Phil Stevens' 50th anniversary of first peal

Friday 19 March 2010

 

Phil Stevens rang his first peal at Belstone on 19th March 1960. The band consisted of 5 first-pealers and a first as conductor.

Phil learnt to ring whilst at school at Shebbear College. At that time the C of E boys (it is a Methodist school) went to a school service at Shebbear church every Sunday and there was a school band of call-change ringers. It was not long before Phil had his first lesson. In due course a master, who was an experienced ringer, joined the school and he introduced the band to method ringing. In Phil's final term at school the master thought we might be able to achieve a peal with a school band.

It must have been touch and go as the actual peal, rung at the first attempt, consisted of ringing the same extent of Grandsire Doubles 42 times! Phil is the only boy to continue ringing after leaving the school.

A friend of Phil's grandmother's, who was a ringer at Chichester Cathedral, invited Phil to go there when he left school. Phil's ringing progressed under the enthusiastic guidance of the late Winnie Keys, and he subsequently became Ringing Master at the Cathedral until he moved to the Bristol area in 1973.

Phil has rung a peal in every year since his first peal and has rung just over 600 in total.

The details of that peal 50 years ago are as follows:-

Guild of Devonshire Ringers
Belstone, St Mary, 19th March 1960
5040 Grandsire Doubles in 2 hours 43 minutes
1 Peter R Turner
2 Philip C Plant
3 Philip Stevens
4 Ian R Slee
5 John L Queen (cond)
6 Ian Collins