Outing to Leicestershire 2017

Saturday 1^st July 2017 – The Framland Outing.  This year we visited three towers in our own county – Leicestershire.

Markfield St. Michael (6) 10-1-15

Newtown Linford All Saints (6) 7-3-20

Anstey St. Mary (8) 10-2-4

Despite being low on numbers, we rang well at all three towers.  Everyone said how good the bells are at Markfield.  It is such a shame that this was the tower that I missed due to a wedding over-running the other side of the county!

The second tower was Newtown Linford.  A lovely ring of 6 where the church is in the beautiful surroundings of Bradgate Park – OK it was next to the car park, but the thought is there.

The final tower of the day was Anstey, a ring of 8.  By this time, we were relatively low on numbers so there were not many opportunities to sit out and admire the church or the surroundings.  We did however ring Plain Bob Major, Grandsire Triples and Stedman Triples.  We had a good attempt at Cambridge major, so it was a shame not to be fully successful in this.

We thanked the tower organiser for all of his hard work arranging the towers for us and most importantly suggesting pub grub afterwards.

We found our way to a pub on the outskirts of Syston where we enjoyed a lovely meal followed by the biggest puddings I have ever seen.

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Hoby – Commemorative Half Muffled Quarter Peal

21^st June 2017 – Private William Harris

Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day.  It also happens to be the hottest – apparently the hottest day in June since 1976!  This morning, many watched the sunrise at Stonehenge.  For the rest of the day, many complained of the heat.  Having endured a very hot and sticky day, five Framland Ringers met in the evening at Hoby to ring a commemorative half muffled quarter peal.  Fortunately, the tower was relatively cool compared with the sweltering temperatures outside.  I can’t help but wonder what the weather was like 100 years ago today.  Was there a glorious sunrise at Stonehenge, and did anyone go to celebrate it during the war? Was it this hot in 1917, and did the weather have any impact on the events that led up to William Harris’s death?

Census records show that William was a farm labourer (aged 11 in 1891).  10 years later he was working for the Midland Railway.  By 1911 it is believed that William had joined the army.  He was initially stationed with the 1^st Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment based at Aldershot.  Records suggest that he did not serve overseas during the first few years of war.  Some soldiers in the regular army were kept in the UK to train volunteers.  It is thought that William was among them.  By 1917, he was in Northern France were he was killed.  The war graves commission record states that he died of wounds on 21^st June 1917.  However, these were not sustained during battle.  William and several of his comrades were killed in a tragic incident.  They were due to carry out a gas bombardment of mine buildings.  Somehow, the gas projectors fell into the trenches and within a few seconds the trenches were filled with phosgene (at the time, reported to be the deadliest of all gases).  Twenty-four died from the poison, and sixty-two went to hospital.  William is buried in the Loos British Cemetery along with his comrades.

The happy ringers on the hottest day

100 years after this tragic accident, the Framland Ringers are paying tribute to William Harris by ringing the half muffled quarter peal.  This was to be conducted by our chairman using a combination of methods that has been working well in these quarters.  We started with Plain Bob before moving onto St. Martins and then St. Simons.  Another burst of Plain Bob took us to the 1260 changes.  At this point in my reports, I usually make a comment about how there was a miss call, or one of us drifts into a world of our own resulting in a re-start.  Maybe it was the heat and the prospect of stopping and starting again was just too much for all of us.  It obviously worked, because we didn’t have any hesitation or deviation.  The quarter was very well struck throughout; no-one missed a dodge, or faltered at a call.  We managed without the extra nods and subtle coughs that we normally do when we see a slight uncertainty.  It certainly was a quarter that we could be really proud of.  It was a privilege to be a part of this tribute to a local soldier.

