honours List. This was for services to the Mission of Seafarers in Dar es Salaam and to the British

community in Tanzania and he visited Buckingham Palace in October of that year to receive the award from The Queen. Lewis had expressed surprise at the

Award as he said his work would not have been possible without the efforts and support of Elizabeth. Lewis and Elizabeth returned to the UK late in 2003 to enjoy a well deserved retirement, settling in Devizes.

After a break of almost 13 years, Lewis took up ringing again at Bishops Cannings in 2006, where he also took up the post of Church Warden. He took to his renewed ringing life with great enthusiasm, organising many practices, advanced practices, quarter peals and peals, as well as encouraging and developing a local band. It would not be at all unusual

to receive a lengthy phone call from him at the dead

of night and such calls became legendary amidst much consternation! Lewis rang 216 Peals for a total of 21 different Societies and innumerable Quarter Peals. He had organised a Peal at Bishops Cannings this year to mark his 60th year of Membership of the

Ancient Society of College Youths, which sadly he had to cancel due to ill health. A quarter peal of Grandsire

Triples was rung at Bishops Can-nings on Sunday 29th September 2019, the eve of

his funeral in the

Church, by a band comprised of ringers with whom he had probably rung the most with over

the last few years (pictured left). Rest in peace Lewis, we will miss you very much.

LtoR: Ursula Osmond, Jenny Hancock, Julian Ferrar, Jenny Jones, Mark Robins, Ruth Plumridge, Clive

Hancock, Julian Hemper.

A Devon Song

(not a hymn)

(Provided by Michael and Claire

Dillistone)

One day in October, neither drunken nor sober,

O'er Broadbury Down I was wending my way,

When I heard of some ringing, some dancing and singing.

I ought to remember that Jubilee day.

(chorus)

T'was in Ashwater Town, the bells

they did sound, They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold,

But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, that there never were better in Devon I hold.

T'was misunderstood, for the men of Broadwood,

gave a blow on the tenor should never have been.

But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, A difficult matter to beat them I ween.

They of Broadwood being naughty, then said to our

party, We'll ring you a challenge again in a round.

We'll give you the chance at St Stephen's or Launceston,

The prize to the winners being a note of five pound.

When the match it came on, at good Callington. The bells they rang out o'er the valleys below.

Then the old and young peoble, the hale and the

feeble. They came out to hear the sweet bell music flow.

T'was at Callington Town, the bells they did sound,

They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold, But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true,

that there never were better in Devon I hold.

Those of Broadwood once more, were obliged to

give o'er. They were beaten completely and done in a round. For the men of Northlew pulled so steady and true

That no better than they in the West could be

found.

T'was in Ashwater Town, the bells they did sound, They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold,

But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, that there never were better in Devon I hold.

The picture is of the church tower of Ashwater (St Peter ad Vincula), Devon (6 bells, tenor 8 cwt)-

as featured in the Chorus!

Branch Business Meetings

Face to Face is the acknowledged Newsletter of the Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers First published in 1975, the publication is now produced three times a year and circulated free to all affiliated

towers throughout the Guild, as well as going to various other bodies. On the Guild website: https://sdgr.org.uk/face-to-face/

Compiled and edited by Robert Wellen Tel: 01747 825131 E-mail: [email protected] Guild Hon Gen Sec: Vicki Rowse Tel: 01722 714877 E-mail: [email protected]

Webmaster: Ian Mozley E-mail: [email protected] Guild website: https://sdgr.org.uk/ Printed by Imprint Graphics, Shaftesbury Telephone: 01747 850707

No copyright infringement is intended with the use of any text, images or graphics used in this publication.

Branch Business Meetings (and Christmas Events)

October 2019 to January 2020

Sat 19 Oct 14:30-20:00 Marl Branch AGM Milton Lilbourne

Sat 16 Nov 15:00-17:00 WD AGM & Ringing South Perrott

Sat 16 Nov 19:00-22:00 Sal Branch Meeting and Skittles Downton Club

Sat 7 Dec 14:30-19:00 Mere Branch Annual Meeting &

Carol Service Motcombe

Mon 9 Dec 19:30-21:00 Marl Christmas Branch Practice Chiseldon

Sat 14 Dec 15:00-20:00 Dev/Calne Joint Carol Service Devizes/

Calne Branches West Lavington

Sat 14 Dec 15:00-20:00 Dor Branch Carol Service Charminster

Sat 21 Dec 14:00-16:00 WD Branch Practice & Mince Pies Bradpole

Sat 4 Jan 14:30-20:00 Dev Branch AGM Devizes

Sat 11 Jan 15:00-20:00 Calne Branch AGM Lyneham

Sat 11 Jan 14:00-20:00 ED Branch AGM Wimborne Minster

Sat 25 Jan 14:30-20:00 Sal Branch AGM Sarum St Martin

For Full Details of all Branch Events see the Guild Website or contact your Branch Secretary

Your New Guild General Secretary:

Vicki Rowse

Pictured after ringing a Peal

of 5040 Plain Bob Minor,

conducted by Bob Purnell, at

her home tower of Fovant,

on 2 August 2019 ―arranged

and rung to celebrate [her]

being elected Hon General

Secretary of the Salisbury

Diocesan Guild”.

Last Few GREAT WAR MEMORIAL BOOKLETS

Still Available For Sale

Buy one for yourself, a

friend or for your tower.

Guild website: https://sdgr.org.uk/great-war-memorial-booklet/

E-mail Guild Master: [email protected]

At Branch AGMs 2019-2020

£5 a copy

Channel Islands

From Robert Wellen (Guild Master): Some of you

may have seen the reports of the recommendation that the Channel Islands should move Dioceses

from Winchester to Salisbury. If this happens, it will not be before the end of 2020 and could have

implications for our Guild and the LEBRF. Officers are in contact with the Winchester and Portsmouth Guild and Bishop Nicholas and we will continue to

monitor the progress of this proposal: https://

www.salisbury.anglican.org/news/a-new-relationship-with-the-channel-islands

in this issue: six bell success from the 1 guild news and

Documents