On August 21st Michael Uphill “circled the tower” at Southwark Cathedral to peals for the 5th time. Congratulations to Michael on this monumental achievement.

During the celebrations at the “Market Porter” afterwards, late evening conversation turned towards some sort of article for the Ringing World and the unanimous verdict of the band was that Michael should write a story himself.  So here is Michael's enjoyable write up which you'll see shortly in the newsletters and "RW".  He adds, "If any of it, to use a phrase from Charles Dickens’ famous account of his visit to the College Youths at Southwark, “…savours a little of patting oneself on the back,” I apologise in advance, unreservedly".

The story starts 49 years ago almost to the day when my long association with Southwark Cathedral tower commenced with my first ring there, on August 23rd, 1961, my 50th tower!  Fast forward four years to July 3rd, 1965, the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of St Saviour’s as the Cathedral Church of the new Diocese of Southwark at a service attended by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. We had been asked to ring a peal to mark the occasion. I was going to ring the tenor at the age of 17. The story is taken up in Chapter 7 of my book, “Tales from the London County Crypt  (to be published in October – watch for “RW” ads – there had to be a plug, didn’t there!).

“My … first attempt at Southwark Cathedral was on July 3rd 1965. This, by request of the Cathedral Authorities, was an attempt being made by Monty Meyer’s Sunday evening company to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Diocese… Alas, after an hour and forty minutes, the emergency telephone (connecting the vergers’ vestry with the ringing room) rang and Hadley Hunter’s attempt to continue ringing and answer the telephone at the same time brought the ringing to a precipitate conclusion. A film crew was filming at the west gate of the churchyard “ A Study in Terror”, in which Sherlock Holmes tracks down Jack the Ripper, and had asked the vergers to stop the bells. Vergers today know better! The film is occasionally aired on late night television and I make a point of staying up and watching the angry crowd scene at the Cathedral gates just so that I can shake my own fist and curse the film director!”

We subsequently and successfully re-ran this peal, so my first at Southwark, to which I rang the treble, was on February 26th 1966 conducted by Chris Rogers. 73 have followed, 43 of Stedman Cinques (Cond.14), 14 of Cambridge S. Maximus (4), 12 other peals of Surprise Maximus (including the first of Bristol Maximus on the bells in 1974) and 5 others, including Cambridge Minor on the back six in 1987, the largest bells rung to a peal of Minor. 26 have been rung with the Surrey Association, 21 with the ASCY and 15 with the LCA. I have rung peals at the cathedral with over 300 ringers. In 1983 I became the first ringer to circle the tower to peals of Stedman Cinques and Surprise Maximus.

Peals were rung, at various stages of their ministries, to honour Provosts Hugh Ashdown, Ernest Southcott, Harold Frankham and David Edwards and Bishops Mervyn Stockwood, Ronald Bowlby (now in his retirement at Shrewsbury, a friend of my younger sister, Joan) and Roy Williamson; and to mark seven Royal/national occasions/anniversaries.

For the “record setting” peal, I invited a mix of members of the Southwark Cathedral band that it has been my great privilege to conduct for its two appearances in the National 12-bell striking contest, at Worcester and St. Paul’s Cathedrals, and a few of my longest standing ringing friends.  Ian Fielding adapted Robert Dennis’ classic 5001 Stedman Cinques to provide a bit of excitement, including reverse rounds, in the middle and a peal containing some really good and enjoyable Stedman Cinques was rung.

Andy Bradford was “spot-on” on the tenor, ringing it as well as I have ever seen it rung (I mean that) which brings me to a final little story, of the meeting at which Andy was elected to the College Youths. The business conducted, is, of course, supposed to be confidential but, I am told, I can always be counted upon to be indiscreet when necessary.  A past master of the venerable society objected to Andy’s election because he thought his style of ringing was “too agricultural.”  I like to think that I defused a potentially embarrassing situation by offering a “defence” which I commenced with the words, “As somebody with a bit of an agricultural style myself…”

Well done Andy! And well done, and thank you, everybody else as well.

Michael J Uphill

Photo of the happy looking peal band is in Gallery.  They are (from left to right): (Seated) Ian Fielding treble and cond, Shirley Mc Gill 2, Louise Palmer 3, Sheila Cheesman 4, (Middle Row) Chris Sheasby 5, Mike Moreton 6, Leon Thompson 7, Nigel Smith 8, (Back row) Michael Uphill 9, David Maynard 10, Chris Mc Carthy 11, Andy Bradford tenor.