Bells from Armidale’s St Peter’s Cathedral will ring out on four occasions on Remembrance Day, admittedly far less than they did when peace broke out in 1918, but significant nevertheless as we now celebrate the centenary of what was once called Armistice Day.
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The ringing of church bells was widespread at the beginning of last century, and continues to be significant this century as Armidale’s bells will ring as part of a coordinated, international program that includes a project called “Ringing Remembers”, which set out to replace the 1400 bell ringers lost to World War I. It was a great success and has recruited 2000 new ringers worldwide, including four from Armidale.
Armidale’s Remembrance Day will start with:
- 7.30am A Church Service at St Peters Cathedral.
- 10.20am Memorial Service will commence in Central Park.
- 11am The Last Post will be played.
- 11.30am Dr Nathan Wise will speak about the 33rd Battalion (Armidale’s own) at the Armidale ex-Services Club.
- 4.50pm Central Park the 33rd Battalion will toll 100 times
- 5pm The Armidale Pipe Band will play to honour the fallen pipers of both world wars.
Tower captain of St Peter’s bell ringers Simon McMillian said the bells would be heard after the morning church service.
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“At 11am the church’s tenor bell will toll 11 times during the commemorative service to be held in Central Park,” Mr McMillian said.
“The second ringing at the commemorative service will be half-muffled, the type of ringing most commonly used in association with memorial services and funerals. It involves the muting of alternate strikes of each bell to produce an evocative “echo” that will be most noticeable to listeners close to the cathedral.”
“Finally, just before 5pm, the 33rd Battalion bell will toll 100 times prior to the performance by the Armidale Pipe Band in Central Park.