The Society will be ringing again at Hoby on 9^th October 2017 for the next half muffled quarter peal.  Details about the future half muffled quarter peals can be found via http://www.hobyanddistricthistory.co.uk/commemorative-half-muffled-quarter-peals/

Hoby – Commemorative Half Muffled Quarter Peal

14^th May 2017 – Private Arthur Felstead

Another Sunday evening ringing a half muffled quarter peal at Hoby, this time commemorating the life of Private Arthur Felstead.  He was born in Hoby in 1880 (the youngest of eight children).  The cottage where his family lived is now the site of the pub car park.  Arthur was listed as a brick layer in the 1911 census.  He had also worked at the Holwell Iron Company’s Furnaces and later worked at Ragdale Hall, very much a local man.

He initially joined the Leicestershire Regiment but later transferred to the 1^st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment and embarked for France in July 1916.  Ten months later his regiment received the order that they would be called on to capture Bullecourt.  The Battle of Bullecourt was part of the Arras offensive and the battalion suffered heavy losses.  Arthur was among them; killed in action on 14^th May 1917 aged 37.  Either his body had never been recovered, or his grave had been lost as he is commemorated on the Arras Memorial (one of 35000 servicemen who died in the Arras sector and have no known grave).  He is also commemorated on his parent’s head stone in Hoby Churchyard.

The Arras Memorial

 

We arrived at the tower; the bells had already been rung up in preparation for us.  We selected our bells to ring a few rounds but something wasn’t quite right.  Of course it would be my bell with the muffle on the wrong way round.  A quick trip to the bell frame, turn the muffle around and head back to the ringing chamber – then a voice shouted up the stairs “is the bell up wrong?”.  Back to the bell frame we go.  Yes… he was right, the bell was in fact up wrong.  I don’t know how I missed that the first time!  Simple solution, turn the muffle around again and move the clapper.  Now we are ready to go again.  This time the rounds sounded so much better.

Our Ringing Master was in charge of this quarter.  A slight change in methods was proposed – no problem, we are all more than capable of ringing multiple methods … but as it turns out, not quite as easy as we thought.  First attempt, there was a miss-call in the Grandsire.  We still had plenty of time for a re-start so off we went again.  Despite knowing in advance that we would be ringing variations of bobs and singles in the quarter it completely took me by surprise to hear a Gradnsire Single in the St. Simons.  Somehow, by the time I had processed the call, acted on it and then got back into the method, two of us managed to swap over.  Back to rounds!  Time was now becoming an issue.  We could not afford to have yet another false start.  It was imperative that we complete the quarter on the third attempt.  Our conductor reduced the numbers of variations – much to my relief.  We successfully completed the first 180 changes of Grandsire before moving into the 360 changes of Plain Bob.  There were a few stumbles during the 240 changes of April Day before moving into the 240 of St. Simons and 240 of St. Martins.  What a relief when the conductor called “that’s all”.  We all looked at the clock and decided that the quarter had actually taken 1 ½ hours.  In reality it only took 45 minutes.  We had completed our tribute to Arthur Felstead.

The Society will be ringing again at Hoby on 21^st June 2017 for the next half muffled quarter peal.  Details about the future half muffled quarter peals can be found via http://www.hobyanddistricthistory.co.uk/commemorative-half-muffled-quarter-peals/

Accounts for year 2016

Attached is the balance sheet for the financial year ending 31st December 2016.  Members will be able to view the detailed accounts at the Annual meeting on the 5th May at Ashby Folville.

Accounts 2016   .pdf file 140kB

Hoby – Commemorative Half Muffled Quarter Peal

23^rd April 2017 – Private John Edward Ward

St George’s Day – a beautiful Spring Sunday evening with the smells and sounds of BBQ’s in the air …. and then the Framland Ringers come along to make a noise by ringing a commemorative half muffled quarter peal for Private John Edward Ward.  This is the first of 6 quarters for 2017, part of the WW1 commemorative events taking place in Hoby.

