Bellringers Report 2006
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To the PCC Holy Trinity Bosham 26th March 2006 by the Tower Secretary, Mrs Joan King
On Saturday 21st May 2005 we had our first bellringers' outing for some years, visiting church towers in the Meon Valley. Paul Robinson arranged this and drove us in a mini-bus to Wickham, Shedfield, Bishops Waltham, Warnford and Hambledon. As mentioned in last year's report we planned a Quarter Peal to celebrate Father Tom's 60th Birthday. This we achieved on Sunday 10 July, combining it with the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War 11. All towers had been asked to take part in this.
Sadly, later in July on Sunday 24th George Smith collapsed while ringing no. 4 bell before the 9.30 a.m. Service and died later in hospital. He is a great loss to the tower having rung for over 40 years and was at one time Ringing Master. We rang for his Funeral Service on 1st August. Another sad loss occurred in November when John Hollis, who had been a great support to us all, especially the learners, died from a heart attack following an operation in St Richard's Hospital. Most of us attended his funeral at Westbourne, where he lived and had started bell ringing after retiring from the Royal Navy. We joined the Westbourne ringers to ring both before and after the Service. We rang for 16 weddings - one of the most recent ones was Tracy Dalingwater's who, with her father, was a ringer here in the late 80's and early 90's. We had visiting ringers from Hackney, Slinfold, Keymer, Clanfield and Didcot. We rang the Old Year out with a muffled peal and the New Year in with a full one. Our tower membership is 27: 18 adults and 9 juniors plus two adult learners. One is Mike Whittle, Wendy's husband, she herself being a competent ringer. It’s good to see that George's family are still involved. As once before in 1999, we have three generations ringing from one family. Hopefully the mother and daughter will continue to progress when I, the grandmother, can no longer make the stairs to the ringing chamber. Joan King
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