Bells set to ring out to mark 100 years since the end of the Great War

As the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War approaches, the Dorset County Association of Church Bellringers is calling for new recruits to mark the occasion.

The association is aware of 60 Dorset bell ringers who died in the war, including those from Chideock, Rampisham, Litton Cheney, Maiden Newton, Lyme Regis, Broadwindsor, Corscombe, Whitchurch Canonicorum and Stoke Abbott.

A spokesman for the association said: "When the bells rang out on the November 11, 1918, many promising young bell ringers were missing. At the time, bells were at the heart of the community, marking events of great significance and communicating to people long before modern technology connected us. Bellringing has always had a much wider function than its role in the church."

After the war, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers wrote to all bell towers to compile the Roll of Honour. At the time, 1,077 men were reported as lost. More recent research has uncovered more than 300 ringers who died in service. In total, some 1,400 bell ringers lost their lives in the Great War.

Education Officer Jane Pridmore said: “I think there are probably nearly 60 people out there who started to learn to ring bells in the past. The Dorset County Association of Church Bell Ringers (DCACBR) has been training ringing teachers with assistance from the Association of Ringing Teachers and funded by the Dorchester Markets Car Boot Fund. These teachers are now looking for both new recruits, and returning ringers, to follow ‘The Learning the Ropes’ Scheme. This 21st Century programme aims to break down what can be a complicated process into a series of small, achievable steps.

“Returning ringers who have some experience already have a good chance of being ready to ring for the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. But, if we get started soon, it should be possible to get even raw recruits up to standard for November 11, 2018.”

For more information, visit bells@big-ideas.org