Gareth Davies

• 1970 Started learning to handle at Danbury in Essex, where he had recently moved. Invited to the tower by Peter Came, his geography teacher, who also lived in Danbury. Taught handling by Dick Roast, father of the tower captain, Joe Roast. Very slow learner!
• 1972 First tower bell peal – treble to Plain Bob Minor
• 1972-1975 Studied history at Royal Holloway College. Rang with the RHC society and with Essex ringers out of term.
• 1975 Rang (and called) his first handbell peal – Plain Bob Minor
• 1976 -1984 Moved to London and rang regularly with ULSCR and ASCY. UL Master
• 1977-78 Central Council representative
• 1980-1981 Called peals of 23-Spliced Major, 14-Spliced Royal, and 10-Spliced Max atw with a largely resident UL band
• 1984 Resigned from Civil Service and moved to Cambridge to train as a primary teacher at Homerton College. Joined band at Great St Mary’s.
• 1988 Won National 12-bell at Cambridge
• 1989-1991 Master of the Cambridge Youths. Won the National 12-bell twice, at Liverpool and Ipswich.
• 1990 Only claim to fame as a composer – composed and conducted first ever peal of spliced cinques and maximus (Stedman & Bristol). First ever peals of Cambridge Surprise Sixteen i(n hand)
• 1991 As 12 bell winners represented England in the international striking contest that was part of the celebrations of 100 years of the Central Council. 8 bell competition at St Lawrence Jewry. Came 2nd to Australia! First ever peal of Lincolnshire Surprise Sixteen (in hand)
• 1989-1994 Two series of maximus handbell peals. First ringing the alphabet to existing methods. Then ringing the alphabet to new methods named after East Anglian Fens.
• 1995 – 2010 His ringing seriously tailed off after 1995 with the arrival of children and a flock of sheep. Rang no peals and hardly any other ringing in the first ten years of the new century.
• 2011 on – Started ringing again at local tower (Swaffham Bulbeck) and renewed interest in handbell ringing.

To date has rung 835 peals – 506 tower, 329 in hand. Has called just over 100.

This entry was written in February 2020.