Ron Andrew 1919 - 2009

Ron was born on 11th May 1919, but his introduction to bell ringing had to wait until the early 1960s.

It all started with a call to Bob Smith from Mrs Carver, the Vicar’s wife at All Saints, Marple telling him that a neighbour of his had expressed an interest in learning to ring. So Bob and Alan McFall duly presented themselves on his doorstep. Ron’s first reaction was "I said I was interested only to get rid of her, but as you are here you’d better come in".

Thus started Ron’s love of ringing, but it was not his ringing ability which caused we youngsters to look up to him. At that time a few of us, Bob, Alan, Bernard Groves, and Anne Smith, (Bob’s sister and now Anne Wilkinson), met after church on a Sunday evening, with our various partners, at Bob’s house to have discussions on any subject felt worth our attentions. Ron, and his wife Irene, joined the circle and we were immediately impressed with Ron’s grasp of matters, particularly his articulate way of putting forward an argument and his incredible use of vocabulary. Ron was the only member of the group never to be interrupted.

Under Bob’s watchful eye Ron’s ringing career advanced. He achieved an excellent standard of ringing, ringing approx. 150 peals in total from Minor to Surprise Royal, quite a number in hand and at least one as conductor.

Sadly Irene passed away in 1979.

In 1987 he married another ringer, Pam Crosby of Marple, and they were happily married for 22 years.

One of Ron’s achievements in 1968 was to be a founder member of The Whiting Society of Ringers, an organisation which has thrived and flourished ever since.

At the celebrations of Ron’s 90th birthday on 11th May 2009, many of his old ringing friends and Whiting Society colleagues attended, eight of whom were privileged to ring a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Major on that day. So secret were the arrangements for this day that Ron had no idea what had been arranged for him, even though he had sat outside the tower at All Saints, Marple listening to the end of a peal. Not until the ringers emerged did he realise it was for him. The biggest surprise came when he went to The Crown for a drink with the ringers and found everyone else there. For the first time in living memory, Ron was speechless.

Bell ringing was not Ron’s only social interest. He had long associations with crown green bowling, the Conservative Club at Hazel Grove, where he enjoyed a game of snooker, and Freemasonry.

In recent years his frailty had stopped him from ringing, but he kept up to date through The Ringing World, and his sense of humour and skilled use of words remained with him until the end.

After a very short stay in hospital he passed away on 22nd Aug 2009. A man so full of character, he will be sorely missed.

Alan McFall