Our Chairman called this quarter with Reverse Canterbury, Winchendon Place, St. Nicholas and then back to Reverse Canterbury.  This was a new combination of methods for these commemorative quarters.  The combination worked extremely well.  Using methods with places in the middle instead of dodging seemed to work really well on the muffled back stroke.  It was during the extents of St Nicholas, where I thought to myself, how well it was going and which photographs should I use to accompany this web report, is there anyone to take a group photo and how should we pose – and then the inevitable … I got lost!  Thankfully, the other ringers put me in my place immediately and we carried on.  Apart from my momentary lapse of concentration, the rest of the ringing was very good.  It was a quarter we can be proud of in tribute to this soldier.  We were met afterwards by the church warden and new vicar who thanked us for the ringing.  After the “meet and greet” time was getting on so we rang down and left – we didn’t get to take the group photo.

Private John Edward Ward (born 1888) was killed in action aged 29 in 1917.  He initially worked as a labourer before enlisting in the Leicestershire Regiment in 1906.  He was posted to India in 1907.  Along with his regiment, he was mobilised at the outbreak of the First World War and went into the trenches at Calonne.  Later he was at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and also the Battle of Festubert.  His regiment went “over the top” at the Battle of Loos, where many of his comrades were killed or seriously injured.  John was one of the many casualties sustaining a severe gunshot injury to his head and face.  Following hospital treatment in Boulogne, John re-joined his unit eventually reaching Ali Al-Gharbi.  Days were hot and humid, yet nights were freezing cold.  These were difficult climate conditions especially for those still recovering from wounds.  Medical facilities were inadequate against endemic tropical diseases, and John was among those who fell ill becoming hospitalised.  He did re-join his regiment, eventually making steady progress through Turkish defences (after several previous unsuccessful attempts) finally reaching Baghdad.  The Leicestershire Regiment were the first to enter the city following its fall.  Operations continued further north with the aim to seize Samarrah.  It was during these operations that Private John Ward was killed (2 days before Samarrah was taken).

John’s parents had not seen him since he sailed to India in 1907 when he joined the army.  This was 10 years before his death.  He was awarded the 1914 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.  John is remembered on the Hoby War Memorial.

The Society will be ringing again at Hoby on 14^th May 2017 for the next half muffled quarter peal.  Details about the future half muffled quarter peals can be found via http://www.hobyanddistricthistory.co.uk/commemorative-half-muffled-quarter-peals/

“A Peal Appeal” from our founding tower – Waltham on the Wolds

The Society of Framland Ringers was founded in 1875 at Waltham on the Wolds and remains to be an important tower to Framland Ringers.  The local team at Waltham has been led by Tower Captain, John, for over 20 years following in the footsteps of his father.  John started ringing at Waltham when he learnt as a boy still at school. He has taught many ringers over the years maintaining high standards of ringing.

This year John and his wife Christine have much to celebrate.  It was their Golden Wedding Anniversary in March.  It is a double celebration, as John recently successfully completed an 18 week course of chemotherapy.

To mark both events, John will be taking part in a quarter peal at Waltham on the Wolds on Friday 28^th April 2017.  There will be a fundraising event in the church for the Macmillan Cancer Support Charity while the quarter peal takes place.  Do come along to support the event.

If you would like to donate to this cause, or for more information, you can do so via the just giving website at: https://www.justgiving.com/apealappeal.

Good luck to John and his team in the quarter peal and many congratulations to John and Christine on your Golden Wedding Anniversary.

Striking Competition 2016

The Annual Striking Competition was held at Sproxton on Saturday 3^rd December 2016.  Although we held the event in an 8 bell tower, we put in 3 teams of 6 ringers.  All teams rang 120 rows of rounds and call changes.  It was an opportunity for some of our newest members to take part in the competition for the first time.

Each team had a few minutes to practice before the judged piece.  It was difficult to predict the results as all teams rang to a high standard, so we had to wait for the judge to give us the scores.  While we were waiting, we tucked into mince pies and biscuits along with a deserving cup of tea – and another opportunity to chatter!

Still eating mince pies and talking, we noticed the time and suggested that we should really hear the scores and carry on ringing … so we had a few moments of quiet to listen to the comments made from our judge – what is he going to say?

