Hornchurch Bells

Spring Coach Outing 2018 To The Cotswolds

On Saturday 14^th April, a full coach of 56 ringers and friends set off for the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire.

After a cold week in Essex, the sun came out and a two and a half hour drive brought us to our first stop in Chipping Norton. A welcome cup of coffee and some good ringing saw us on our way to our lunch stop in Moreton-in-Marsh.

Young Ringers at Moreton

The afternoon took us to the picturesque Bourton-on-the-Water in the middle of the Cotswolds with its many gift shops and tea shops along the River Windrush in the centre of town.

Ringers at Bourton-on-the-Water

Our final stop at Stow-on-the-Wold presented us with a heavy ring of 8 bells. At 27cwt, the tenor weighs one and a half times as much as Hornchurch but we managed well and enjoyed some of the best ringing of the day topped only by an excellent evening meal before our long drive home.

Remembering Joan Peacock (1926 – 2018)

Joan Peacock learnt to ring at Tring in Hertfordshire. Following the war, her long career in the Personnel Department of May & Baker brought her to Essex where she joined the Hornchurch band in 1946 and made rapid progress under the guidance of then master, Frank Gant.

Her cheerful personality earned her many friends including the Salisbury brothers, Dulcie Wright, Lionel Woods, Chris Pain and John Stephenson who remember her with affection. She was helpful to the learners and rang 9 peals at Hornchurch including a notable performance for The Queen’s Coronation in 1953:

The Essex Association
Hornchurch, St Andrew

On 2^nd June 1953 in 3hrs 3mins

5056 Plain Bob Major

Comp: D.W.Beard

1. Mrs Dorothy Wright
2. Joan Peacock 
3. Jimmy Carrott   
4. Donald Salisbury   
5. Colin Wright
6. Sid Penfold
7. Andy Salisbury
8. Frank Gant (c)

Rung for The Queen’s Coronation

100^th peal – 8

She remained an active member of the Hornchurch band for more than 50 years and was a life member of The Essex Association. Following her retirement from ringing in the late 1990’s, she remained an active rambler into her mid 80’s and could always be found pouring over the pages of The Ringing World for news of her old friends and colleagues.

She passed away on 18^th March 2018, just short of her 92^nd birthday. The photograph shows Joan at her 90^th birthday party. A quarter peal was rung in thanksgiving for her life at Hornchurch on 8^th April and is printed below.

She will be greatly missed.

Hornchurch, Essex
St Andrew     

Sunday, 8 April 2018

1280 Spliced Surprise Major (8m)

(Standard 8)

1. Colin Friend
2. John W Stephenson
3. Louise Booth
4. Peter J Joyce
5. Christopher C M Pain
6. Clive J Stephenson
7. Andrew P Barham
8. Matthew E Rayner (C)

For Evensong and in thanksgiving for the life of Joan Peacock, a regular ringer at this tower for at least 50 years.

Ringing for the 100th Anniversary of the RAF at St Clement Danes

History of the RAF
It is entirely appropriate that the Centenary year of the Royal Air Force (RAF) also falls on the Centenary of the end of the First World War.

Indeed it was the events towards the end of WW1 that led to the creation of the RAF one hundred years ago.

In the summer of 1917, German Gotha bombers appeared over London with relative ease. The Prime Minister appointed Lieutenant General Jan Christian Smuts to investigate and Smuts quickly recommended the amalgamation of the existing Army and Navy air arms to form a separate Air Force with its own staff.

Brought into formal existence on 1^st April 1918, the Royal Air Force began life as the world’s first and premier Air Force and it has been at the forefront of military aviation from that day to this.

In its first week, RAF aircraft played a leading role in stemming the German offensive and provided crucial support to the Army and its allies as the Germans were driven back to the Rhine and the war was brought to a triumphant close later that year.

At the start of the war in 1914 the Royal Flying Corps had 84 aircraft and the Royal Navy Air Service had 71 aircraft. By the war’s end in November 1918, the RAF had more than 22,000 aircraft.

Second World War
In July 1940, Adolf Hitler planned an invasion of Britain by ordering his powerful air force (the Luftwaffe) to destroy British ports along the coast.

During the next 3 months of The Battle of Britain, the outnumbered RAF resisted the massive German air invasion, relying on the world’s first air defence system, integrating radar, telecommunications and radio. For every British plane shot down, two Luftwaffe war planes were destroyed and in October 1940, Hitler delayed the German invasion indefinitely.

