A chain of bells will ring across Witney on VE Day to mark the 80th anniversary of peace in Europe. On Thursday commemorations and bell ringing will take place across the diocese to remember the events of 80 years ago.
St Mary’s bells in Witney will provide the culmination of the chain of bells across the town.
In Shrivenham, home to the Defence College, two bells at St Andrew’s Church have a military connection. They were a gift to the parish at the end of the war, in thanks for the use of Beckett House which had been used to station British and American troops.
Ringing Master Tony Crabtree said: “This was to be a tangible mark of thanks for the friendship and welcome afforded by the nearby village of Shrivenham. Although they gave the money in 1944, the bells weren’t actually cast until 1948. Unsurprisingly, half a ton of bronze to cast the bells was not available during the war, being reserved for munitions. Enough metal was procured four years later to enable the bells to be cast by Gillett & Johnson of Croydon.”
These bells, now an octave thanks to the donation, will be rung on VE Day at 6.30pm. The ringers will then move on to Longcot to ring a quarter peal which should be heard across the Ridgeway as the beacons are lit.
At Steeple Aston, there will be a service at 7.30pm preceded by the bells ringing for an hour before. Thame Tower will be ringing from 6.30pm on VE day as requested by Thame Town Council. The bells will also ring out at Slapton at 6pm so as to fit in with other village activities.
At White Waltham, eight-year-old Joshua will be among the ringers making a noise for peace. And the bells will also ring out at Faringdon, Stanford in the Vale and Uffington. A band will also ring the bells at Lillingstone Lovell at 6.30pm.
To find out more about bell ringing in your local area, contact the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers.