In Memoriam

Death of John Humphris (former ringer at Easebourne)

We are sorry to report that John Humphris died on 28 March 2024. He was a long time ringer at Easebourne, and a member of the Association for many years. With advancing age he was finding standing more and more difficult, and coming back after the pandemic break was just too much for him. He was 87 when he died.

What most ringers won’t know was that he was the holder of a Royal Horticultural Society Victoria Medal of Honour. At any one time there are only 63 such medal holders (the number of years of Queen Victoria’s reign) so holding one is an exceptional honour for a gardener. His was awarded in 2009. To put this into perspective, four were awarded in 2009 the other three being awarded to Charles Baring, 2nd Baron Howick of Glendale, Lady Christine Skelmersdale and Prince Charles. He was a professional gardener for much of his life, his last professional job being Head Gardener at Borde Hill. He was President of The Guild of Professional Gardeners, he was on at least one RHS committee, he was very active in encouraging young entrants into the profession by using his extensive connections to arrange training placements, and he was a longtime supporter and judge for the prison gardens competition run by the RHS. All that and he was a really nice and modest person.

Funeral details to follow.

Nigel Goodenough

Death of Tony Marrett (Goring by Sea ringer)

We are sorry to report that Tony Marrett died last Wednesday, 25th October 2023. He was a a loyal member of St. Mary's Goring by Sea ringers having learnt to ring for the millennium with his wife Joyce.

Death of Clare Clark (Lindfield ringer)

CLARK, Clare R (formerly Dart m 6 May 1995) died 31 May 2023 aged 57. A ringer at Lindfield, Sussex.

Republished from the Ringing World Page 600 9 June 2023

Death of Hamish McNaughton (Walberton ringer)

It is with great sadness that I must announce that Hamish McNaughton died peacefully this morning (20 March 2023). Details of funeral arrangements and an appreciation of his contribution to ringing in Sussex will appear in due course.

Hamish's funeral will take place at Walberton church on Wednesday, 26 April at 2:00pm. The service is open to all.

Sue McNaughton would like to get a idea of the number of people likely to be attending the funeral. Please email her on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are planning to attend.
In addition there will be open ringing from 1:00pm.

Gareth Higgs (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Death of Chris Fynes (Petworth ringer)

It is with great sadness I have to report the death of Chris Fynes of Petworth after a long battle with cancer. Chris learned to ring in Middlesex before moving to Sussex in the mid 60s ringing at Lodsworth and Petworth. He took a break from ringing in the mid 1970s before coming back in more recent years ringing at Petworth, Chichester and becoming a regular in George Francis’ Bell Meadow quarter peal band. Chris was an accomplished ringer but the bare figures showing that he rang 45 peals in total with 16 being for the Sussex Association do not do justice to his earlier exploits in the Stanwell area. In only his second peal he rang 2-3 before going on the ring a total of 15 double-handed peals including one of 98 doubles methods and several of spliced surprise minor. He also conducted all of those peals. He only conducted one peal for the Sussex Association, 43 spliced surprise minor at Lodsworth and, yes, he rang two bells! The interesting thing is that despite his undoubted ability to ring two bells he never rang a hand-bell peal – maybe that was too easy for him!

Many association members will not have known Chris but his picture of Petworth church on the front of the current SCACR annual report is a testament to his artistic abilities. Whilst I have kept this summary of his ringing activities brief there were other interests in his life. I remember chatting with him in a pub after a Westbourne practice about his collection of musical boxes, how he restored them and the editorship of the regular newsletter for a national society of like-minded people. His funeral will be on Friday 27 January 2023 at 2:30pm in St Mary’s Church, Petworth. Ringing arrangements will be announced later.