The Funeral of Christopher Smithies on Tuesday at Sacred Heart Bournemouth, took the form of a Latin Mass sung by members of his family. Ringing beforehand was by the local band, afterwards all the (many) assembled ringers were able to take part in general ringing and then a Quarter Peal was rung.
Chris is mourned by ringers from three Guilds (Winchester and Portsmouth, Salisbury and St Agatha). His interests spread far beyond ringing and he will be much missed. A full obituary can be read here.
Peal and Quarters have been ring in Dorset and London. At the time of going to press these were reported as below. Click image to see more.
Thank you Rosalind for this entry about Chris, and thank you to all the ringers who rang for his requiem and have sent me many lovely letters and cards, which I intend to reply to individually in due course. Chris loved his ringing and the good fellowship of the ringing community, and loved helping others to develop their skills. I hope to improve my own ringing in his memory, with the help of you all!