The Guild Master - Mike Winterbourne, supported by Vice-Master - Pete Jordan, Hon. Gen. Secretary - Heather Frazer, Hon. Gen. Treasurer - Ros Brandwood and Minute Secretary - Tony Smith, opened the meeting at 3.48 p.m. with a short prayer. The Master welcomed all present, thanked the Vicar, Rev. Leisa Potter, for taking the service and for her address, Chris MacKay for playing the organ, the incumbents of the various churches for the use of their bells, the Isle of Wight District for hosting the event and the Freshwater ladies for providing the lunch and tea (applause).
Peter Niblett from Whitchurch had judged the Inter-District 8-bell Striking Competition at Brighstone that morning. The following results had been announced at Freshwater Village Hall after lunch and certificates presented to the team captains.
| Position | District | Method | Faults | Peal speed | Drawn | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Isle of Wight 2 | Grandsire Triples | 27 | 2h47 | 4th | |||||
| 2nd | Alton & Petersfield | Grandsire Triples | 42 | 2h45 | 3rd | |||||
| 3rd | Basingstoke | Grandsire Triples | 44 | 2h49 | 2nd | |||||
| 4th | Isle of Wight 1 | Grandsire Triples | 60 | 2h54 | 1st |
The following 38 members and one guest signed the attendance book: Mike Novell and Liz South (St. Lawrence, Alton), Ian Rees and Margaret Smith (All Saints, Basingstoke), Heather Frazer, Lynne & Pete Jordan, Steve Lutener and Helen Woolford (St. Michael, Basingstoke), Simon Poyser (Bentley), David Cooper (Blackmoor), Ros Brandwood (Burghclere), Robin Milford (Curdridge), Richard Fenton (Freshwater), Tony Smith (Hursley), Susan Smith (Milford-on-Sea), Roger Booth, Elizabeth & Andrew Johnson (New Alresford), Jill Taylor (Newchurch), David Mattingley (Portsmouth Cathedral), Allan Yalden (Purbrook), Elizabeth & John Davey (Ringwood), Viv Nobbs and Maureen Kelly (Ryde), Clarence Challoner, Mary Tester and Mary Waters (Shorwell), Mo & Hugh Routh (Steep), Steve Castle and Barry Fry (St. Barnabas, Southampton), Charlotte & Edd Colliss (Swanmore), Mike Winterbourne (Tangley), Michael Church (Upton Grey), John Colliss (Winchester Cathedral), and Bill Perrins (St Andrew, Sydney).
Apologies for absence had been received from Peter Rowe (St. Michael, Basingstoke), Ruth & Derek Jackson (Eling), Shân & Adrian Nash (Eversley), Brian Curtis (Fawley), John Palk (Lockerley), Andrew Glover (Romsey), John Stock (Ryde), Michaela Nadal (Stockbridge), Peter Niblett (Whitchurch), Bruce Purvis (Winchester Cathedral), Christine Knights-Whittome and Gary Marsh (Wonston) and John Croft (unattached). Further apologies were received from Matthew Dancy (All Saints, Basingstoke) and Greg Jordan (St. Michael, Basingstoke).
The meeting stood to remember members: Francis Ensor (Buriton), Chris Strong (St. Mary Bourne), Graham Grant (LM) (Winchester Cathedral), Alan Sturgess (LM) (Fareham) and Maurice Stupart (Alderney); and former members: Ian Cole (Chale), Michael Goodall (Froxfield), Mary Harper (Sherfield English), Norah Morey (Chale), John Rawson-Smith (Farley Chamberlayne), Ivor Trueman (Romsey Abbey) and Joyce Warstat (Selborne). Barry Fry said a prayer.
The minutes of the 2018 AGM at St Michael, Basingstoke were adopted on the proposition of Tony Smith, seconded by the Hon. Gen. Treasurer, and signed by the Master as a true record.
There were no matters arising.
Brian Curtis (Fawley), Robin Milford (Curdridge), Richard G Sherfield (Bentley) and Martin Waldron (Hursley) had completed fifty years’ ringing membership of the Guild. The Master presented Robin Milford with his Life Membership certificate (applause). Brian’s certificate was taken by Elizabeth Davey, Richard’s certificate was taken by Mike Novell and Martin’s certificate was taken by Tony Smith.
