Category: News

by Paul Flavell

The annual Surrey Association’s Six and Eight Bell Striking Competitions were held at St Mary’s Caterham on a showery afternoon, Saturday 12 October 2024. 

Many thanks to the Caterham on the Hill ringers for hosting the event and providing wonderful cakes and buns and to Nick Wilkins and Catherine Lewis from Kent for being our judges. The ringing was good throughout and the final results were as follows:

Six Bell Competition

1^st       Kingston                 23 faults
2^nd      Caterham X            37 faults
3^rd       Merton Park           47 faults
4^th=     Caterham Y           75 faults
4^th=     Richmond              75 faults

Eight Bell Competition

1^st       Kingston                62 faults
2^nd      Caterham Z            86 faults

Congratulations to all teams that took part and congratulations to Kingston for winning the Taylor Trophy and the Pat Cannon Trophy.

Andrew Crea Bolton, 30 October 1940 – 23 August 2024

Andrew learned to ring in Newburn, Northumberland, and was a member of the College Youths. He rang extensively in the UK and abroad, including at St Paul’s, Melbourne, and was a founder of the Transvaal Society of Church Bell Ringers in South Africa. Most recently, he rang at All Saints, Kingston upon Thames.

Obituary by Paul Flavell
(with thanks to the Bolton family and Chris Ridley)

Andrew’s family were evacuated from Hong Kong, where his father was working at the time, a few days before the Japanese invasion. As a consequence, Andrew was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1940 despite the family having its roots in the Northeast of England. They returned to the Newcastle area when Andrew was 13 years old, where he excelled in science and maths at school.

He studied electrical engineering at King’s College in Newcastle which then was a federal college of the University of Durham. This qualification led Andrew to a career in high voltage electrical engineering working on the design and building of power stations, high-power distribution networks and the electrification of railway lines. His work took him around the world working in Australia, South Africa, Indonesia and Jordan as well as England and Wales, continuing to work well past retirement age due to his expertise. He very much enjoyed passing on his skills to a younger generation of engineers.

Andrew was a very practical chap (except we believe for gardening) and often made and repaired things. He also enjoyed puzzles and cryptic crosswords and listening to classical music.

Andrew and Shirley were married in snowy December 1963, enabling them to spend their honeymoon on a skiing holiday. Andrew was elected to the College Youths on 12 October 1965 while living in Melbourne Australia. This most probably was the result of him participating in a peal of Kent Treble Bob Maximus (first peal of Maximus rung outside the UK) with the band on the 2nd Great Adventure to Australia. His peal total rung between 1961 and 2015 was 48 peals in total – 40 on tower bells with 8 in hand. His working life resulted in him being a member of many societies around the world, ringing peals in a variety of countries.

He learnt to ring in the Newcastle area at a rounds and call change tower but was soon noticed by Ron Warford leading to him ringing his first peal at St George, Jesmond. Andrew was tower captain at both Newburn on Tyne and Jesmond and taught many ringers there, including Andrew Craddock. His sons remember that before the bells were installed in Johannesburg, ringing involved handbell peals and quarters rung in the living room at their home. Andrew and Shirley formed the Parktown Tune Ringers and arranged much of the music for the team. Andrew and Shirley were also members of the Universities Association.

They had recently celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary with their two sons and grandchildren and were pleased to receive a card from the King. Retirement saw him and Shirley living in Surbiton where he became a regular and much-loved member of the Kingston upon Thames band, ringing over 100 quarters there. He particularly enjoyed ringing the tenor to cover odd bell methods.

Andrew died on 23 August 2024 aged 83 after a period of poor health, although he continued to participate in Service ringing, last ringing for the King’s Coronation on 6 May 2023. His funeral was a celebration of his life and well attended by family, friends, members of the UA and local ringers.

A quarter peal was rung in affectionate memory of Andrew Crea Bolton. Thomas recorded the quarter and you can view it on his YouTube channel.

Quarter peals rung In memorian – Andrew Bolton and this quarter in Melbourne.

by Fraser Storie

Twas a sunny, mid-July morning, when I found myself on a trip to the
Flavells’ house, due to me being kindly invited to go on the Kingston bell ringers’ annual expedition, this year – a fast-paced one day trip. Kate Corney was behind the organisation, with Paul Flavell overseeing the operation (most notably making sure the lunchtime menu contained Fish & Chips!). The base was the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, meaning all towers were grabs for me.

The highlight tower was the ring of 12 at Cirencester. The tower here contains a mid-weight ring, with an extremely boomy 27cwt tenor tuned to Db. Ringing here included several bursts of Rounds on 12, Plain Hunt on 9 & 11, Grandsire Caters & Little Bob Royal.

