The meeting was held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Guild Master - Pete Jordan, supported by Vice-Master - Allan Yalden, Hon. Gen. Secretary - Adrian Nash, Hon. Gen. Treasurer - Helen Woolford, Minute Secretary - Tony Smith and Webinar Hosts - Andrew Glover and Peter Niblett, opened the meeting at 3 p.m. with a short prayer. The Master welcomed everyone and thanked them for making the effort to attend, he thanked all those involved in setting up the meeting, and explained how the Webinar would work.
The following 69 members and three guests attended: Judy & Andy Sparling (St. Lawrence, Alton), David Atkins and Carole Pym (Alverstoke), Heather Frazer, Lynne, Pete & Greg Jordan, Stephen Lutener and Helen Woolford (St. Michael, Basingstoke), Simon Poyser (Bentley), Stephen Noyes (Brighstone), Marie Boniface (Catherington), Peter Cripps and Robin Milford (Curdridge), James White (Dogmersfield), David Forder, and Ruth & Derek Jackson (Eling), Shân & Adrian Nash (Eversley), Roger Barber (Hawkley), Lucy Hopkins Till (Highclere), Andrew Craddock, Jinny Kufluk, Christine & Ian McCallion, and Tessa & Tony Smith (Hursley), Maggie Hiller (Kingsclere), Jennifer Churchill (Lockerley), Roger Booth (New Alresford), Fiona Sayers and Pauline Stokes (Odiham), Madeline King (Petersfield), Ian Carey and David Mattingley (Portsmouth Cathedral), Allan Yalden (Purbrook), Andrew Glover (Romsey), Martin Barnes, Nici Collins and Joseph Sharp (Rotherwick), Vivien Nobbs (Ryde), Helen & Roger Thomas (St. Mary Bourne), Jane Le Conte (St. Peter Port), Nick James (Selborne), Betty Daysh and Matthew Wilks (Shedfield), Mary Tester (Shorwell), Jenny Watson (Sparsholt), Maureen & Hugh Routh (Steep), Charlotte & Edd Colliss (Swanmore), Mike Winterbourne (Tangley), Dianne & Lyndon Hatfield (Titchfield), Lucy & Michael Church (Upton Grey), Nicky & John David (Vale), Peter Niblett (Whitchurch), John Colliss, Mike Hopkins Till and Bruce Purvis (Winchester Cathedral), Christine Knights-Whittome (Wonston), Trisha Shannon and Edmund Wratten (unattached) and Jonathan Barclay Smith, Patricia Davidson and Judith Williamson (guests).
Apologies for absence had been received from Barbara Townsend (Andover), Maggie Ellis, Terry Oram, Betty & Mike Rice, and Peter Rowe (St. Michael, Basingstoke), Peter Clarke (Bishopstoke), Paula Houlden (Bishop’s Waltham), Margaret & Barry Downer (Brading), Carol Ward (Candover Valley), Louise Wodehouse (Goodworth Clatford), Christine & Peter Hill (Hursley), Bridget Farren (Kingsclere), Carol Higgins, John Palk and Sheila Piper (Lockerley), Sue Bennyworth, Peter Green and Mary Sterry (Lyndhurst), Sallie & Andy Ingram (Milford-on-Sea), Polly Osborne (Minstead), Elizabeth Johnson (New Alresford), Jeff Ford (Newnham), Sally Airey, Ian Banecki, Martin Bentley, Graham Deverill, Janet Farmer, Diana Fawcett, Shirley Fitch, Neil Gibbons, Sue Goff, Sue & Alan Hoar, Tony Liddiard, Jan Orsborn, Marion Swalheim and June Tinsley (Odiham), Alan Bentley, Liz & John Davey, Ann & Paul O’Hare, and Chris Wright (Ringwood), Sue & Paul Bailey, Alan Giles and Tony Walker (Rotherwick), Maureen Kelly, Joan Parry and John Stock (Ryde), Sarah Cooney (St. Mary Bourne), Kieran Downer (Shanklin), Chris Ford (Sherfield-on-Loddon), Penny Evans (Soberton), Barry Fry (St. Barnabas, Southampton), Jenny Watson (Sparsholt), Kim Gibson (Upham), Greg Painter (Wickham), Philip Carter, Mary Edelsten, Helen Ellerby, Kate Kernick and Trish Spink (Winchester Cathedral), John Croft and Ray Walsh (unattached).
