1920-2009

The following are extracts from a report that appeared in The Lion, June 6th 1964, which was the weekly school newspaper of Cowbridge Grammar School produced by Iolo:

‘?"Look to, then. Treble’s going … gone." Down come the red, white and blue salleys in order, each to fly upwards again and out of sight an instant later as the unseen wheels revolve, each carrying its load of up to three fifths of a ton of metal. Each bell somersaults, slowing down as it comes back up to the point of balance mouth upwards; and in each case the clapper, its swing governed by its own centre of gravity, catches up, at three-quarter circle, with the upper side of the moving bell and hits it from within after another split second. Down they all come the other way round at a pull on the tail end of the ropes, for the backstroke blow, the treble ringer trying to judge to perhaps a hundredth of a second the precise point of time at which to pull in order to lay his blow correctly behind the handstroke blow of the tenor. We are in rounds, and in a moment more El will say, "Go next time", and the Peal attempt will have begun.’

Iolo was born in Newport, S. Wales in 1920, but in his early childhood the family moved to the Mumbles, Swansea. There he excelled at the Grammar School both in the classroom and as a sportsman. Following his father, he studied the classics and was awarded a Meyricke scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford in 1938. Two years later he volunteered for the Royal Artillery, and served in Malta and Italy.

By the end of the war he was fluent in French, German, and Italian, as well as Welsh. After the war he returned to Oxford, and played college rugby, rowed in the college eight, and completed his degree. In 1947 he was appointed classics master at Cowbridge Grammar School and became a boarding-house master. He was fully involved in the school and local community, playing rugby for the town 15. The school harriers, drama society, and ringing society all benefitted from his support. He established a weekly school magazine, The Lion, which ran until the Grammar School closed in the early 70s.

At some time in the 1950s he learned to ring at Cowbridge under the supervision of Robert E. (Ted) Coles, and his first peal of Grandsire Doubles on the tenor was in September 1954. The school boarding house was adjacent to Holy Cross church, and Iolo encouraged any pupils who joined the ringers; many learned to ring from time to time, but not all persevered. At the time I learned to ring in 1961, the band of active school ringers was quite small. Iolo himself rang the tenor, or trebled to doubles. However, with his encouragement the school band progressed and grew in numbers. By February 1962, The Lion reported on a quarter peal by pupils from the Grammar School and the Girl’s High School.

‘Today (Sunday) has been a great day in the history of the School’s campanologists, and indeed in the history of Cowbridge. For the first time since Cowbridge bells were cast, and that was in Headmaster Durel’s days in 1722 – and his name is on the Second bell as donor and benefactor – a Quarter Peal has been rung by a band consisting entirely of Cowbridge School pupils. The Quarter was rung for Morning Service today, and was of 1,260 Changes of Grandsire Doubles with 7, 6, 8 covering.’

Steady progress followed, resulting in a peal of Grandsire Doubles (with some outside help) at Llanblethian – the first-ever at the tower – by December 1963. In the same month another was rung by the school band alone, so in January 1964, The Lion reported:

‘On December 17 Cowbridge Grammar School became the only school in Wales to have produced a school band of ringers to ring a full peal. This was doubles in 7 methods, at St. Bride’s Major, rung in 2 hours 43 minutes.’

In this period when the school ringers built up their skills, Iolo himself also progressed, including peals inside in 7 doubles m/v in 1965, Plain Bob Minor and Major in 1965 and 66, and Grandsire Triples in 1972. The annual camp that he ran at Llangorse near Brecon expanded to accommodate ringers as well as his classics pupils. Under his influence, the Cowbridge Grammar School Society of Change Ringers was formally established during a ringing tour in the Birmingham area. Iolo served the Llandaff and Monmouth Diocesan Association in several capacities: he was Master in 1967, Llandaff Branch Secretary for five years, and for many years he printed the Annual Report of the Association.

But shortly after, great changes arose. In 1971, on the retirement of the previous head, Iolo was appointed Headmaster, a post he held until 1973 – the last Headmaster of Cowbridge Grammar School. This was a period of bitter argument over comprehensive education and the future of education in Cowbridge. Given his commitment to the grammar-school principle and to the boarding house, Iolo felt he had no choice but to fight for what he believed in at whatever personal cost; he was supported in this battle by Josephine whom he married in 1973. When, despite a county-wide petition of many thousands of signatures urging that the school should continue in its present form, the County Council decided in favour of establishing a comprehensive school in Cowbridge, Iolo resigned.