The pack then began its afternoon circuit getting closer to home as it
went on. Our lunch venue was The Masons Arms, Meysey Hampton. We had the luxury of the longest table in the pub thanks to Kate C informing them of the numbers. Paul gave positive remarks about his Fish & Chips and I gave my positive remarks about the very sizeable burger! Depending on how exhausted we were after our lunch, we either walked or drove to the local ring of 6 in Meysey Hampton. Our method repertoire was exercised here with Grandsire & Stedman Doubles and even Surprise Minor on the menu.

The remaining towers included: Down Ampney, a tricky ring of 5 where we came across Mr Simon D G Webb, someone I’ve seen on the interwebs many times but never in real life! Paul was excited about ringing here as Down Ampney is also the name of a hymn tune, Mark Underwood gave us a jolly recital of it!

Cricklade were next, Ground floor 6 with the rope circle resembling more of a square, with ropes in the corners, complete with an excruciatingly long draught.

Our final stop was Rodbourne Cheney, a surprising coincidence as a recent name in the visitors book was Fred Mills, ex-Surrey Striker who lives in the area now. These were a true delight to ring, a pleasant course of Stedman Doubles was rung, amongst other things. During our visit we were serenaded by a guitarist downstairs! We all made us of the facilities at Rodbourne Cheney before heading home, via a rather wet M4!

My thanks to the Kingston Ringers, in particular Kate C for excellent
organisation and to Paul & Kate Flavell for chauffeuring me around.

Our newest recruits – friends Ed, the two Maxes – Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award participants, reflect on their bell-ringing experiences.

Ed

I am Ed and I have taken up bell ringing for my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. The Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award is a way of doing challenges with an award; I have taken this up with my school as many do. I have to do volunteering, physical and skills development. I chose bell ringing for the skills development part. I chose bell ringing because my grandma does bell ringing and I was always fascinated by how the bells worked so I saw this as my best opportunity to do it. 

For my award I had to be able to ring rounds on up to 12, be able to ring call changes on at least 6 bells and be able to ring plain hunt on one of any bells.

Some highlights of bell ringing are being able to ring plain hunt on the treble, second and third bell. Another highlight of bell ringing would definitely be going to all the different churches with the Surrey Association young ringers, the Surrey Strikers, and ringing the bells.

One of the things I like about bell ringing is the sociability of it, just getting to know everyone in the tower was very fun for me as everyone is so nice.

In the future I am looking forward to being able to ring complicated pieces like Cambridge Maximus or Stedman but that is still very far from this point.

Keeping it in the family!

Ed pictured ringing with his grandmother. They recently rang a quarter peal together. Ed’s first! A special occasion – you can like it on Bellboard.

Max

I started learning bell ringing for my bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. The Duke of Edinburgh award is a youth programme set up to encourage self-reliance, responsibility, social interaction and teamwork and is active in over 144 countries. I chose to start learning bell ringing for the Skills element of my Bronze award, alongside my friends Max and Ed, whose grandmother is a ringer and introduced us to the tower captain at All Saints Church in Kingston. I have really enjoyed learning to ring, and my favourite part is going to different
towers across the country and meeting new people. In the future I hope to learn more methods and visit more towers.

Max C

We are continuing with tradition and when a second person joins the tower with the same name, the second person needs to use their surname initial and forever be called that, sorry Kate C and Max C!

“I started bell ringing in late February 2024 as I was looking for a fun, interesting activity to do for my skills section of my DofE. The DofE is comprised of 3 sections, skills, physical and volunteering, and an expedition. I chose my skill to be for 3 months as I didn’t expect to continue bell ringing but as soon as I started I got stuck in.

Some of my friends, Max and Ed, had started it before me and recommended it as they seemed to enjoy it and it would tick off a section of my DofE. I was taught by two lovely spirited people, Paul and Kate, who helped me become the great bell ringer I am today. It really is quite the skill and so took me some time to learn but after I had gotten the hang of it I really started to enjoy it.

It’s really interesting also to see the history of bell ringing on the walls of the ringing room – it seems to be a part of the Kingston community since the 19th century, maybe even further back. To complete my section I had to learn bell ringing up level 2 and participate in various social events. However it was only after I had completed it that I realised how fast it had gone by. The whole experience doesn’t feel like work and more like a fun hobby.

One of the highlights of my bell ringing journey so far would definitely be exploring different bell towers and trying to ring their bells. You get to see different towers and ring different bells, and belong to a strong community. I am looking forward I hope to become more able in different pieces such as plain hunt and then method ringing.”

