USSCR the beginning.
A personal reflection by Richard Major
A chance meeting
Fresher’s week 1971 in a KUB room of the newly opened 4th Court (later named Cathedral Court). I had graduated the previous summer and had turned up to support Chi Rho, after my arm had been twisted to stay on and conduct research into stresses in flanged pipes. I was feeling rather lonely without the fellow students I knew well. Here is a picture of me before graduating (with hair!) in my room in Bourne (for younger members, the device I’m holding is a slide rule).
Back to 4th Court (Research tells us that Fresher’s Week started on Monday 27th September). A group of Freshers were sitting around discussing the relative merits of different Universities when Loughborough was mentioned, giving me a cue to butt in and remark that at least Loughborough had a bell foundry. This was pounced on by a large cheery face saying “Are you a ringer?” allowing me to respond “After a fashion.”
The cheery face belonged to Paul Williams who confessed that he had done “a little ringing” (failing to mention all his peals) before going on to enquire about local ringing. Since I was a call change ringer, who had occasionally visited local towers with Dick Gray, I could not really answer but once it was determined that a University Society did not exist we decided to start one.
On reflection this could be considered a foolish act since Paul would not teach bell handling (I never found out why) and, being a call change ringer, I was not really equipped to teach the bell control required for Change Ringing (in fact I’m not sure if I had encountered the term before).
It is easy to say “let’s start a society”, but the hard work of giving it a name, producing a constitution and having this approved by the Student’s Union took a considerable period of time. However this was completed within the first term, witnessed by a report of the first AGM reported in The Ringing World on the last day of 1971.
Getting underway
Paul identified that St Nic’s did not have a regular band and negotiated that the new society could use these bells. Fr. Goddard, the parish priest, welcomed us but kept a close reign on proceedings by insisting that we collect the key before each session and return it afterwards. Paul also worked at recruiting members, largely from his fellow Civil Engineering students (making work for me to teach them bell handling) but also Stephen Franklin, Joe Leary and Mary Sutcliffe who were all existing ringers (my apologies if my memory has not got this right after nearly 50 years!).
The details are not clear in my mind but I suspect we spent Wednesday afternoons teaching handling and then attempted open ringing in the evening.
A link with the past
Before one early teaching session I remember being addressed by a small elderly lady with round metal rimmed spectacles who asked if I was one of ‘the students’. I responded positively but had no idea I was speaking to Miss Evonne Eloie, the Tower Secretary and the only link with the previous band. She went on to provide great support to the society before eventually being elected our President in 1980, a post she held until her death in 2009 (aged 105).
Annual Dinners
The society weathered the first year and was boosted by more competent change ringers joining in 1972. Paul surprised me by suddenly announcing that we should have a Ringer’s Dinner and he pushed the idea forwards by booking the Senate Restaurant for the 25th November. I remember his delight when he announced that he had negotiated peas at no extra charge. It is worth noting that Paul was quite clear that this was not a one-off event demonstrated by the wording of the advertisement.
The 2nd Annual Dinner was arranged by John Murrey Roberts and, thanks to Tom Kingdon we have full details here.
Note that the price had come down!
At the end of this dinner I was cornered by David Hird who persuaded me that if I would ring the treble we could raise a band for a Service Quarter Peal of Little Bob Royal on Sunday morning (https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1407866). I think this was the first time I had seen 10 bells being rung to changes!
In recent years Paul insisted that the original dinners were held on the 2nd Saturday of November but these documents show that his memory was not infallible. For several years the numbers attending the dinners increased until they topped 100.
Handbells
On another occasion Paul suggested that we should acquire a set of handbells – something else new to me. I had no memory of how we obtained them but trawling the Comic I found an advert dated June 23rd 1972 as follows:-
This must have eventually produced a response and funds were secured allowing 15 handbells to be duly purchased. I have a recollection that they came from Highclere and that Paul and I set off one winters evening to collect them. My ‘wheels’ at the time were a Ford Escort 100E of an age when zone toughened windscreens were common (you might need to look this up). On our way back a stone struck the windscreen which, as intended, fractured into many small pieces but stayed intact with a clear patch in front of the driver. Paul, as passenger, had his sight obscured and instantly punched his fist through the windscreen which caused us to have a very cold drive back to Guildford.
Visitor support
Although the society gradually attracted more ringers no account would be complete without mention of two non-members who contributed greatly. I refer to John Leary and Graham Smith.
I suspect John moved to Guildford early in 1972 (perhaps April or May). We were underway one Wednesday evening when this bespectacled figure walked in carrying a full length furled umbrella. With a smart short haircut and neat clothes he looked quite out of place for a university group at the time. He announced that he was a ringer who had just arrived in the area and that he was called “Gnome”! When surprise was expressed at the name he took off his coat and turned round to reveal a waistcoat with a gnome on it – no further explanation of the name was forthcoming. He certainly helped me improve my ringing but I have encountered many ringers who viewed him in the same light. I recall that he arranged a day at Ash where each ringer was tasked with improving their skills. I had been asked to learn London Surprise Minor, which I just about had, caught hold to be told that it would be Wells instead!
Graham came to teach at the local college and again enriched the society. I remember one Sunday he announced that if we could learn Norwich Minor by the following Wednesday he would turn in the tenor of the back six. I think he was quite confident that he would not be called upon to ring this, but he was wrong and he earnt his pint that evening.