The meeting remembered members: Jill Barker (St. John, Bournemouth), John M Davies (East Meon), Geoffrey K Dodd (LM) (Highclere), Nicholas Hussey (Overton), R Roger Savory (Hon. Gen. Secretary 1959 to 1965, Master 1968 to 1977, LM) (USA), Peter Smith (LM) (Freshwater), Renee Sturgess (LM) (Fareham) and Derek F Yates (New Alresford); and former members: Derek Ashford (Ryde), Ian Cole (Chale), Mike Collett (Ryde), John Denham (Twyford), Christine Elliot (Brading), Betty Forrester (Milford-on-Sea), John Foot (East Meon and Catherington), Terry Hargreaves (Curdridge), Brian Lovelock (Hursley), Jack Luscombe (Shanklin), Norah Morey (Chale), Heather Pollard (Bishop’s Waltham), Derek Shutler (All Saints, Alton), Matthew C Webb (St Mary, Portsmouth) and Myrtle Weir (Carisbrooke). The Master said a prayer.
The minutes of the 2019 AGM at Freshwater were adopted on the proposition of Allan Yalden, seconded by Mike Winterbourne, and signed by Tony Smith, on behalf of the Master, as a true record.
There were no matters arising.
Catherine Daish-Miller (Niton), Paul Daish-Miller (Chale), Dianne M Hatfield (Titchfield), H Lyndon Hatfield (Titchfield) and Helen Piper (Kingsclere) had completed fifty years’ ringing membership of the Guild. The Master congratulated them and hoped that either himself or one of the principal officers would be able to present them with their certificates before long (applause).
On behalf of the Executive Committee Mike Winterbourne proposed, and Bruce Purvis seconded, Christine Knights-Whittome for election to life membership in recognition of her exceptional services to the Guild.
Mike said “Just occasionally, you meet someone who gives their skills freely to deliver friendly support to new members of their tower, through utilising their organising abilities supports their tower in the events both ringing and social. Furthermore, encourages the District by holding office and welcoming all ringers to the District events. Continued to use her various organising, catering and warmth to support Guild Education Days, and to arrange the ordering and delivery of the Guild Sweaters and Shirts until very recently.
“Christine’s support to everyone she meets is warm and welcoming. At Tower level she rang at Goodworth and Upper Clatford, taking on many tower roles plus regularly supporting other local towers and now rings at Wonston. Christine was the Andover District Treasurer during her stay at the Clatfords. Worked diligently as part of the Education Committee ensuring promotion of the events across the Guild, organising the groups, feeding the multitude at the Listening Courses and ensuring a range of delicious cakes at the end of every course. Christine has been supportive of the Guild at all levels.”
The motion was carried nem. con. and the Master congratulated Christine on her election (applause).
There were no comments and the reports were adopted en bloc on the proposition of Allan Yalden, seconded by Adrian Nash.
The Hon. Gen. Treasurer said funds remain steady, there had been five grants approved during the year, the accounts had been independently examined and would be submitted to the Charity Commission.
Roger Booth had questioned, in an email sent the day before, the way in which the accounts were presented. The Hon. Gen. Treasurer said improvements to the presentation would be considered while still meeting the Charity Commission requirements (SORP).
Roger had also suggested in the email that the Trustees conduct a thorough review of their reserves and investment policy, including how the reserves might be best spent, for example the level of grants, and how routine and preventative maintenance could be encouraged, including minor improvements of bell installations, and maintenance of the fabric, especially in the light of the current pandemic and its aftermath, and suggested that the Trustees report back to the next AGM. The Hon. Gen. Treasurer said the suggestions would be considered.
David Mattingley did not think using average expenditure over a few years was a particularly good or useful measure of the state of the fund. As a Trustee, he would hate to be in a position where a really good, ambitious project came along for, say, £250,000 and we wouldn’t be able to support it, whereas at the present we could support two such projects. More could always be done to let members, vicars and churchwardens know funds were available.
