Elizabeth A Coke (née Glasow) 17.4.1954 – 8.3.2025

Liz went to her usual Pilates class on Friday 7th March and then returned home to cook and enjoy a fish lunch with her husband David. Later that afternoon she felt unwell and retired to bed. During the night her condition deteriorated and she was rushed into hospital. Despite the best efforts of the doctors she passed away around lunch time the following day from sepsis and suspected meningitis. Her sudden death was a great shock to all who knew her and a great loss to ringing in Cheltenham where she was the Tower Captain.

Liz’s mother Margaret was a vicar’s daughter living in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and met Liz’s father Glen when he was stationed nearby with the American forces towards the end of the war. She became a ‘GI Bride’ and moved to the States where Liz and her sister Victoria were born. Tragically Glen died when Liz was just three and Margaret and the two girls returned to live with their granny in Devon.

Liz went to secretarial college after leaving school and learnt to handle a bell at Whimple in Devon, before moving to Bristol to take up a secretarial position. She initially stayed at the YWCA and it was there that she discovered two other ringers, Janet Parker and Cynthia Wells, and they soon moved into a flat togetherwhere they were collectively known as the Three Wise Virgins. Liz joined the City Centre ringing in Bristol at St Stephen’s and was taken under the wing of the late Albert Tyler; he remodelled her ringing technique to the neat and precise style that served her well for 50 years.

Ringing in Bristol was on an upward curve from the mid 1970s and as Liz gained more experience she became an integral part of the Bristol band which scored many firsts in that period. Liz’s first peal was the treble to Grandsire Triples at Bristol Cathedral in late 1973 and she rang three peals of Cinques

at St Stephen’s Bristol in 1974. From there her ringing career really took off and by late of 1975 she had rung in a Ladies peal of Cambridge Royal at Christ Church, Bristol, and inside to Cambridge Maximus in what was the first peal of Maximus by a Ladies band at St Stephen’s, Bristol. Peal ringing was a large part of Liz’s life through the late 1970s and early 1980s with regular peals at the Bristol city centre towers and trips out to conquer many of the challenging eights in Somerset. She was also a highly-efficient secretary for the St Stephen’s and Christ Church bands in Bristol.

Liz was elected a member of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths in 1979 and greatly valued her membership of that Society, ringing 47 peals for them over the years. She rang in a number of groundbreaking ladies’ peals, including both Cambridge Royal and Maximus, London Royal, Stedman Cinques at Redcliffe, 10,080 Evesham Surprise Major at Hungerford (the first ladies’ long length), and 10,440 of Pudsey Surprise Royal at Lydney (the first ladies long length of Royal), both of these also being record lengths in their methods. Liz was part of the bands organised by Liz Evans who accomplished the first 12- bell peal by a female band all sharing the same first name at Cheltenham last November and an eight-bell peal in London in which all the ringers were called Elizabeth Anne.

In total Liz rang 517 peals, over two-thirds while living in Bristol. Her leading towers were all in Bristol, 73 at the Cathedral, 51 at St Stephen’s and 41 at Christ Church. Her leading associations were the Gloucester and Bristol with 238 and the Bath and Wells with 115. Liz was an accomplished ringer on all numbers of bells and a high proportion of her peals were rung on higher numbers: 136 on 10 bells and 127 on 12. Liz rang in the Bristol team in five finals of the National 12-bell Ringing Competition between 1978 and 1983, with a best result of 4th place at High Wycombe in 1981.

Liz met David, a non-ringer, in 1982, and they got engaged in early 1984, with a peal of Glasow Surprise Major (Glasow was Liz’s maiden name) being rung at Bristol Cathedral to celebrate the occasion. They married in 1984. David’s work for the Midland bank (now HSBC) took them to Sheffield, then to Brighton where their daughter Alex was born and then on to Maidstone. In each place Liz joined the local band and contributed greatly to the local ringing scene. In 1999 David was posted to Thailand to a senior post with HSBC in Bangkok. Liz was extremely pleased that she couldn’t get a work permit for Thailand and joked that she became an ‘expat lady who lunches’. This was rather unfair, as she threw herself into amateur dramatics with the Bangkok Community Theatre which regularly performed at the British Club. The family returned to Maidstone briefly in late 2001 until they found what was to be their permanent home in Cheltenham.

Liz joined the band to St Mary’s, soon to become Cheltenham Minster, and also helped to support ringing at St Mark’s. St Mary’s had at that time a lumpy, poor-toned ring of 12 bells with a struggling band. There had been talk for sometime about rehanging or replacing the bells but little progress had been made.

In 2004 Liz was elected Tower Captain; she had had little experience of running ringing but having rung with strong bands throughout the country instinctively knew that the social side and interpersonal skills were as important as organising the ringing and these are areas where Liz excelled. While she was in charge the band grew in strength until it was able to enter the National 12-bell competition in 2023 and 2024, coming 4th equal on their own bells in an eliminator in 2023 and the following year 5th out of nine. Liz was to have been in the Cheltenham team at this year’s qualifier.