Alas, the closure of Cowbridge Grammar School took its toll on Iolo’s health. For a year he worked on the Talyllyn Railway project (steam trains and Talyllyn, in particular, were also abiding interests of his). Being a natural teacher he missed the school life and in September 1974 he returned to teaching at a school in Aberystwyth. While in mid Wales he continued ringing, including with the Welsh Colleges’ Society. In September 1977 he was the Office Manager of The Ringing World for a time and wrote a column for young ringers, but he later returned to teaching at Papplewick School in Ascot, then taught until his retirement at Dean Close School in Cheltenham. It was in Cheltenham that he died in April. A peal was rung in Llanblethian on the day of the memorial service held in Cowbridge (see Ringing World p.708).

Although he himself never rang advanced methods, his publicity attracted recruits while his supporting role enabled others to progress, and the Exercise is the richer for this. From my personal viewpoint, he was instrumental in bringing me together with my future wife, and he was at our wedding in 1970.

With help from the Llandaff and Monmouth Diocesan Association, the Swansea and Brecon D.G., and the Welsh Colleges’ Society, plus PealBase (after June 1965) it has been established that Iolo rang 27 peals.
Llandaff & Monmouth: 25
Swansea and Brecon: 1
Welsh Colleges: 1
Doubles: 12 (treble: 5, tenor: 3, inside: 4)
Minor: 4 (inside: 4)
Triples: 1 (inside: 1)
Major: 3 (treble: 1, inside: 2)
Caters: 7 (tenor: 6, inside: 1)

During our visits to Llangorse, we continued our quest to renovate bells in silent towers, but the six in St. Paulinus church needed work beyond our capacity. The tenor was cast by Evan Evans of Chepstow, like Cowbridge, and is a bell with a fine tone. Dove lists them as unringable and unsafe, and they do not appear on the Swansea and Brecon website. It would be a wonderful tribute to Iolo if these bells could be rehung.

Acknowledgements:
Bob Hardy (Llandaff & Monmouth), Doug Davison and Paul Johnson (Swansea and Brecon), Stephen Penney (Welsh Colleges), and Paul Evans (PealBase) found peal details. Gabe Thomas provided background material from the CGS old boys’ web site (http://cowbridge400.org/iolodavies.aspx). Mike Green described his ringing round mid Wales. David Robinson researched extracts from The Lion. The Editor of The Ringing World clarified Iolo’s RW involvement.

Ellis N. Thomas

To conclude, here are some further thoughts from Iolo during the peal in 1964, as published in The Lion:

… this amazing Exercise, first invented in the seventeenth century by old Fabian Stedman. Perhaps, in that tormented century of civil war and religious strife, old Fabian found a solace in raising a sound of praise that no-one could ever turn into a dusty, or a bloody, theological battlefield, a loud voice that called to heaven in a universal language. Most ringers today would be embarrassed at admitting it, probably, but even now they all know that deep down in this art of theirs there is the feeling it is an act of worship in its own right. It is from this that the ascetic standards of the Exercise are derived, and the desire that the delicate intricate web of sound be well woven.

The work of the treble is so easy that it is monotonous, and here lies its danger. So easy for one’s thoughts to wander, on the way down from fifth’s. How will this look in the pages of the "Ringing World" – if we get it, of course – ? … My feet are cold … Suddenly, back to reality with a horrid shock. Where am I? For a fraction of a second I feel cold panic. But there is the backstroke blow of the tenor coming down, the salley is in my hands, I must be leading, yes, that’s it; here we go again, and I must concentrate harder …

It is a mistake to look at the time, for if you do, the watch hands seem to freeze. But a stolen glance at the wristwatch lying on the floor shows that we are nearly there now. Two hours and forty nine minutes; and, stiff and cramped, we hear El say, "That is all!". We have got it, a record peal for number of methods for our Association. At Cavalli’s in Bridgend then, fish and chips is paradise enough.

Iolo Davies