David Mattingley reported that the Trustees met on 6th September and received an application for grant from SS Peter & Paul’s, Hambledon. A gudgeon failed on the 2nd bell in September last year with the bell falling into its pit. The work is to replace the gudgeons on all bells and replace the clapper bearings at a cost of £21,662 plus VAT. The Trustees recommended a grant of £3,000, which was approved on the proposition of Bruce Purvis, seconded by Tony Smith.
Adrian Nash read a report of the 2019 meeting (see Appendix A) and Allan Yalden read a report of the 2020 meeting (see Appendix B).
The Master accepted Michael Church’s offer to report on the AGM of the Ringing World Ltd which was also held during the Council meeting. Michael said that the Board of Directors seem to have failed to get a grip of one or two areas. First of all there are some statutory points which seemed to have slipped: the annual meeting failed to start at the stated time in accordance with the Companies Act; the accounts contained paragraphs about the status of the Ringing World, cut and pasted from the previous year, that were sadly incorrect; and motions passed last year had not been filed at Companies House. As far as the finances of the Ringing World are concerned, the turnover for the year was fairly similar to the previous year at nearly £290,000 but the accounts showed a loss of £10,000. Donations for peals and quarter peals usually run at £50,000 per annum but, due to the pandemic, the Treasurer indicated that the loss in the current year is likely to be £35,000. The Directors have also assessed that the cost of closing down the Ringing World would be £110,000. If the donations slip away during the course of 2021, so will the reserves that currently total at just over £200,000. The Directors did not apply for a Covid grant and neither did they apply for rates relief. If print subscriptions fall much further, the journal will become uneconomic to produce and, to survive, the Ringing World needs to embrace technology quickly or it will become an online-only journal. The Directors failed to grasp the fact that the societies think rightly that they own the paper through their CC representatives and the meeting was unimpressed by the attempt to change that status. The article by the Chairman in this week’s issue is talking about trying to increase the circulation by 30% but that seems rather wishful thinking, in view of the low level of subscribers at 2,500. They think the paper is read by 9,000 ringers but again that is mere conjecture. The Ringing World does need support and particularly the request for any sort of performances to be accompanied by a donation at the increased value.
A paper had been circulated (see Appendix C). The status of the different key need areas were summarised by the area leaders: Communications by Adrian Nash, Young ringers by Helen Woolford, Recruitment and retention by Mike Winterbourne, Education by the Master and Heritage by Allan Yalden.
Bruce Purvis asked whether the communications database is a subset of the membership database and whether there are any people on the communications database who aren’t on the membership database. If that isn’t the case, Bruce suggested you’d be better off combining both databases with a field for permission to receive communications. Roger Booth explained that the design was a consequence of the technology they had chosen.
David Forder was concerned that practically everything that had been said implies electronic communications but we still have members who don’t have access to the Internet. Adrian said the communications database supplements, but does not replace, traditional Guild communications. We have a legal obligation to inform membership of the AGM and that is still carried out by post in some cases, where necessary. He saw no reason to suppose there would be any plan to replace the current flow down from Guild Secretary to District Secretaries to towers. David still thought there was a danger in having second-class citizens and that we needed to be careful not to lock out people who are not comfortable with electronic communications. The Master emphasised that it was not the intention that the new communications database would be the only form of communication. Adrian added that there was an obligation under GDPR to hold members’ information securely.
Roger Booth had suggested, in an email sent the day before, that the Guild Officers should work with each of the Districts and the Guild Committees and consult with members to develop Covid-19 recovery plans covering the next three years 2021 - 2024 and that each District should have a plan with S.M.A.R.T objectives [acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely]. He further suggested that these plans should be published by April 2021 so that they are in place ready for regular ringing to resume. The Master said the suggestions would be considered.
(A) Tony Smith proposed and the Master seconded that the rules be amended to reflect the Channel Islands District’s decision to transfer to the Salisbury Diocesan Guild. The motion also clarified the “Guild area” and removed a long-standing disagreement over the plural of “diocese”. Specifically that the following rules be amended by deleting the words struck through and inserting the words underlined.