There were no comments and the reports were adopted en bloc on the proposition of John Davey, seconded by Barry Fry.
There were no comments on the Report and Accounts.
David Mattingley reported that the Trustees met three times a year, before the two Executive Committee meetings and before the AGM. The Trustees had received two applications for grants: All Saints’, Odiham for overhauling three clappers, two pulleys, rope guide and steel beams at a cost of £15,407 excluding VAT; St. Michael’s, Basingstoke for refurbishing clappers at a cost of £2,903. The Trustees recommended grants of £2,300 and £450 respectively which were approved on the proposition of Ian Rees, seconded by John Davey.
Tony Smith explained that when our AGM was held later in the year than the Annual Meeting of the Council, the CC Reps elected at our triennial election AGM did not take office until the start of the next Council triennium the following year, for example, our current CC Reps were elected in 2016 to serve from 2017 to 2020. However, under its new constitution the Council has abandoned the triennium and societies can now change their representatives at any time. The current CC Reps have kindly agreed that the CC Reps we elect today will take office immediately and so be able to represent the Guild at the 2019 Council meeting in London on 7 September (instead of having to wait until 2020) and, in the future, our CC Reps will take office immediately on election like all the other officers.
Pete Jordan proposed by Mike Winterbourne and seconded by Jon Soar.
Allan Yalden proposed by Viv Nobbs and seconded by David Mattingley.
Adrian Nash proposed by Heather Frazer and seconded by Lynne Jordan.
Helen Woolford proposed by Michael Church and seconded by Ros Brandwood.
Tony Smith proposed by Heather Frazer and seconded by Mike Winterborne.
Bruce Purvis proposed by Heather Frazer and seconded by Tony Smith.
Edd Colliss proposed by David Mattingley and seconded by John Colliss.
John Palk proposed by John Davey and seconded by Elizabeth Davey.
Michael Church proposed by Viv Nobbs and seconded by Pete Jordan, Allan Yalden proposed by Viv Nobbs seconded by David Mattingley, Mike Hopkins Till proposed by John Colliss and seconded by Bruce Purvis, Adrian Nash proposed by Viv Nobbs and seconded by Mike Winterbourne, Shân Nash proposed by Viv Nobbs and seconded by Ros Brandwood.
John Davey proposed by Mike Winterbourne and seconded by Allan Yalden.
Viv Nobbs proposed by Elizabeth Davey and seconded by Barry Fry.
Peter Clarke proposed by Ros Brandwood and seconded by Tony Smith.
David Mattingley proposed as the Portsmouth Diocese Trustee by Edd Colliss and seconded by Allan Yalden.
Barry Fry proposed as the Winchester Diocese Trustee by Mike Winterbourne and seconded by Heather Frazer.
The retiring Master invested the new Master with the Master’s Badge (applause) and the new Master took the chair. The retiring Hon. Gen. Secretary and the retiring Hon. Gen. Treasurer remained in place until the end of the meeting.
Viv Nobbs read a paper (see Appendix A).
Viv Nobbs read a paper (see Appendix B).
Ros Brandwood gave an update on the Project’s finances. The Executive Committee had authorised spending up to £1,000 from reserves and £1037 had been raised specifically for the project; the two presentation books had cost £990 which together with costs associated with the Cathedral services, such as contributions to the service books and refreshments, took the total expenditure to approximately £1,750. She said this was a very satisfactory financial outcome and was grateful to those members who had not claimed their expenses.
Mike Winterbourne especially thanked Rachel Anderson and Steve Lutener for all their work.
Papers supporting the following motions had been distributed with the agenda.
On the proposition of Gerald Lambert, seconded by Sue Spurling, the transfer in accordance with rule 13 of Stockbridge from the Andover District to the Winchester District was agreed.
On the proposition of Heather Frazer, seconded by Ros Brandwood, the amendment of Bell Restoration Fund rule 8.a to reduce the application time required for a BRF grant from two months to one month was agreed by the required majority.
| RWNYC | 6th July 2019 | Pier Head, Liverpool | ||
| Essex Trophy competition | 14th September 2019 | Christ Church, Southgate | ||
| Education Course | 12th October 2019 | Listening Skills, Lockerley | ||
| Executive Committee Meeting | 16th November 2019 | St Barnabas’ Church Hall | ||
| Education Course | 23rd November 2019 | Belfry maintenance, Hawkley | ||
| Education Course | 23rd November 2019 | Plain hunt & trebling to Doubles, Hawkley | ||
| Executive Committee Meeting | 14th March 2020 | TBC |
After discussion it was agreed that this would be held on Saturday 13 June 2020 in the Alton and Petersfield District.
