Central Branch

News from All Saints Wakefield Cathedral 2005

The Cathedral band is fortunate to have ringing in its Sunday service band a diversity of ringers both young and old, learners and experienced. In 2005 we welcomed one of those young ringers, Rebecca Pagdin, into the band as a Qualified Member. Rebecca rang her qualifying 720 changes in November and in doing so joined her father, Richard and grandparents, Rodney and Joan to become the second family with 3 generations who all ring regularly at the Cathedral. Kirstie Heslop, the daughter of Julie Heslop and granddaughter of David Banks, qualified in 2002 and has already progressed to ringing quarter peals and also touches of Stedman Cinques. A remarkable achievement for both families to have three generations ringing together in the same band, but David Banks has also been a part of another achievement for the Cathedral ringers.

The Banks Family -------------------------------- The Pagdin family

David first learned to ring at the Cathedral in 1951 along with a number of other youngsters, 2 of whom were Geoffrey Townend and John Wackett. David and Geoff both rang their first peal together, on Tuesday, December 22nd, 1953; this being a peal of plain bob minor conducted by Wilfrid F. Moreton. All three of them have continued to ring at the Cathedral as part of the Sunday service band. This year 2006, they will have been ringing together for 55 years, a quite remarkable achievement.

2005 was also a year to celebrate for another Cathedral ringer, George Hancock. George began learning to ring tower bells on VE day in July 1945 at his local tower, North Wingfield in Derbyshire. The Cathedral band rang a quarter peal with George on the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the ending of World War II on May 8th 2005 and also to remember the 60 years of service that he has given to bell ringing. George has also been ringing at the Cathedral for 44 years, since moving to Wakefield in January 1962.   

John A Courtney
1 January 2006