Bell Ringing For The 80th Anniversary of D-Day

Church, Commemorations, Quarter Peals,

The D-Day operation of June 6th, 1944 was the largest invasion in history which would ultimately defeat Nazi Germany and end the Second World War.

On the 80th anniversary of this day, it was more than fitting that the St Andrew’s bell ringers should ring out to mark the occasion.

Former Hornchurch Ringing Master Frank Gant was involved in the Normandy landings of 1944.

On D-Day, Frank was in command of a tank landing craft which, on approaching the beach in Normandy, lost its rudder on an underwater obstruction. He managed to reach the beach, however, offload the tanks and return to England without a rudder.

He steered the boat by varying the speeds of the twin propellers and received official recognition for this remarkable feat.

Today’s bell ringers met at 9.30am on Thursday 6th June to ring before and after the Communion Service where Mark gave thanks for our country’s role in the liberation of Western Europe.

Our ringing included a quarter peal shown in detail below along with the ringers that took part:

Hornchurch, Essex

St Andrew

Thursday, 6 June 2024

1260 Plain Bob Doubles

1 James P Riley

2 Michael J Warren

3 Paul T Crick

4 John M Church

5 Clive J Stephenson (C)

6 Mark E Lendon

Rung to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Remembering Frank Gant, former Hornchurch Ringing Master, who took part in the D-Day landings.

First quarter away from cover – 1.

St Andrew’s Ringers on D-Day

70th Birthday Celebrations for Mark

Birthdays, Quarter Peals,

On Friday 8th March 2024, Mark Lendon celebrated his 70th birthday.

To honour the occasion, a team of six bell ringers (including Mark) met at St Andrew’sto ring a celebratory quarter peal:

Hornchurch, Essex

St Andrew

Friday, 8 March 2024

1260 Plain Bob Doubles

1 Valerie A Swain

2 Ethan J Musham

3 Michael J Warren

4 John M Church

5 Clive J Stephenson (C)

6 Mark E Lendon

Rung to celebrate the 70th birthday of Mark Lendon on this day.

The following day a gathering of family and friends continued the celebrations in St Andrew’s Hall where Mark arranged a delicious buffet.

Revd Ken spoke of Mark’s commitment to the church (including bell ringing) and we drank a toast to Mark and his loving family.

Mark and Carol celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary later this year.

The team of bell ringers with Mark (far right)

Bell Ringing Awards for First Quarter Peals

Uncategorized

On Sunday 10th September 2023, the commitment and achievements of three of our bell ringers was recognised during the morning family service.

Mark Lendon, Valerie Swain and James Riley have all achieved ringing their first quarter peal during the past year. This means ringing continuously for about 45 minutes and involves considerable physical and mental effort.

Mark returned to ringing after the pandemic having learnt to ring as a youngster. He has rung several quarter peals in the past year. Val learnt to ring in 2018 For ‘Ringing Remembers’ and has rung regularly ever since including two quarter peals. James learnt to ring in 2022 and has now rung two quarter peals in little over a year.

Congratulations to all three ringers shown in the photo below with our vicar Ken Wylie and ringing master Clive Stephenson.

First Quarter Peal for James After Just One Year

Uncategorized,

Hornchurch bell ringer James Riley first expressed an interest in learning to ring in May 2022, just before the Platinum Jubilee of our late Queen.

He was directed to St Andrew’s tower and had his first introduction to bell handling on 31st May 2022.

He has attended regularly and made determined progress ever since. He now rings on Sunday mornings and was part of the team that rang for the Coronation of King Charles III.

Furthermore, on 31st May 2023, James rang his first quarter peal exactly one year since his first bell ringing lesson.

Although a bit nervous, James rang exceptionally well for 45 minutes to complete this fantastic achievement.

Well done James!

The quarter peal was a celebration of the wedding of fellow bell ringer Charles Page to Linda Hardwidge on 29th May 2023 at St Laurence Church in Upminster where James also attends.

Full details of the quarter peal are as follows:

Hornchurch, Essex

St Andrew

Wednesday, 31 May 2023

1260 Plain Bob Doubles

1 Mark E Lendon

2 John M Church

3 Philip Petchey

4 Hayden R Musham

5 Clive J Stephenson (C)

6 James P Riley

Rung to celebrate the wedding of Charles and Linda Page on 29th May.

First quarter for tenor ringer on the one year anniversary of his first bell ringing lesson.

The team of bell ringers with James far right and Charles and Linda Page in the front.