Stephen Wood by John Eisel
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The Weekly Journal for No. 5140 October 30, 2009 Price £1.70 Church Bell Ringers since 1911 Editor: Robert Lewis Stephen Wood by John Eisel tephen Wood was the son of the Vicar of where the amusing incident of ringing handbells S Almondsbury, and was born in 1906. He in gasmasks took place (RW p.850). He lost his learned to ring in 1917, the year in which he life in an air raid on 24th November 1940, and joined the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan this has been recounted recently in these pages Association as a member of Almondsbury (pp.704 & 750). It is one of those sad tower, although his name does not appear in an coincidences that Clifton parish church was annual report until that for 1920, the first report destroyed in the same air raid. that was issued after 1915. Also listed under Almondsbury tower were Mrs G. R. Wood and Stephen Wood’s personal records Miss M. Wood, who, I assume, were members The Central Council Library has four items of his family, although these names soon that belonged to Stephen Wood, including part lapsed. Stephen Wood rang his first peal, of of his detailed peal records. He kept a book in Grandsire Triples, at Almondsbury on 25th which he collected a variety of compositions, April 1925. Slightly surprisingly, this was mostly by other people, but including some of credited to the Bath and Wells Diocesan his own, and noted where he had rung them. Association. Later that year he went up to They include his well-known composition of Cambridge, where he naturally joined the Stedman Caters, in which most of the bobs Cambridge University Guild, of which he was come in pairs, and this is dated at the bottom Master from 1926 until 1928. At that time the ‘Jan. 11. 1933’. On the opposite page is a CUGCR had an active handbell band which pencilled note which states that it was ‘First included C. W. Woolley and F. E. Haynes. rung Sat. April 29 1933 at St Stephens, Bristol. After Cambridge, early in 1929 Stephen Conducted by J. T. Dyke – for my wedding’ Wood left to take up a position in Glasgow, Also on the technical side is a ring-binder, where he anticipated that there would be no the typed title page stating that it was ‘A peal ringing for some time. In the event, he Register of Surprise Major Methods, with an called a peal of Bob Major at Paisley on 2nd explanation of the method of indexing.’ This is March 1929, the band being all resident in dated 1936 and seems to be related to his work Scotland, although in the absence of a Scottish for the CCCBR Methods Committee. He had Association it was credited to the Durham and Stephen Wood: a photo taken not long before been elected an Honorary Member of the Newcastle Diocesan Association: the band the outbreak of war Central Council in 1931 and became a member would have liked it to be credited to the College of the Methods Committee in 1936. Youths, but there was a lady in the band. the first peal credited to the new Association, Then there are his personal records. He kept On 30th October 1930 the St Mary’s Grandsire Triples at St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh, an outline of his ringing career in a small hard- Cathedral Society, Glasgow, was founded by on 4th June 1932. However, later that year he backed notebook, and in this are listed the Stephen Wood, all of whose other members had moved to Nottingham for a short while, before ringing association of which he was a member, been taught to ring by him. Handbell ringing moving on to Bristol. He was married in 1933, and the year in which he joined: a list of the 116 was used as a means of teaching change and perhaps for this reason he rang no peals in peals that he rang: a list of the towers in which ringing, and on 28th June 1931 Stephen Wood that year, and his name doesn’t appear in the he had rung, in chronological order by year: called a peal of Bob Major ‘in hand’ from 5-6, Gloucester and Bristol D.A. annual report until and finally a list of touches of more than 700 it being the first peal at the first attempt by the the following year. At that time he was an changes that he had rung. The latter list is not other three members of the band. unattached member of the Bristol Branch, but complete, as after the details of a touch of 704 At this period, at the suggestion of Stephen the report for 1938 records him as a member at changes ‘in hand’, rung in the tower of St Wood, the Scottish Association was founded at St Andrew’s, Clifton, where he had established Margaret’s, Westminster, on 29th June 1930, he an inaugural meeting held in St Mary’s a local band. His last peal, Stedman Caters at St wrote ‘discontinued’. Cathedral, Edinburgh, on 23rd April 1932. Mary Redcliffe, was rung on 9th March 1940, I have kept the most interesting (to me, at Stephen Wood was the first Master and called and this was his 116th peal. This tower was least) item to last. This hard-backed book is 1086 – The Ringing World October 30, 2009 described on the front page as ‘Peals and Peal Attempts, successful and unsuccessful.’ He was careful to add ‘N.B attempts for the same peal on one day are counted as one attempt.’ Examination shows that in the case of many unsuccessful attempts, and for some of the (Founded by John S Goldsmith) successful attempts, he gave a frank assessment Official Journal of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers of the ringing. Clearly the book was for his own private use and not intended for 35A High Street, Andover, SP10 1LJ publication, but after a lapse of so many years, Telephone: 01264 366 620 Fax: 01264 360 594 Editor: Robert A Lewis and the demise of all those mentioned, General Manager: Chris Darvill publication of parts of it may now be E-mail addresses – editorial: acceptable. Accordingly I have selected some [email protected] of the more interesting material, but there is [email protected] [email protected] much that will not be quoted. [email protected] There are 148 attempts listed in the book, E-mail addresses – administration: and of these 66 were successful and counted as [email protected] [email protected] peals. Each attempt is numbered, and the [email protected] successful attempts are also numbered [email protected] separately in red ink. The book starts with the [email protected] RW Web Pages: http://www.ringingworld.co.uk peal at Almondsbury mentioned above, and this may mean that it was rung at the first attempt. POSTAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy, 3 months £16.15 That was certainly not the case for a local band One copy, 6 months £29.90 peal at Almondsbury, which was only successful One copy, 12 months £55.00 at the eighth attempt, the first of which took Overseas Western Europe (incl. Eire) £70.00 place on 17th April 1926, commented on in the Rest of World (Surface) £73.50 following terms: Rest of World (Air Mail) £86.00 ‘The striking was not good on the whole, Remittances, payable to The Ringing World, An early-20th century postcard of chiefly owing to the unfortunate ringer of the should be addressed to the RW office. Almondsbury Church The Ringing World Bankers: CAF Bank 5th having cramp in his arm and also a Sort Code 40-52-40. Account No. 00095085 headache. Just before the 9th Part end there 1926, the band including F. E. Haynes, C. W. Copyright was a bad jiffle, and Rounds came up at the Woolley, and the Revd H. B. Woolley. The Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. 9th P.E, showing that 2 and 3 were over, and footnote stated that ‘This was the first peal for Printed by Visa Press Ltd, Tadley, Hampshire. also 5 and 6.’ Published by The Ringing World Ltd. © The the above Guild in which a father and son Ringing World Ltd. 2009. All Rights Reserved. The The term ‘jiffle’, used again later in the book, have taken part.’ copyright in this newspaper may not be used, The repertoire of the handbell band was not sold, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole ought to be added to the ringing vocabulary! or in part in any manner or form or in or on any Occasionally the comments on the various limited to Bob Major, and attempts for DNCB media to any person without the prior written attempts at Almondsbury were very much to are recorded. One such was lost on 1st consent of the publisher. Photographs and September 1926 at Grappenhall Rectory, on the manuscripts submitted to the newspaper are lent the point. Thus for the attempt on 28th August at the owner’s risk; neither the publisher nor its 1926, which lasted about an hour, he wrote: CUGCR ringing week, when it was noted: agents accept liability for any loss or damage. ‘The ringing was good; just after the 4th ‘Hooton, after putting in a bob at 1 only The Ringing World Limited P.E had come up the rope on the 3rd slipped- just in time, missed the next one at 4. (It was Registered Office: wheel and the bell set in.