At the end of the Battle of Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill said of the RAF pilots, ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’

Connection of St Clement Danes to the RAF
St Clement Danes Church in The Strand was almost destroyed by German bombs during the London Blitz on 10^th May 1941.

The outer walls, tower and steeple survived the bombing but the interior was gutted by fire and the 10 bells fell to the ground. Subsequently they were put into storage and recast after the war.

Following an appeal for funds from the Royal Air Force, the church was completely restored and re-opened in 1958 to become the Central Church of the Royal Air Force.

Connection to Hornchurch Bell Ringers
With the restoration of the bells in 1958 came the need for visiting bell ringers to ring for Sunday services.

Under the leadership of Frank Gant, Hornchurch started to provide bell ringers for Sunday service ringing once a month, a tradition that has continued from 1958 to this day.

It was therefore fitting that the Hornchurch bell ringers organised the ringing before and after the service on 1^st April 2018 to commemorate the 100^th Anniversary of the formation of the RAF.

Coincidently, this was also the 60^th Anniversary of the restoration of the church in 1958.

A quarter peal was rung at 10.00am before the service:

Westminster, Greater London

St Clement Danes
Sunday, 1 April 2018
1260 Plain Bob Royal

1. Paul J Bloomfield
2. John W Stephenson
3. Ros C Skipper
4. Simon J O Head
5. Colin Friend
6. Jonathan C Mills
7. James Laken
8. William J Stungo
9. Andrew P Barham
10. Clive J Stephenson (C)

Ringers who rang before the service

A full Peal was rung at 12.00pm, immediately after the service:

Westminster, Greater London
St Clement Danes

Sunday, 1 April 2018 in 3h 6mins

5021 Grandsire Caters
Composed by A Colin Banton

1. Christopher Ridley
2. Christopher J Cooper
3. Mary Bone
4. Jillian Laken
5. David Holdridge
6. William J Stungo
7. Alan Regin
8. Fred Bone
9. Clive J Stephenson (C)
10. Edward J W Manley

Both rung to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Formation of the Royal Air Force.

Also to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the restoration of St Clement Danes Church, funded by the RAF.

Ringers who rang in the peal following the service

Bell Ringers Visit to Purleigh

Undeterred by the snow, a group of St Andrew’s ringers and friends visited Purleigh in Essex on 17th March 2018.

A successful hour’s ringing and enjoyable pub lunch enabled us to catch up with Pauline and Rosemarie who have recently moved away from the Hornchurch area.

From L to R: Jeanette, John, Terry, Rosemarie, David, Pauline, Chris & Michelle

Successful Peal for Paul’s 70th Birthday

Paul Bloomfield celebrated his 70th birthday on 17th February 2018.

A peal to mark the occasion was rung by a visiting band from the Oxford Guild on 10th March. The peal was conducted by an 18 year old.

Full details of the peal are as follows:

Oxford Diocesan Guild
Hornchurch, Essex
St Andrew
Saturday, 10 March 2018 in 3h 06m
5040 Yorkshire Surprise Royal
Composed by Robin O Hall

1. E John Wells
2. June D Wells
3. Daniel J Page
4. David E Rothera
5. Thomas R Sherwood
6. Bernard F L Groves
7. Anna E Sherwood (C)
8. Edward J W Manley
9. Clive J Stephenson
10. Colin G Newman

A slightly belated 70th birthday compliment to Paul J Bloomfield, with whom the tenor ringer spent many a long hour ringing in bygone years. Also well known to some others in the band.

First on 10 and second peal – 5 (aged 14)
First on 10 as conductor having previously called Surprise Maximus

A short extract of the peal is available on You Tube

Lady Bell Ringers Celebrate Their Right To Vote

On 6^th February 2018, lady bell ringers from Hornchurch and West Ham teamed up to celebrate the centenary of The Representation of the People Act 1918 which gave some women the right to vote for the first time.

Background
The Suffragette movement, led by Emmeline Pankhurst, had been established since 1903. They were determined to obtain the right to vote for women by any means, even if it involved breaking the law. Women paid the same taxes as men and were subject to the same laws, so why not the same voting rights?

During the war years (1914 –18) women undertook jobs normally carried out by men and proved they could work just as well. This strengthened their argument for voting rights which came shortly after.