Andrew Johnson outlined the programme for the 2019 Central Council meeting in London from Friday 6 September to Sunday 8 September and said it was open to all ringers.
Ros Brandwood asked that all retiring and new BRF Trustees meet immediately after the AGM.
Mike Winterbourne had attended the United States Ambassador’s reception on 9 April and had received several congratulations on the Guild’s website.
Viv Nobbs thanked the outgoing officers (applause).
Mike Winterbourne had copies of the Salisbury Diocesan Guild Great War Memorial Booklet for sale.
There being no further business, the Master closed the meeting at 4.47 p.m.
[After the meeting Robin Milford conducted a draw for the W&P 200 Club. The winners were as follows (given by club number and name) and Robin would calculate the prize amounts and publish them on the Guild website.
18 Tony Smith; 6 Pete Jordan; 11 David Hughes; 9 Margaret Winterbourne; 25 Nikki Brown, 34 Margaret Downer.]
Thank you to the Principal Officers for inviting me to update members today in my capacity as recent Immediate Past Master. I’d be very happy to answer questions briefly, chat in more detail after today’s meeting and at an Executive Committee Meeting or District Representatives’ Forum, if invited to do so.
Our Guild’s Action Plan 2015-18 took account of needs identified by our members. It has given us all, if we’ve chosen to engage, a plan to work with as a team to enable ideas to develop, provide continuity of actions and to help move our Guild towards being even more relevant to its members.
So, specific goals were listed as:
holding two or more Guild events each year to encourage all ringers to come together
encourage Districts to be more independent of central control and to be flexible with their own programmes and events
produce and display on the Guild website an inventory of Guild resources that are available to members
to become a point of contact for all ringing matters for diocesan and national bodies
encourage young ringers to come together to ring and to socialise and to be involved in the Guild to encourage a gentle shift in the age profile
review areas of Guild administration to improve effectiveness
continue to seek feedback from members
establish a new website and a Guild membership database
support educational initiatives, especially those improving the quality and sustainability of ringing and teaching of ringing
reform and review of the Belfry Stewardship Committee
host the Central Council’s Annual General Meeting weekend in 2016
provide the material for the Ringing World calendar
host an Association of Ringing Teachers Annual Conference
arrange an event to mark the Centenary of the end of World War One and to record commemoration ringing
Recruitment Drive and consider “Retention of Ringers” to encourage church service ringing and the cultivation of change ringing.
The main element of the Action Plan not achieved was the creation of a Membership Database. The number of Communications Team volunteers - formally serving as committee members and by way of informal support - has been insufficient to carry this major project through to a conclusion as yet. The formation of the new website took a considerable amount of Communications Committee resources, supported by the two long-serving committee members who had developed and maintained the previous website. In 2016, Graham Hounslow then serving as a committee member, kindly produced an analysis; in his conclusion “Next Steps for the Guild Database” he reinforced the view that appropriate I.T. skills were needed to take this project forward.
A DRAFT Action Plan for 2019 - 2022 was presented to the March 2019 Executive Committee Meeting; copies are circulated here today. The likely way forward is that our new team of Principal Officers will wish to review overall with all committee convenors and Executive Committee Members; all recorded feedback to date, including the recent Guild Education Survey and Have Your Say event in Winchester, can be considered and used to enhance the draft for maximum benefit and our new Action Plan can be agreed.
Based on my findings as Master, Immediate Past Master and Public Relations Officer during the lifetime of the previous Action Plan, here are some of my own observations for your consideration:
having an Action Plan has served us well. It has provided a focus on what members wish to be achieved. Good, possibly improved, outcomes can be achieved by identifying specific needs and encouraging members to enthusiastically offer their skills, ringing or otherwise
for increased benefits, I would love to see even more engagement of individual members by way of increased contact. An example is by way of a tower appointing a “News Gatherer” to positively seek out news and cascade down to all its ringers regularly
it would be great to see individual members much more aware of the benefits of using the existing channels of their own District’s Executive Committee Representatives. The Executive Committee has a good deal of influence and is available for us all to use in a very positive way.