1. OBJECT To unite the Church Bell Ringers in the Diocese of Winchester and the Diocese of Portsmouth (hereinafter called ‘the Guild area’) …
2. CONSTITUTION … The Very Rev The Dean of Guernsey, The Very Rev The Dean of Jersey, … The Diocesan areas Guild area shall be divided into Districts …
5. GENERAL MEETING …, District 8 Channel Islands …
6. MEMBERSHIP … the two diocese Guild area … (five occurrences in a, d and e).
7.d ELECTIONS … the two diocese Guild area …
8.d SUBSCRIPTIONS … the two diocese Guild area …
17. CENTRAL FUND Seventy per cent (fifty per cent from the Channel Islands District) of all subscriptions …, except in the case of the Channel Islands District where fifty per cent is retained, …
BRF 3. AIM … within the Diocese of Winchester and the Diocese of Portsmouth …
The Master explained the background to the motion. Because the precise timing of the transfer has still to be determined, and to avoid the Channel Islands District being left in limbo, Tony proposed and the Master seconded an amendment, adding the following sentence to the preamble:-
“Notwithstanding Guild rule 24 the amendments shall become effective on a date determined by the principal officers after consultation with the Salisbury Diocesan Guild and the Channel Islands District.”
Both the amendment and the substantive motion were passed nem. con. by the required majority.
(B) This motion was withdrawn. It had been placed on the agenda in case the Channel Islands District decided to remain in the Winchester & Portsmouth Diocesan Guild.
(C) Helen Woolford proposed and the Master seconded that, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, and notwithstanding Guild rule 8.a, the next subscriptions for those who were members of the Guild in 2020 will fall due on 1st January 2022 (so that subscriptions paid in 2020 also cover 2021) and, notwithstanding Guild rule 20.c, instead of an Annual Report for 2020, a Biennial Report covering 2020 and 2021 shall be published. The motion was passed against three votes.
| 21st November 2020 | Executive Committee Meeting | |
| 20th March 2021 | Executive Committee Meeting | |
| 15th May 2021 | Inter-Tower 6 & 8-bell striking competitions | |
| 12th June 2021 | Inter-District 8-bell striking competition | |
| 12th June 2021 | AGM | |
| 10th July 2021 | RWNYC |
It was agreed on the proposition of Simon Poyser, seconded by Adrian Nash, that the next AGM be held on Saturday 12 June 2021 in the Alton and Petersfield District.
The Master said that several Guild Committees, especially the Communications, Striking Competitions and Education Committees, were in urgent need of more members and called for volunteers. He also announced that, for personal reasons, Adrian Nash was resigning as Hon. Gen. Secretary at the end of this meeting. He said that Allan Yalden and Tony Smith had offered to help in the interim but he hoped a replacement could be in place for the Executive Committee meeting in November. In response to an enquiry from Fiona Sayers, the Master said that job descriptions for all the vacancies would be made available in the coming weeks.
The Master read a letter of support from the Bishop of Portsmouth (see website).
The Master read an update on the WW1 Centenary Commemoration Project (see Appendix D).
Roger Barber reported on proposed works in two churches in the A&P District. The ring of five bells at St. Mary’s, Newton Valence have been inspected and condemned by John Taylor & Co. and so should be listed as unringable. Quotes are awaited from three church bell engineers and they are likely to be for a total rehang on a new frame and fittings as there is evidence the old oak frame has been bashing the wall for quite some time. There is also work proposed at SS Peter & Paul’s, Hawkley where the three old bells will be fitted with new canon-retaining headstocks and adjustable clapper staples to improve the ringability. Quotes are awaited.
Further to item 3 on the agenda, Michael Church pointed out that Roger Savory had been a distinguished Guild officer and asked that his service be recorded in the minutes.
Viv Nobbs proposed a vote of thank to all officers especially Adrian Nash. The Master added that Adrian had done a great job over the last fifteen months and we would miss him.
David Forder echoed what Michael Church had said about Roger, and said two very old friends had passed away recently: Roger was one and Geoff Dodd was another. One could talk at great length about Geoff, once you’d met him you’d never forget him. He did an enormous amount, particularly in the Andover District, and getting unringable bells ringable. He said Geoff was one of the longest serving Guild members at the time he died, having been elected in 1947. David was concerned whether or not a proper obituary was being written and Tony Smith said that one was being prepared by Colin Turner. [Post-meeting note. Published in The Ringing World issue of 2 October 2020, pages 974 to 976]
There being no further business, the Master closed the meeting at 4.52 p.m.