The judge commented that none of the teams made use of the full 3 minutes of practice time … however, the rest of us were unaware of the 3 minute time limit so we all kept the practice sessions short and sweet.

The first team to ring were given 9 faults; the second team to ring, 19 faults; the third team, 15 faults.  The winning team members were presented with the “Frith Shield”.  The compulsory posed photograph followed.

The winning team 2016 presented with the Frith Shield

This is the last year that the “Frith Shield” will be presented as it is now full.  The member who had donated the shield, sadly passed away this year.  It is a fitting tribute that it is used up fully in the year of his death.  There will be a new shield in place for 2017 as another chapter opens.

Although teams were allocated at random, the winning team consisted of the ringing master, chairman and secretary.  It wasn’t a fix – we promise.

Our thanks go to Sproxton for hosting the competition and putting the heating on, our judge Barry, and to Ken who organised the teams on the night.

The Framland ringers will not meet again until 4^th February 2017 at Asfordby.  In the meantime, we wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

When our backs were turned, we gained a new ringer!

Monthly Meeting Calendar 2017

The calendar of meetings for 2017 is now available to view.  You can use the Google calendar here and link to your own Google calendars.

Alternatively, view, download or print the pdf here Calendar 2017.

Hoby – Commemorative Quarter Peal

24^th September 2016 – Private Harry Jeffs

Private Harry Jeffs lost his life as a result of his wounds sustained during the Battle of the Somme (died 24^th September 1916).  Prior to the war, Harry worked at Hoby Grange.  He was a member of the church choir and was an active bell ringer at Hoby.  His wounds were so severe, that his leg had to be amputated.  He became weaker and finally lost his life.  He had an older and younger brother who both served in the war and survived.  His mother received a letter informing her of his death which came as a shock as she was unaware that he had been wounded.  Following his death, the local ringers rang a muffled peal in his memory.

The Society of Framland Ringers have been ringing half muffled commemorative quarter peals on the 100^th anniversary of the death of each soldier from Hoby. This was the 4^th (and last) quarter peal for 2016.  As the soldier we were commemorating was a bell ringer, the parish of Hoby celebrated his life with a service of thanksgiving in the afternoon before we rang the quarter peal in the evening.  To make this quarter stand out and be different from the others, the parish asked us to ring this quarter “open”.  Having rung so many half muffled quarter peals at Hoby as part of this 4 year project, it definitely felt “different” to be ringing the bells open.  It sounded faster than our previous efforts, although the clock shows we rang at the same speed.  It was definitely easier to hear the backstroke and concentrate on the striking of the methods.

Our Chairman called this quarter with Plain Bob, St. Martins, St. Simons and then back to Plain Bob.  It was a composition that we were all familiar with having rung this selection on previous attempts.  25 minutes into the quarter, we were ringing St. Martins, and for no reason, it fired up!  Ringing St Martins as part of these commemorations seems to get the better of us.  The command to “stand” was obeyed.  Such a shame, as the striking had been really good.  A quick breather to get our puff back and take off excess jumpers followed.  A second attempt commenced.  This time the pressure was on as the clock was ticking.  More importantly, our treble ringer has a bad wrist and pushing for a second attempt may be too much for her.  Fortunately, the second attempt was successful.  On the whole, our striking was good (ringing we can be proud of).  Our tribute to Harry Jeffs was completed successfully.

The Quarter Peal Ringers 24th September 2016

The Society will be ringing again at Hoby for six half muffled quarter peals in 2017, and six in 2018.

Details about the future half muffled quarter peals can be found via http://www.hobyanddistricthistory.co.uk/commemorative-half-muffled-quarter-peals/

Further details about the men we are commemorating can be found via http://www.hobyanddistricthistory.co.uk/king-country/

Change of Venue for Meeting on 3rd September 2016

Due to tower repairs at Tilton on the Hill on Saturday 3rd September, our monthly ringing meeting has been moved to Great Dalby.  See Google Calendar for details (opens a new window).

A revised calendar for the rest of 2016 is available to download here Calendar 2016 revised.