AN OKEHAMPTON couple who have introduced countless people to the joys of handbell ringing over 30 years have been recognised by the Queen in the New Year’s Honours list.

John and Jane Willis have both been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM), for ‘services to handbell ringing’.They said the letter that announced their award had come ‘quite out of the blue’ in an official missive from the Government.

‘We were immensely shocked, really, when we heard. It is just unbelieveable!’ said Jane. ‘When we got the OHMS [On Her Majesty’s Service] brown envelope through the post we wondered what on earth it was.

‘We’re incredibly pleased about it and we’d like to thank everyone who is behind us getting put forward for this. I have my suspicions!’

The couple travel hundreds of miles each year to put on handbell ringing sessions in village halls across the South West and as far afield as South Wales. They also run sessions and perform in Okehampton and the surrounding villages, as Tor Bells and the Ockment Valley Handbell Ringers.

John, who said that the letter announcing their medals had been ‘quite unexpected’ recalled that neither of them were particularly musical when they caught the handbell ringing bug after going along to a community session in Okehampton 30 years ago.

‘There was a bloke called Ian Hayes who put an advert in the Okehampton Times saying he was going to start a handbell ringing group and we went down to give it a go and we haven’t looked back really,’ he said.

‘I’d seen handbells on the TV a couple of times but we didn’t have any musical experience at all. That is one of the beauties of handbell ringing though, you don’t have to read music, you can get away without having to.’

Jane added: ‘The advert was just a couple of lines in the paper which said we are interested in forming a handbell team and we thought we’d go along and have a look. It is one of those hobbies which is either not for you or you get totally hooked – and we got totally hooked.

‘Thirty years ago, handbell ringing was about rallies where everyone would stand around and listen to one person at a time. I got a bit bored with that, I wanted to be active all the time, so we compiled some books of music and got lots and lots of copies so we could put it in front of people and they can all join in. It is such fun because it means that you are on your feet all the time. I just love it!’

Handbell ringing is a family affair with the couple’s son Robert and daughter-in-law Fiona joining them to make up their group Tor Bells. They are also part of the community group Ockment Valley Handbell Ringers.

The couple are key members of the South West Region of the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain, for whom they put in hours of voluntary work in ‘ringing around the region’ sessions.

These take place in village halls and other venues across the wider South West and South Wales and the Channel Islands to share their passion for ringing

‘Our area includes the Channel Islands and the Scilly Isles and extends to Hampshire and across to South Wales, so it is a massive area, and we try to get out to as many places as we can so that people don’t have to travel hundreds of miles – we take the ringing to them,’ said Jane. ‘We take our books and they provide tea and coffee.’

Jane also goes out to local groups in the Okehampton area, such as WIs.

‘She gives them an evening’s fun and gets them ringing and quite a few of them carry on from there and progress to create their own teams,’ said John.

The couple’s award recognises their work in showing people just how much fun handbell ringing can be.

‘In our family group, Tor Bells, we have myself and Jane, our son Robert and his wife Fiona and we ring a four-in-hand, holding two bells in one hand, and belt Christmas carols out,’ said John.

‘Then we have got a larger team the Ockment Valley Handbell Ringers, and I think we are up to 16 and 17 of those. We meet up every Tuesday evening.

‘Handbell ringing is like a lot of things in this world, there is a knack to it,’ he said.

‘With handbell ringing you have to fit in with everyone else to make a tune. So it is very good for promoting teamwork.’

The couple will be presented with their British Empire Medals by the Lord Lieutenant of Devon and they have been told to expect an invitation of a garden party at Buckingham Palace in due course.

‘Whether we’ll go or not I don’t know, it is a long way to travel and it is not really our sort of thing – but it’s nice to be asked!’ said John.