Earlier this month, during their Sunday service, the congregation of St John’s Church, Yeovil gave a special thank you to bell tower captain, Roger Fox, who is retiring at the age of 90! Roger, who has been bell ringing since 1947, was celebrated by everyone for his dedication and service.
Here, Church Warden, Lin Hann, shares more about Roger and his wonderful achievement.
“An unsung hero is a person who performs great deeds or contributes significantly but receives or seeks little or no recognition, praise or public attention for their efforts according to the dictionary. This phrase is used for individuals whose hard work and sacrifices are sometimes unnoticed or taken for granted, highlighting their valuable uncelebrated actions.
“On Sunday 19th at St John’s Church in Yeovil we thanked, praised and celebrated one of our unsung heroes, Roger Fox. I met Roger about 14 years ago when I joined the church at St Johns. I soon got to know that he was seen to be somewhat of a legend at St John’s. I gathered he was a legend in the way he has served the church both as church warden, looking after our building and all that that entails, but also as a bell ringer. Over the years I discovered that Roger has been bell ringing since he was 12. He rang for the royal wedding in 1947 and has rung at Westminster Abbey more than once. He was appointed as our Bell Tower Captain in 1992 and was deputy for 16 years before that. An amazing total of 49 years. Throughout that time he championed bell ringing tirelessly and taught a huge number of people this amazing skill.
“A couple of years ago when Roger was in his late eighties, I found myself wondering from time to time, how he managed to climb the bell tower several times a week let alone ring those hugely heavy bells. I sat him down once with my church warden/health and safety/duty of care/retired nurse “hat” on and asked him if he was well enough or safe enough to be going up the tower. He smiled, patted me on my hand with that twinkle in his eye that suggested that the conversation was over.
“This month as he turned 90, we hope he can enjoy a well-earned rest.”