[After the meeting the Master announced the results of the draw for the W&P 200 Club conducted by Robin Milford and Wendy Smart on 22nd September. The winners were as follows (given by club number, name and prize amount)
13 Allan R Yalden £17.00; 15 Viv Nobbs £6.80; 25 Nikki Brown £3.40; 35 Piers Armstrong £3.40; 6 Pete Jordan £1.70; 28 Peter Hill £1.70.]
Adrian Nash, CC representative, Winchester & Portsmouth Guild of Bellringers
The weekend started on Friday afternoon and evening with opportunities to visit some open towers. (We only had time to go to one tower - St. John the Evangelist, Waterloo Road)
Ringing World AGM
The first main event was the Ringing World AGM. It was reported that the RW is in reasonably good financial shape now, showing a small surplus. It was noted that the directors found it encouraging that so many subscribers wish to stay on printed copy - which helps to bring in more revenue. So far this year, there have only been 50 switches to online only. A motion was passed to move the legal authority of the “Charitable Object” of the RW from the “Religious” category to the “Educational” category. It was suggested that this better reflected the RW’s remit as a charity and the proposed change had already been approved by the Charities Commission. There were two opposing comments and six supporting comments. In the vote, there were only 7 against and 6 abstentions, so the motion was passed by the membership. The editor, Robert Lewis will be retiring,
The Chairman, Canon David Grimwood presented his report and tributes were paid to Robert for his many years of service. Bill Hibbert did not seek re-election. The remaining directors offered to re-stand and were elected. The independent examiners Langdown PFK were re-elected by a show of hands.
CCCBR AGM
The AGM began with reports from the new workgroups: Volunteering & Leadership, History & Archives, Stewardship & Management and Technical & Taxonomy. For volunteering & leadership, the key focus is on retention and recruitment, especially for young people. A suggestion was made that a subscription to the ringing world could be a present from a Grandparent for example. CCCBR no longer recognises “Ringing Centres” and does not set standards for so-called ringing centres.
Instead, ringing centres will self-assess their fitness to function as a ringing hub based on the principle of “are we making a difference?”
The Stewardship & Management workgroup are focusing on “Hot areas” namely, noise (both loss of hearing and neighbours), deaths from bell ringing and safeguarding.
Technical & Taxonomy focussed on the 11th edition of “Dove” and the new Dove Database which is being set up. Currently for various reasons the Dove “App” is only available on iPhones. Work is on-going to merge George Dawson’s data with the Dove data and resolving the discrepancies.
Volunteering & Leadership’s plan for 2020 is focussed on building partnerships e.g. ART & the Ringing World, Diocese and Historic England and doing more outreach work. A feasibility study looking at a direct membership scheme (of the CCCBR) is underway. There is also a push to deliver more focussed bellringing services including funding for another Bradfield-style course. This could be funded out of an excess in the “Ringing Remembers” grant.
Following the work-group reports, came the elections. Simon Linford was elected as the new president, proposed by Phillip Barnes, seconded by Linda Garton. Unfortunately Simon could not be at the AGM in person, but he did prepare a video which ended with a delightful rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on tower bells! The next meeting in 2020 will be in Nottingham on 5th September.
The Ringing Roadshow
The ringing roadshow was simply brilliant - speaking as a newcomer to the CCCBR! I attended a number of workshop sessions including: Insurance & Bellringing - all you need to know, presented by Marcus Booth from Ecclesiastical, Building a bell sound, by Bill Hibbert and Making Bells presented by Tom Westley. My wife Shân (also a CCCBR rep) attended workshops on Safeguarding, Stewardship & Management and social media. All the presentations were well done, engaging and with plenty of opportunity to ask questions. Outside of the sessions, the exhibition provided a huge variety of interesting things to look at, “play” with and lots of interesting people to chat to. There was everything from mini-rings, bell ropes and clocks to handbells, books and simulators. I can’t wait to go to the next meeting in Nottingham.
The Zoom format was such that only the 4 key Exec members were visible, not the whole 134 CCCBR members in Zoom audience.
W&P represented online by Michael Church, Mike Hopkins Till and ARY with apologies from Shân and Adrian Nash.