Bell ringing celebrations
Bells are often rung to celebrate important anniversaries and for this occasion, a team of ladies rang continuously for about 45 minutes to achieve a quarter peal of Plain Bob Doubles. The ringing took place at St Andrew’s, Hornchurch and was conducted by Liz Rayner of West Ham:

Hornchurch, Essex

St Andrew

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

1260 Plain Bob Doubles

1. Julie A Bloomfield
2. Heather Rayner
3. Helen J Carter
4. Elizabeth C Rayner (C)
5. Leonie J McCaughren
6. Rebecca A Woolward

Rung by an all ladies band to mark the 100th Anniversary this day of The Representation Of The People Act 1918 which allowed women to vote for the first time.

The photo shows the ladies that took part:

L to R: Julie Bloomfield, Heather Rayner, Helen Carter, Liz Rayner, Leonie McCaughren and Rebecca Woolward

‘Ringing Remembers’: A National Campaign to Recruit 1400 New Bell Ringers

On 11^th November 2018 it will be 100 years since Armistice was declared at the end of the First World War.

To mark this centenary, bells will ring out in unison from as many churches as possible across the UK as they did 100 years ago.

In preparation for this event, it is hoped that 1400 new bell ringers will be recruited and trained in honour of the 1400 bell ringers who lost their lives during the Great War.

At St Andrew’s we know of at least one ringer by the name of John Brockhurst, who lost his life during WW1, in November 1917.

 WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN AT ST ANDREW’S?

It is easily possible between now and November 2018 for you to acquire the basic skills required to ring for Armistice 2018 and thereafter for other services and events.

Initial training is on a one-to-one basis in easily manageable steps and is suitable for ages 12 – 70.

If, after a few sessions, you want to register with the National Campaign to become one of the 1400, we will show you how.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

Contact: Clive Stephenson on 07896 342010 or email: clive-stephenson@sky.com

An open day will be arranged for March 2018.

Ringing Remembers is a joint campaign run by  two government offices and the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.

New Year’s Eve in the Bell Tower

Every New Year’s Eve for as long as we can remember, St Andrew’s bell ringers have celebrated by ‘ringing in’ the New Year.

This year was no exception and at 11.30pm a small group of ringers gathered to begin their ring.

As the midnight hour approached, the number of bells gradually reduced leaving just Gavin Carpenter to strike the tenor 12 times at midnight. The rest of the ringers then joined in again to welcome 2018 with their joyful sound.

In recent years, our vicar Barry and wife Mary have come along to watch the fireworks from the top of the tower and open a bottle of champagne whilst the bells ring.

The photo shows Mary and Barry joining the ringers afterwards for a celebratory drink. Barry then thanked the ringers for their efforts during the past year, particularly the peals.

What a lovely way to start the New Year!

Bell Ringers Christmas Peal 2017

The bell ringers’ Christmas peal was successfully completed in 3 hours and 9 minutes.

All 10 bells were rung to the tune of Grandsire Caters and a short 3 minute extract can be found on YouTube using the link: https://youtu.be/kUcHsHPmpJw

Full details of the peal are as follows:

Essex Association

Hornchurch, Essex

St Andrew

Saturday, 23 December 2017 in 3h 9min

5021 Grandsire Caters

Composed by A Colin Banton

1. Paul J Bloomfield
2. Anthony J Bloomfield
3. Jillian Laken
4. David E Rothera
5. Clare M Merivale
6. M Louise Booth
7. Jonathan C Mills
8. William J Stungo
9. Clive J Stephenson (C)
10. Alan S M Street

Rung for The Festival of Christmas.

First on 10 – 5 & 7; First Grandsire – 2,5 & 7.

350th peal – 1.

Peal for Platinum Wedding Anniversary of HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

On 20th November 2017, HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, celebrated their Platinum (70th) Wedding Anniversary.

On 18th November 2017, a peal of Stedman Caters was rung at Hornchurch to mark the occasion. A 5 minute extract of the peal can be accessed below:

Full details of the peal are as follows:

Essex Association

Hornchurch, Essex

St Andrew

Saturday, 18 November 2017 in 3h 7min

5055 Stedman Caters

Composed by John Pladdys

1 Christina D A Brewster

2 Paul J Bloomfield

3 John Pladdys (C)

4 Stephen A Waters

5 Jon Waters

6 Ian P Hill

7 Clive J Stephenson

8 Peter G C Ellis

9 Robert J Crocker

10 Andrew P Brewster

Arranged and rung to mark the 70th Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip