The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

Merseman · Joined: 07 Aug 2013 Posts: 327 Location: Duns, Berwickshire

I was watching an episode of seminal 1963 documentary "The Great War" last night, towards the end of which the Battle of Cambrai was covered. It mentioned that - for the first time since the start of the Great War - all the church bells were rung to herald the victory: there was quotes from some eyewitness at St Pauls - it ran their victory peal for the first time since the end of the Anglo-Boer War in 1902 - but also comments on the fact that it was really no more of a victory than certain previous battles and many of the gains were subsequently lost.

I had always thought the bells were rung for the taking of Jerusalem but I note that occurred about the same time as Cambrai, late November/early December 1917, so perhaps the two were considered together.

Famously during WWII many church bells were not to be rung, other than to warn of invasion, but they were ordered to be rung to celebrate victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942.

Are there other cases in history - during the World Wars or before - of the ringing of the bells?

David_Underdown · Joined: 01 Aug 2013 Posts: 7

Ringing bells following news of victories is an old tradition - there was at least one full peal rung following Waterloo, I'm pretty sure there are accounts of ringing after Trafalgar too.

Unlike WWII there was no general ban on ringing during the First World War, though there were some restrictions under DORA, for much of the war ringing was prohibited after dark (there were fears that the sound of the bells might help guide German aircraft to populated areas). One vicar was fined for ringing a single bell for service (as specified in Church of England Canon Law), despite protesting to the magistrates that he was merely chiming it, not ringing it (which would mean allow it to turn full circle).

Of course most ringers then were men, many of military age, so towers struggled to keep ringing simply because so many men had joined up. This did lead to efforts to recruit younger lads, and women, as ringers. Women were starting to ring more commonly in the early part of the twentieth century anyway, the first all-women peal being rung at Portishead a year or two before the war. For those not familiar with changeringing, a peal lasts around 3 hours (or more like four at places like St Paul's, Exeter Cathedral, York Minster and Liverpool Anglican Cathedral where the heaviest bell is 3-4 tonnes), and each bell will have sounded over 5000 times, a bell turns a full circle between each time it sounds (in fact just slightly more), as the clapper strikes the inside of one sid eof the bell and then the other. 1264 ringers are known to have been killed, or died as a result of, the war as shown on the roll of honour of the Central Council for Church Bell Ringers.

Once war was declared peal ringing dropped off quite sharply - unlike ringing for Sunday service it was largely for the enjoyment of the ringers, which was felt to be out of keeping with the public mood. There was one week in late 1914 or early 1915 when the Ringing World had no peals to report. As war became more normalised, totals crept up a little, though now they were often halfmuffled to mark the passing of locals, increasingly as a result of the war. Halfmfufled ringing is still the norm around Remembrance Day (I rang in a half muffled quarter peal at St Mary's Putney yesterday to mark Armistice Day, one of our ringers was killed at Langemark). Of course 11 November had no real significance until 1918 (though it is the feast of St Martin, patron of soldiers), but tehre was often halfmuffled ringing around the beginning of November, for All Souls' Day - during the war this was often specifically dedicated to the war dead. Also the first Sundays of 1915 and 1916 at least (I'm not sure about 1917 and 1918) were declared as National Days of Prayer and Intercession, these all saw much halfmuffled ringing.

I'm currently working my way through the wartime issues of the Ringing World, pulling out mentions of ringers who were serving: regular rolls of honour of those serving were published, and of course reports of death and serious wounds, and more happily gallantry decorations and commissions. Ringers are also mentioned with their rank (and unit) in many reports of regular ringing - towers have traditionally been open, and there were often notices published encouraging ringers stationed in local camps to attend practices while they were nearby, it's also clear that when given leave, one of the first things many men did on returning home was to head back up the tower. There are also reports of hand bell quarter peals being rung in camps in the UK, and even overseas.

I haven't yet reached the end of 1917, so I can't comment specifically on Cambrai.

In the Second World War, there was a temporary lifting of the ban for Alamein as yous ay, but again many places struggled to actually find people to ring the bells. The ban was permanently lifted from Easter 1943: there are still a few ringers around who are 1943ers - taught to ring as youngsters after the lifting of the ban (some places did try to keep things gonig with handbell practices, and/or tied bell pratice - which is to say that the clapper is tied in such away that it cannot stirke the side of the bell).

David_Underdown · Joined: 01 Aug 2013 Posts: 7

I've now tracked down the details of the Waterloo peal I mentioned, in a report from June 1915:

jrah60 · Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 7:37 pm Post subject:

Excellent article!
A superb Roll of Honour for the Church Bell ringers.
John

Merseman · Joined: 07 Aug 2013 Posts: 327 Location: Duns, Berwickshire

Thanks for those wonderful posts David - very interesting and illuminating.

It would be intriguing to find other instances where bells were rung widely or by command for victories or suchlike. It strikes me that a victory being marked by bellringing is rather like an individual receiving a state funeral. Both rare privileges, for those very prominent in the public consciousness.

David_Underdown · Joined: 01 Aug 2013 Posts: 7

I have now found some Cambrai ringing, and for the capture of Jerusalem, and had started to post it, but my computer has decided to reboot while installing a Windows update (this from my phone).

Up to around the mid-19th century when clergy (particularly High Churchmen wrested back control, though it required an Act of Parliament) wrested back control, ringing was largely secular, effectively a sport, despite the fact the bells were in churches. Ringers would ring for whatever took their fancy: the return of the squire, the arrival of the stagecoach, and events of national importance. Specific ringing newspapers date from 1891 (with dedicated pages un church newspapers from a little earlier), but ringing was often reported in local and sporting papers before that - there are some recent published compilations that the Library of the Central Council has published (though the earlier ones are themselves now out of print): those would be the best place to look for other victory ringing
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David

Researching the men named on the Surrey Association of Church Bell Ringers roll of honour

David_Underdown · Joined: 01 Aug 2013 Posts: 7

Here we go now my computer's back up again:

David_Underdown · Joined: 01 Aug 2013 Posts: 7

Mention of the Armistice reminds me that I have this photo (rather blurred unfortunately)

All Saints' Fulham peal book entry for Armistice Day 1918 by David Underdown, on Flickr
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David

Researching the men named on the Surrey Association of Church Bell Ringers roll of honour