Betty Murtagh
Betty Murtagh of Wakefield died at the age of 68 in early January.
Betty learnt to ring at Wakefield in the early 70s. She was born with very poor eyesight, and was registered blind, and as such she was one of my father’s more challenging students. I don’t think he or Betty herself held out much hope of progressing very far. I think her comment was: “if I just ring rounds and call changes for service, I will be happy”.
She wasn’t content with rounds for long. Betty made very good progress, and had already rung a handful of peals when she moved to London to train as a telephonist. She found her way into the St Mary Abbots band at Kensington, where her timing and listening skills came to the fore. She became life long friends with many of the band and it was good that Jim Belshaw was able to come to her funeral in January.
She moved back to Yorkshire, where she worked as a telephonist for a local building society and started ringing quarter peals and then peals with Pat and Ian North. In total she rang 224 peals, including 140 for the Yorkshire Association. She served on the committee of the Central branch of that association, and was the founding editor of ‘Centrepiece’, the branch newsletter at that time.
Betty had health problems most of her life. Arthritis progressively prevented her ringing peals, quarters and eventually all ringing became very difficult. But latterly she would try and come to ring at Wakefield Cathedral on Sunday mornings, when she would ring a short touch of Stedman – Triples or Caters for preference: she thought there were too many ropes on 12! She would ring the treble, and I would get a telling-off if she didn’t get to ring the whole of the slow work.
In recent years she found getting around increasingly difficult, and had become all but house-bound by the end of last year. She suffered a broken leg, then a thrombosis. She died at Pinderfields Hospital on 13th January. Her perseverance and fortitude will be missed by all who knew her. May she rest in peace.
Adrian M. Moreton.
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When she arrived in London Betty joined the band at St Mary Abbots, Kensington and became a reliable and loyal Sunday ringer at the Kensington towers; she also attended practices regularly. Her ringing developed and gradually she learnt more methods eventually becoming a steady ringer of 8-spliced Surprise Royal. Betty also participated regularly in the annual Kensington ringing week, ringing numerous peals in the early years but later on only a few quarters and some general ringing.
Whilst in London Betty also began to take in interest in the Cumberlands; she rang more regularly on 12, including peals of Stedman Cinques and Yorkshire Max and was elected in October 1986.
But ringing was not Betty’s only interest and during her time in London she began her Open University degree. It took her many years to achieve her honours degree but she kept up the momentum and was extremely proud of her success.
After she returned to Yorkshire Betty maintained contact with her London friends and continued to join the annual ringing week in August. She also came to London for a holiday most years and spent her time visiting the theatre and the Opera.
Even shortly before she died she was planning her next visit to London and trying to plan ways of getting around despite her lack of mobility. Betty’s constant determination to get on with life without complaint was a lesson to us all; she will be greatly missed.
Stephanie Pattenden
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Many people who rang at Kensington with Betty Murtagh will have happy memories of her. One that sticks in my mind is being on the band’s annual August ringing holiday up in Betty’s native Yorkshire. Betty and I were in the back of a car travelling over moorland to the next tower – shelling and eating a very large bag of raw garden peas – and, upon discovering a grub or two, she started singing “On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at”: we all joined in with much mirth. What an experience!
Even when she moved back to Yorkshire and ringing eventually became difficult for Betty, she maintained cheerful contact with friends in the South who were always pleased to see her. She was one of those remarkable people who had far more than her fair share of difficulties to overcome from early in life, but whose enthusiasm, positive attitude and determination enabled her to achieve much and inspire others into the bargain.
Robert Lewis
