I am sorry to announce the death of Allan Bishop, a ringer who was known to many members of the District, particularly in the Swale and Gillingham areas.
Allan’s funeral will be held on Friday 25th May at Hartlip. The service is at 11:00 and his family have asked if the bells can be rung both before and after the service. They have requested no flowers, but donations to the British Heart Foundation. They would also be pleased to welcome any ringers to join them for some refreshment after the funeral.
Marylyn Atkins (Gillingham) has offered to coordinate the ringing for the service and would be very grateful if anybody who would be available to ring could contact her – – so that she can ensure that there will be enough ringers available to ring on that day. It is proposed that ringing will start from 10:15 and that there will be some ringing for a time after the service too.
I know that Allan was known to many in the District and that he rang with a number of bands over the years, and speaking with Marylyn reinforced how involved he was in the local ringing scene, which obviously gave him so much pleasure. There will be a number of towers who will, no doubt, miss Allan’s presence and his geniality.
Please could you be kind enough to circulate this information to towers where Allan would have rung and to ringers who would have known Allan.