I’d like to see much more pro-active direction from individual members via their District’s Executive Committee Representatives; this would include formal proposals reflecting the District’s wishes and suggestions, including how the Guild’s funds could be used to members’ maximum benefit
either on an informal basis, or if individuals wish to serve on a committee, our Guild needs an ongoing supply of willing volunteers, in a number of areas such as:
Education courses - actual help on the day and ongoing “Admin”
I.T. skills: to help review and refresh the Guild’s website to ensure it is kept up-to-date and, alongside Principal Officers and the “Executive”, to further consider the implementation of the Membership Database
local “News Co-ordinators” to support the Communications Team
assisting with the completion of the Bell Stock Survey
further developing and maintaining the supply of fresh news on the Young Ringers presence on the website
by liaising with our Guild’s Librarian and the County Archivist, harvesting of bell audio recordings, as suggested by the Hampshire Records Office.
We do not wish to be complacent in any way but great results have been achieved by our “W & P” Guild - the ringers, towers and Districts. As a former Isle of Wight District Chairman, “Doc. Williamson”, would have said “More power to your elbow!”
Viv Nobbs
From Day One, it was understood that ringers would do their very best to respond to the nation’s call to honour those who had given their lives in The Great War. Each tower would naturally arrange with their own church and community to give of their best.
Our WW1 Centenary Commemoration Project was born out of members’ feedback I had received at Annual District Meetings, early on in my term serving as your Guild Master, and the subsequent “Future Event” item in our Guild’s 2015-2018 Action Plan. It was agreed that the project budget was to be discussed at Executive Committee Meetings.
We wished to collate details of as many special memorial ringing performances, relating to those who had died as a result of WW1, that had taken place by Guild members or in the two Dioceses. We planned to harvest existing records, encourage all ringers to participate in special ringing and to gather up the archive material in two identical printed and bound volumes. These archives were to be presented to our Cathedrals as a mark of respect for those who made the supreme sacrifice for us all.
Both our Cathedrals were approached for us to join their local congregations at special services, to offer up all of the Guild’s ringing for the souls who had been lost in the dreadful WW1 conflict. Mike Winterbourne, then Master, was keen to show the services as a “Thanksgiving”.
Every tower and ringer at whatever experience level has had the opportunity to participate in this mammoth exercise and we’re pleased to say that the majority did. There were in the region of 1,400 archived records since 1914 from handbell ringers and 193 towers.
A team of three had started the project’s activities and research. During the last two-and-a-half years the team was expanded to 11 to deal with the volume of work: there was ongoing research, “I.T.”, fund-raising including “Tommy’s Travels”, vital art work, printing and proof-reading, Public Relations, including discussions with the various third parties - their support is acknowledged in the archive books - and the significant organisation of the two Cathedral services and refreshments for ringers and invited dignitaries.
Our Communication Team and WW1 Team dove-tailed very well together to give project updates to the outside world and to help ensure that all ringers, including the new Ringing Remembers folk, had access to monitor project progress and activities. There were many extra volunteers from towers and Districts who offered their help willingly as and when needed. All were much valued and brought their own enthusiasm, knowledge and skills to the tasks in hand.
The services took place in May 2019 after a great deal of liaison with both Cathedral Teams over several years; they have supported us well, alongside both Dioceses. The services were well-attended, much enjoyed and the beautiful archives recording performances to 30th November 2018 were presented. The Chamborough Ring was enjoyed by many all afternoon at Winchester and we recruited several new ringers there. The occasions raised the profile of ringing greatly in the community.
The project gave us all many occasions to work even closer with our churches and local communities. We are pleased to report that feedback from ringers and non-ringers relating to the archives, the services and the project overall has been complimentary indeed; it seems our very ambitious project has been seen as a resounding success.
The archive printed volumes are available to us all individually by mutual arrangement with the cathedrals. The digital archives have been available on our website since 19th May and will continue to be updated. This is likely to continue until August 2021 - the date to be confirmed in due course. Please continue to submit your special performances by emailing ww1bells@aol.com
Thank you everyone for all of your time, efforts and encouragement over many years now.
Ros will give you an update now of the Project’s finances.
Viv Nobbs
15th June 2019