Rounds, call changes and Plain Hunt for Ringing Out for Peace – 80th Anniversary of D-Day Landings

Kate and Paul Flavell were recently nominated for a Kingston Celebrating Communities Awards 2024 in the category ‘Unsung hero’ – celebrating dedication in a volunteer role. The event recognised the amazing contributions volunteers and communities across Kingston, and was organised by the Empowering People, Supporting Communities Partnership, a partnership of Voluntary and Community sector and the Council.

The nomination came from fellow Kingston bell ringers who have benefited from their dedication, So-Shan Au, with contributions from Kate Corney and Dwenna Georges. Although they didn’t win – there were 27 nominees in their category – they are winners in our eyes. Congratulations Kate and Paul!

“Kate and Paul Flavell are the epitome of unsung heroes within the bell ringing community. Their tireless dedication and commitment to the art of bell ringing make them exceptional candidates for the Unsung Hero award in Kingston’s Celebrating Communities Awards 2024.

For years, Kate and Paul have devoted countless hours to the preservation, promotion and teaching of ringing, a tradition that’s ingrained in the cultural heritage of Kingston and Britain. What sets Kate and Paul apart is not only their technical proficiency in ringing but also their passion for sharing this ancient craft with others. 

They have selflessly volunteered their time to teach newcomers: their willingness to mentor and support aspiring ringers has played a pivotal role in ensuring the continuation of this timeless tradition. They taught me in 2018 as part of the national campaign to recruit ringers for Ringing Remembers. Recently, they have been teaching and encouraging three 14-year-olds for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, devoting a lot of time and effort to pass on the traditions so that ringing continues to have a future.

Kate has been a member of the Kingston band since 1978. Paul joined the band in 1985 and assumed the role of Tower Captain at All Saints in 1988. Throughout these many years, they have instructed numerous learners in bell ringing and have overseen the care of the bells at Kingston, where we are fortunate to possess 12 magnificent bells. They maintain a sufficient number of ringers for regular church services (both Sunday morning and evensong ringing), civic events, celebrations, and memorials. Additionally, Paul sees to it that the flag is raised on designated flag flying days and to commemorate other significant occasions throughout the year.

Kate and Paul’s contributions extend far beyond the confines of their local church tower. They actively participate in regional bell ringing events, and have taken on voluntary roles within the broader ringing community. Paul is currently Master of the Surrey Association of Bell Ringers. Kate was Vice-President (2008-2011) and then President of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (2011-2014) – plus, both have been judges for countless ringing competitions. 

Kate and Paul approach each ringing session with boundless enthusiasm and a genuine love for the craft. Through their generosity and commitment to the art of bell ringing, they have touched the lives of countless individuals and enriched their community in ways that will resonate for generations to come.”

Some of the Kingston bell ringers joined the Surrey Association Northern District outing in London on Saturday 18 May 2024, expertly organised by John from Wimbledon. It had great bells and an interesting and circular tour around London. I did 16,6000 steps that day!

Tower 1: St Dunstan in the West, Fleet Street (10 bells)

Tower 2: Christ Church, Spitalfields (8 bells)

Tower 3: Southwark Cathedral (12 bells)

Tower 4: St John’s, Waterloo (8 bells)

More photos can be seen on the Surrey Association’s Facebook page.

Thursday 9 May, 18:45-19:30
Ascension Day service

Saturday 11 May, Surrey Association AGM Godstone
Tea 17:00; Meeting 17:30

Saturday 1 June 10:00-11:30
Visiting ringers from Guildford

Thursday 6 June 6:30-6:50 pm Ringing out for Peace
(80th anniversary of D-Day, part of wider Kingston & UK celebrations)

Sunday 16 June Civic Service at 11:00
Ring from end of 09:30 service

Saturday 6 July, Ordination service 11:00
Ring for ordination service for Sarah

Saturday 13 July
Kingston bell ringers outing to Cirencester area

Sunday 14 July, Quarter Peal for Sarah at 17:00-18:00
Sarah will be taking her first communion Sunday 14 July morning after being ordained priest the week before.

Sunday 21 July (after evening ringing)
Annual Kingston bell ringers BBQ

Congratulations!

Happy 60th wedding anniversary Andrew and Shirley!

A diamond wedding quarter peal was rung for Kingston bell ringers, Andrew and Shirley Bolton at All Saints Church on Sunday 10 December 2023 to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary celebrations (taking place 21 December 2023).

Go like it on Bellboard.

You can view a video snippet (by kind permission of Thomas Ashwinsiejkowski) of the special #turramurrasurprisemajor#quarterpeal on Instagram.

If anyone from the ringing world knows them from their time ringing in the North of England, Australia or South Africa, get in touch and we will pass on your wishes to them.

Congratulations from the Kingston bell ringers! ❤️🥂