Revd John Bax Tayler Homfray 1929-2010
John Homfray, who died in March, was a staunch member of the Guild of Clerical Ringers for many years and for a long time its Honorary Secretary. He was also a well-known ringer in the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Association where he spent the whole of his ministry.
I first met John at a tea party for ordinands in the Bristol diocese in 1954. At that time I was not a ringer but presume that John was. We did not discuss the subject as it wasn’t something we had in common at that time. It wasn’t until several years had gone by that, entering a tower as a novice ringer, I found John there, ringing away quite merrily. Then when I was reasonably qualified to join the Clerical Guild I immediately had a well-established colleague to welcome me in.
At the time of our first meeting John had finished his ordination training at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, but was required by the then Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd F. A. Cockin, to work at the huge aircraft factory at Filton which we called the BAC, I’m not sure in what capacity, before he could be ordained. The Bishop wanted all his young clergy to have had experience of industry, what he called the “world of work”. Those who knew John would agree that this was not quite his cup of tea, but he did it and survived it, and soon after our meeting became the curate of Kingswood, the large parish in South Gloucestershire. I was able to attend John’s ordination in Bristol cathedral when the sermon was preached by Donald Coggan, who would eventually become Archbishop of Canterbury.
After a spell at Kingswood John transferred to Leckhampton near Cheltenham which was where his home was. Although he was now in another diocese, Gloucester, he could remain in the same ringing Association as it comprises two dioceses. He had a good ring of bells in his second curacy but when he took up the living of Staverton with Boddington he must have had to ring elsewhere. John stayed in these parishes for 31 years until his retirement, and for the last few years was also Vicar of Stoke Orchard and Tredington, which does have bells. He shared the large Vicarage at Staverton with his sister Barbara, who kept house there but sadly predeceased him. Barbara was also a ringer. They were both fond of dogs and one or more of these was always in evidence when you visited the Vicarage.
I did this quite often as when I was in the Birmingham diocese John kindly suggested that some of my parishioners might enjoy a visit to the Cotswolds, and for a few years these outings took place. The people of Staverton would supply us with a good tea and John would take a service for the combined congregations in his church. My own parish reciprocated at least once and the inhabitants of Staverton came to Birmingham where they also received tea and a service, but in the rather smokier atmosphere of Stechford.
John held office in his local branch of the G&B Association and was popular with local ringers. Within the Guild of Clerical Ringers he took on the Secretaryship, which means more or less running the organisation, in 1974, and held office for 12 years. No doubt he would have served even longer but a new constitution, drawn up in the 1980s, restricted the tenure of any office in the Guild to 5 years. Before the time of computers and emails John used the old kind of typewriter which probably had clogged up letters, and the sort of duplicating machine that you wound by hand, to produce his circulars and itineraries for Guild members. I still have a number of them and I’m afraid they take quite a lot of deciphering! However, the Guild ran perfectly smoothly during his years of benign control, and everybody seemed to get to where they should be at the right time.
John was an asset to the Clerical Guild for his ringing ability and was in his heyday one of its principal peal ringers. My earliest clerical peals were rung with him in the band and I scored 20 with him in all. I don’t think John rang many peals other than for the Clerical Guild but in that I may be wrong. He was certainly one of our strongest ringers. (I hope no cynic comments “That wouldn’t be difficult”!)
John’s last attempt at a clerical peal, in 2000, was sad. It was on the fine ring of 10 at Tamworth and he rang the treble to Plain Bob Caters. After a good two hours he began to falter and eventually fell to the floor. An ambulance was called and after all the problems connected with the double staircase at St Editha’s had been surmounted he was taken to hospital where he was detained for about a week. Someone with presence of mind had obtained his keys and a kind Tamworth ringer dealt with his car and with his dog. This may have marked the beginning of his long illness. He did recover enough to join the occasional Guild activity and to do some ringing but I’m sure he never attempted another peal.
He retired to live in Winchcombe for a few years before moving into sheltered accommodation and latterly rang when he could at Charlton Kings. Regrettably in his later years he could not ring at all. Members of the Clerical Guild, his former parishioners, and his many friends will remember John with great affection and thankfulness. He was a true Christian gentleman and priest of a type which is in short supply. This does not mean that John did not have a keen sense of humour and the rare ability to laugh at himself. Clerical Guild members know how he could hold his own in the continual banter which goes on when they meet together, and they miss this very able, but very humble, friend and colleague.
D.H.S.