The meeting was long without a lunchbreak (what had we done wrong to deserve that?) Starting at 10.30 a.m., a break at 12.45 for just 5 minutes, the meeting was forced to adjourn at 2.15 p.m. for the Ringing World AGM (scheduled to start at 2 p.m.). That too was longer than usual, and the CC meeting recommenced at 3.45 p.m. after only a 15 minute break! The meeting finally finished at about 4.30 p.m.!
Most items rolled on without great debate; the elections were uncontested.
The Guild of Clerical Ringers is now affiliated to the Council. Later in the meeting, their Rep offered to help reinforce relationships and the understanding between ringers and the clergy which is a promising offer.
The CC is proposing to hold training courses (à la Hereford Course, Essex, Bradfield) in parts of the country that do not hold courses currently e.g. NW (Lancaster / Manchester), NE, SW … Note that the earlier CC courses offered by the CC, called MTM included Management, Teaching and Maintenance. Now, doesn’t that look as if both M fit very closely with SMWG?
The CC item that took the time was that about the affiliation of small societies. This had already been aired at length in the Ringing World. It was eventually passed with 100 for and 28 against, plus 4 abstentions. Yes, a clear decision but clearly far from straight forward. The issues are too numerous to mention here - read the previous RW articles and I am sure that more will follow, including in the minutes. There was certainly logic to sorting the issue of direct membership of the CC (a commitment in the CRAG proposals) before adding small societies, but we shall see what the Direct Membership Discussions now bring and of course, which small societies wish to affiliate. The issue of Safeguarding in small societies was a key topic in the debate but that should now be supported by Ann White and Dave Basford.
This last point is probably the most noticeable difference between Registered Small Societies and current Affiliated Societies. Registered Small Societies would be able to contribute to the Council’s thinking and debates and would have a sense of belonging, but they would not exercise control. There is consequently no risk that the Council’s accountability to its existing Affiliated Societies, through their Representatives, will be diluted.
Finally, the Registered Small Societies status, including reduced subscription, will be available to any Affiliated Societies whose numbers have declined below 100 and who no longer meet (or feel that they might soon no longer meet) the membership requirement for affiliation.
Future CC and RW AGMs will be on 4th Sept 2021 Nottingham (St Mary’s Church) with some associated training activities open for all during the weekend, but without any “roadshow” style activities. 2022 - no venue scheduled, 2023 Suffolk, 2024 Devon. What the training activities may be is unknown.
The following framework sets out what Guild Officers will work towards over the next few years. Having an Action Plan in place will enable ideas to develop, provide continuity and ensure the Guild is striving to be a relevant entity for its members.
The vision is of a central administration which can provide resources, educational initiatives and public relations representation advice and support, using resources to best advantage whilst encouraging Districts to be more independent and flexible in what they offer in terms of local day to day ringing.
The Action Plan can be developed in detail as appropriate and will significantly take into account members’ feedback including matters of budget. It will be reviewed annually to monitor progress.
actively seek feedback from members
hold at least 2 all-Guild ringing events each year to encourage all ringers to come together
encourage young ringers to come together to ring, socialise and to participate in ringing contests; advise and remind them of the available financial support via the Training and Development Fund
encourage the districts to be more independent of central control and be flexible in their own ringing programmes and events; support local efforts as required, including reminding Officers and members of the available financial support via the Training and Development Fund
encourage more members to be involved in Guild volunteer efforts resulting in a gentle shift in age profile in the Guild’s activities and administration
offer various training courses, reminding potential applicants of the available financial support via the Training and Development Fund; encourage ‘relevant experience’ volunteer assistance for the courses including administration support
update the website generally, including the inventory of Guild resources available to members, and their location
encourage much wider engagement of the Guild’s website and social media and uptake of the electronic newsletter ‘Weekly News’ to:
enable ‘fresh’ information to be displayed and circulated
ensure enhanced communication with ringers and community
offer positive benefits to visitors to the sites including such as Learning to Ring, information of training events, ringing activities, by taking up the electronic newsletter ‘Weekly News’
continue to consider and work towards the Guild Database of Members
review and support the work of all Committees and Young Ringers’ groups; seek out potential ‘relevant experience’ volunteers and encouraging them to offer help
be a point of contact for all ringing matters for Diocesan and national bodies, the community and the media
review areas of Guild administration and responsibilities to improve effectiveness and remain accountable, including to third parties
Budget: £700
Membership Database
Roger Booth and Andrew Glover have risen to the challenge of getting the membership database up and running and have also started working on the communication channel using Mailchimp. It is chiefly through their superb efforts and enthusiasm that it is now starting to come together. Thank you very much Roger and Andrew.
