Bells seem to be a very suitable theme for celebrating the approach of the Christmas season and one with which it is not too difficult to find links with the College.

One thinks immediately, of course, of John Betjeman`s view of Marlborough in his verse autobiography “Summoned By Bells”, but his,

“Doom! Shivering doom! Inexorable bells
To early school, to Chapel, school again….”

hardly chimes a cheerful enough note for Yuletide!

More interesting, perhaps, are two other items on bells which have crossed the College Archivist's desk in the last month:

1. A recent edition of the magazine of the Wiltshire Guild of Bellringers contains an item on the bells of St Peter`s Church, Marlborough written by Allen Keen, a pupil of Marlborough Grammar School from 1957 to 1964, who writes as follows:

“The wide catchment area of Marlborough G. S. ensured that there was always a team of ringers from amongst its pupils and we always rang at St Mary`s prior to end of term services. At another, perhaps more famous school in the town, the early 1960s saw a hive of ringing activity amongst a group of boys at Marlborough College. Their mentor was Richard A G Inglis who demonstrated considerable skill as a ringer and this group of College boys contributed greatly to the enthusiasm for bell-ringing in the area. Regular practices were held on Tuesday teatimes which I attended often. They were always great fun and it was worth missing the school bus and braving the four-mile walk back home over the steep Ogbourne Hill afterwards !”

Sadly, bell-ringing does not feature amongst the activities of current Marlburians, but it would be great to hear from Richard Inglis (B2 1961-5) or from any of his O.M. bell ringing friends: their campanological exploits deserve to be recorded in the College`s archives!

2. The Ship`s bell of H.M.S.Marlborough:

H.M.S. Marlborough, a Dreadnought Battleship, was built in Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of just under £2million and completed in 1914. She served at the Battle of Jutland (1916) and, after WWI was sent to the Black Sea to try to rescue members of the Russian Royal Family who had escaped the massacre at Ekaterinburg.

When H.M.S. Marlborough was decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1932 three O.M.s who had served on board her (Paymaster Commander E.B.ELSTOB O.B.E. C2 1898-1902, Surgeon Lt.Commander J.J.KEEVIL Cotton 1914-1919 and Lieutenant T.N.MASTERMAN B3 1919-1924) clubbed together to buy the Ship`s Bell in order to present it to the College. In the days of formal meals in the Old Dining Hall it was this bell which was rung each lunch-time to signal that the School should stand for Grace and it still hangs at the dais end of the Norwood Hall. It was last rung on November 11^th in School Break to mark the start and finish of the observance of the 2 minute silence on the anniversary of Armistice Day.

I find it inspiring to think than an honoured relic of one of the biggest battles of WWI still hangs prominently at the centre of the College.