Dear all, a reminder that we have the 8 bell practice at Castor on Friday 7 December at 7.30pm at Castor. The practice will include rounds, and methods ranging from Plain Hunt to Surprise Major.
Whatever your ability, you will be made very welcome and the ringing will be organised to suit your requirements.
Hilary Hardie
Dear all, a reminder that the Branch quarter peal week starts on Saturday 17 November and continues to 25 November, so please get organised with your quarter peals. I have set up an event on Bellboard, so you can link your quarter peals to this, so they are all printed together in Ringing World.
Hilary Hardie
I know that the majority of ringers in the Branch will be busy ringing for Armistice services and events over the coming weekend. The bells in churches across the Peterborough area, and at the Cathedral, will ring out over the weekend to commemorate the peace, whether it is on Saturday for local events, for the morning Remembrance Service, in the afternoon or evening on the Sunday.
As you ring over the weekend, please remember the fallen. The Roll of Honour on the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers website identifies 7 ringers, linked to churches in Peterborough and the surrounding villages, who lost their lives in WW1. The one we know most about is:
Corporal Harold Bemrose DCM, who rang at St John’s Church in Peterborough. He died on 13 April 1918, aged 24, serving in the 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. He died at No 3 Australian Casualty Clearing Station from wounds received earlier in the day at Wytschaete near Kemmel, Belgium. He was awarded the DCM for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in charge of a party of 20 men. Although isolated, he consolidated a shell hole position, and held it all day. At nightfall, he established a connection with the posts on either flank and volunteered to attack a machine gun, which was causing trouble. His grave is commemorated at Nine Elms British Cemetery, Belgium, Grave XIV F 12.
To mark the final year of the First World War centenary commemorations, it was announced in 2017 that 1,400 new bell ringers would be recruited in honour of the 1,400 who lost their lives during the First World War. This campaign has been very successful and to date there are some 1,700 new ringers registered with the website.
The Peterborough Branch has been doing its bit in encouraging new ringers and I know of at least 15 who have been trained across the area, and I suspect there are more. As many of these new ringers as possible will take part in the ringing on Sunday 11 November, some ringing for a service for the first time. Special badges for these new recruits have been produced by the Central Council to recognise their participation as learners in the Ringing Remembers campaign, and they will wear their badges with pride on the day. I hope that you will encourage them to become members of the branch. They can be proposed as members at the AGM in January next year.
A very big thank you to all those who have been organising bands in your own Tower, or across a number of Towers, and also to those who have been recruiting and training our new ringers.
Please remember to post details of your ringing on Bellboard or on social media such as on the DCMS hashtag #armistice100.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM!
Hilary Hardie
The 8 Bell practice on 2 November at Castor is cancelled as it is the Village Guy Fawkes party at the cricket ground this evening. This means there will be a major problem with access, particularly from the west, and I have a number of apologies.
The next 8 bell practice will be on Friday 7 December and I hope to see you there.
Best wishes,
Hilary Hardie
Dear all, this year the Branch quarter peal week is on 17 to 25 November, so once you have completed all your plans to ring for Remembrance, please get organised with your quarter peals.
Best wishes,
Hilary Hardie
Dear all, a reminder that we have the 8 bell practice at Castor on Friday 2 November at 7.30pm at Castor. The practice will include rounds and methods ranging from Plain Hunt to Surprise Major.
Whatever your ability you will be made very welcome and the ringing will be organised to suit your requirements.
Hilary Hardie
A reminder that we have the 8 bell practice at Castor on tonight at 7.30pm at Castor. The practice will include rounds and methods ranging from Plain Hunt to Surprise Major.
Whatever your ability you will be made very welcome and there the ringing will be organised to suit your requirements.
Hilary Hardie
A reminder that we have the 8 bell practice at Castor on Friday 5 October at 7.30pm at Castor. The practice will include rounds and methods ranging from Plain Hunt to Surprise Major.
Whatever your ability you will be made very welcome and there the ringing will be organised to suit your requirements.
Hilary Hardie
On 11 November 2018, 100 years since the Armistice, bells will ring out from churches and cathedrals in villages, towns and cities across the country. Big Ben will also strike at 11am to mark the centenary. For this year, in particular, the UK Government has invited all bell ringers to join the nation in marking the end of the First World War by ringing together on Remembrance Sunday. They would like the ringing to take place from 12.30pm on Sunday 11 November, in addition to any ringing for services being held in the morning.
As Ringing Master I am keen that we ring in as many Towers across the Branch as possible. Therefore over the last few months, I have been in contact will all Tower Captains and Correspondents to understand what ringing is planned, and to identify where there are any gaps or shortage of ringers. I am pleased to report that the majority of Towers have plans in place, although there may be need for additional ringers to help out. There are currently only 2 Towers of ringable bells who do not have a band available, and we are putting together bands to ring at them during the day.
Church bells across the UK remained restricted throughout the course of the war and only rang freely once Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918.
Many bell ringers joined the war effort, and many lost their lives. Just after the war, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers wrote to all bell towers to compile the Roll of Honour. At the time 1,100 men were reported as lost. During the First World War Centenary, the Central Council of Bell Ringers has been reviewing this list and has discovered further bell ringers who died in service to come to a figure of 1,400.
To mark the final year of the First World War centenary commemorations, it was announced in 2017 that 1,400 new bell ringers would be recruited in honour of the 1,400 who lost their lives during the First World War. This campaign, called “Ringing Remembers”, aims to keep this traditional British art alive in their memory – linking together past, present and future. This campaign has been very successful, and to date there are some 1,800 new ringers registered with the website.
The Peterborough Branch has been doing its bit in encouraging new ringers, and many are being trained throughout the area. The Roll of Honour on the CCCBR website identifies 7 ringers linked to Peterborough Churches who lost their lives in the war, and I can confirm that significantly more than that number have been recruited and trained over the last year. It is intended that as many of these new ringers as possible will take part in the ringing across the Branch on Sunday 11 November.
Hopefully this post puts Elaine’s post of earlier today into context. Many of you will already have committed to ring at your home Tower, and I am aware that in a number of areas, bands have made arrangements to cover other Towers. It is not intended to duplicate the plans already in place, but assist in identifying additional ringers who can help out where there are gaps. If you are interested and able to help out elsewhere across the branch that would be brilliant.
Hilary Hardie, Ringing Master
Additional ringers are needed for a wedding on 15 September at Stanground. Wedding at 3pm with ringing from 3.30pm.
If you can help, please contact Graham Hill hillfg67@googlemail.com.
Many thanks,
Hilary
