English Bells to Chime in Flanders Fields
Afundraising appeal has been launched to install a commemorative peal of bells in the tower of an Anglican church close to the First World War battlefields.
St. George’s Memorial Church in the Belgian town of Ypres (now Ieper) was built in the late 1920s as a place of remembrance and to serve the British community in the area. Those who now visit the battlefields also come to pay their respects at the church.
The tower at St. George’s was originally designed to house a peal of English change ringing bells, but sadly this was never realised. Now, permission has been granted to finally complete this precious and poignant memorial church.
Eight individually inscribed bells will be cast and installed by the renowned bell- maker John Taylor & Co of Loughborough. In order to achieve this, the charity Bells4StGeorgeYpres has been established to raise £195,000 for the project. This will allow English bells to ring out across Flanders Fields at certain times, while being mindful of the necessary periods of silence in the memorial church.
The project has also received a cherished donation: a set of 16 Victorian handbells, which belonged to a First World War veteran. Once they have been restored at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry they will be housed in St. George’s.
To find out more about this worthwhile project and how to make a donation visit: www.bells4stgeorge.org , or contact Alan Regin, 39 Maud Road, London E13 0JT.