A newsletter was sent out to members via WINPORT and those who had registered with the Membership database through the Guild Website.
We have 1496 members. About 23% of these so far are registered and the number is growing.
Seek out and encourage more ‘relevant experience’ volunteer assistance for the website Timescale: ongoing
Investigate improved communications channels. Timescale: June 2020
Mailchimp has proved to be the most cost-effective and easiest to get working.
Seek out and establish a small group of ‘News Ambassadors’ in local areas to work alongside the Communications Team. Timescale: ongoing
This has not been very effective in practice and may to some extent have been taken over by members’ natural desire to communicate their news by social media directly albeit obviously in an uncoordinated, highly informal manner.
Review GDPR policy and provide relevant training and guidance to key district and guild officers. Timescale: June 2020
A GDPR policy has been formally approved by the Guild and is now in place and may be reviewed on the Guild web-site.
Budget: £0
Work with the safeguarding officer to increase awareness of both the safeguarding policy and review available training for protection of young and vulnerable people. Timescale: January 2021
Push out safeguarding policy to all towers. Timescale: January 2021
Gain knowledge of towers where young ringers are based and work with these towers to maintain and increase easy access to the Young Ringers’ groups training and events, and available financial support. Timescale: March 2021
Assist districts with strategies for recruitment of young ringers at a local level and creation of local young ringers’ groups. Timescale: June 2021
Work with young ringers to develop a programme of Guild events specifically designed for them (outings, competitions etc.). Timescale: June 2022
Budget: £40
Garner available and appropriate resources, including financial, to ensure there is a continuous supply of new ringers and that they are well-trained and motivated for the long term benefit of all. Timescale: June 2022
Consider new opportunities for recruitment initiatives at local level. Timescale: Sept 2021
Learn to ring events. Timescale: March 2022
Investigate opportunities to assist with funding of recruitment and retention. Timescale: March 2022
Identify and publish towers able to train new ringers on behalf of struggling towers, as well as for their own benefit. Timescale: March 2022
Develop ‘new ringer welcome pack’. Timescale: March 2021
Budget: £0
Across the Guild area, support educational initiatives, especially those improving the quality and sustainability of ringing and ringing teaching. Timescale: June 2022
Encourage ‘relevant experience’ volunteer assistance at local training events. Timescale: June 2021
Develop strategies to provide key support for training at district level. Timescale: June 2021
Budget: £150
Consider further action to protect our heritage, including undertaking and archiving audio recordings of bells for future generations, and photographing peal boards and other significant historic artefacts. Timescale: To seek a volunteer or more to gather firstly the audio by end of 2021 and then the peal board pictures using lessons learned from the initial action by end 2022. Help may also be needed from the Comms team.
Develop local training for Steeple keepers to help maintain bells for the future. There is support for this from the S&M workgroup of the Central Council. A spanner’s group is thought to be possible as each towers requirement has a different engineering challenge. Timescale: end 2021
Investigate ways to support local tower maintenance through the BRF, maintenance groups or centralised resources. Timescale: see above
Continue with update and completion of the bell stock survey. A trial is in place to link this to the Dove website Timescale: June 2021
‘Firsts Fortnight’ - Autumn 2019 (October 11th - 27th)
‘First Peal 2022’
Open Day with Mini Ring 2022
Any other significant events to be considered and arranged.
Rev 1.3 23/08/2020
The archive printed volumes are available to us all by mutual arrangement with Winchester and Portsmouth Cathedrals. The digital archives have been available on our website https://wpbells.org/ww1/ since 19th May 2019 and were last updated on 26th December 2019.
We recognise that there are special performances taking place still; please email the performance details to ww1bells@aol.com and we will be pleased to record them in the digital archive. This is likely to continue until August 2021 - the date to be confirmed in due course. We aim to post the next updated version of the digital archive on the website early 2021.
Thank you all for your time, efforts and encouragement.
Viv Nobbs
for the WW1 Centenary Commemoration Team