The Minster band passed a motion in 2012 that they should go for a complete new ring of bells and it was approved by the PCC the following year. As Tower Captain Liz took on the task of driving through the £330,000 project. She organised the official launch of the bell appeal with the Mayor of Cheltenham in attendance and, no doubt with David’s help, advice and encouragement, spent many hours researching grant-giving bodies and writing applications as well as talking to likely donors. By 2017 most of the money had been raised or promised and John Taylor & Co cast the new bells, a ring of 12 with a sharp 2nd to provide a light eight. The bells are all inscribed with names. No 2 is ‘Margaret’ donated by Liz in memory of her mother. No 3 is ‘Elizabeth’ donated jointly by Liz and David. In addition to the new bells, the belfry was completely refurbished to provide an ideal ringing environment. The first quarter peal on the bells was rung in October 2017 and they are now recognised as one of the best light twelves in the country. This ring will be a lasting legacy to Liz and without her dedication and commitment it is unlikely Cheltenham would possess the fine ring it has today.

In addition to ringing, travel was a big part in Liz and David’s lives. A year after their wedding Liz took David to the States to meet her American relatives and for many years they enjoyed holidays with their close friends Tony and Bec Cox, then summers with both families as they grew up, and in recent years, just the four of us again. To celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary and Liz’s 70th birthday last year they returned to Venice, where they had spent both their honeymoon and their 25th wedding anniversary.

Liz was fully engaged with the local community, volunteering at the Minster, and the Cheltenham Jazz and Literature Festivals where she thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience of helping to set up and take down events and also meeting and greeting the visitors and writers. She enjoyed weekly Pilates and dance classes. She was also on the board responsible for the upkeep of their estate.

During her working career Liz had secretarial and personal assistant roles at a variety of offices, charities and companies. In Cheltenham she worked for a local training company until she retired.

The excellent ring of bells now at Cheltenham Minster will remain a reminder of Liz. A legacy to the ringers, to the fabric of this wonderful church, and also to the town of Cheltenham. May she rest in Peace after a life well lived.

DAVID COKE & TONY COX

 

30 May 2025| THE RINGING WORLD | 503

Ringing in memory of Liz Coke

In addition to the following performances, Liz was remembered in a quarter peal in Atlanta on 14th March, printed in RW5948, p.349

BATH & WELLS D.A.

MARSTON BIGOT, Som, St Leonard
Wed 9 Apr 2025 2h46 (7)  5054 Superlative S Major  Comp. A J Cox

1 Andrew H Ball
2 Nicholas C Field
3 Marcus T Ham
4 Anthony J Cox (C)
5 Adrian P Beck
6 Barrie Hendry
7 Richard O Humphries 8 Rebecca J Cox

Circled the tower: 4. Arranged to celebrate the life of Elizabeth A Coke, Tower Captain of Cheltenham Minster, who rang 115 peals for this Association.

BRISTOL SOCIETY, BRISTOL,

All Saints
Wed 12 Mar 2025 2h59 (16)  5088 London S Major  Comp. Ian Butters

1 Colin G Newman (C) 2 Helen C Mansley 3 Matthew D Dawson 4 Philip D Moyse 5 Thomas R Sherwood 6 Michael R A Shaw
7 Cameron A Waters 8 Andrew J Mitchell

Remembering Liz Coke; former member of the Bristol City Band. Circled tower in 8 attempts: 4.

OXFORD D.G

HIGH WYCOMBE, Bucks,
All Saints
Sat 15 Mar 2025 3h26 (26)
5050 Stedman Cinques
Comp. M R Eccleston (eliminator 2025)

1 Patricia M Newton 2 Jack E Page (C) 3 Joanne P Druce
4 Janet E John 5 Elizabeth A Evans
6 Matthew R Johnson 7 Stephen H Stanford 8 D Giles Winter
9 Robert H Newton
10 Richard L Thumwood 11 Tim R Palmer
12 Graham A C John
Dedicated to the memory of Liz Coke. Pierhead prep. (though not necessarily for the same band): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12.

Cheltenham, Glos. (Minster Church of St Mary) 9 Mar, 1260 Grandsire Triples: Chris Hickey 1, Pat Hickey 2, Isabel Hitchings 3, Reg Hitchings (C) 4, Cath Jack 5, Stuart Tomlinson 6, Anthony P Foster 7, Tony Natt 8. In memory of Liz Coke who died very suddenly yesterday.

Leckhampton, Glos. 9 Mar, 1260 Grandsire Triples: Isabel Hitchings 1, Reg Hitchings 2, Barbara Pettit 3, Ray Talbot 4, Mike Seagrave 5, Anthony P Foster 6, Stuart Tomlinson (C) 7, Keith Reading 8. In memory of Liz Coke who died yesterday.

Prior’s Norton, Glos. 9 Mar, 1296 Cambridge S Minor: Roy Williams 1, Sheila Taylor 2, Rachel Coates 3, Malcolm Taylor 4, Greg Jones 5, Andrew D Evans (C) 6. In memory of our friend Liz Coke. £6

Washington, DC. (Cathedral) 9 Mar, 1296 PB Caters: Katharine S Emmons 1, Meredith A Morris 2, Beth Sinclair 3, Andrew L Haynes 4, Thomas H Schutt 5, Cecily W Rock (C) 6, Quilla Roth 7, B Haley Barnett 8, Alexander T Taft III 9, Philip Merrill 10. For Sunday service & in memory of Liz Coke, tower captain at Cheltenham Minster. 1st in m: 4. £10

Clevedon, Som. (S Andrew) 10 Mar, 1250 Yorkshire S Major: Anthony J Cox (C) 1, Rebecca J Cox 2, Lionel D Smith 3, Elizabeth A Smith 4, Glenn A A Taylor 5, Richard O Humphries 6, Peter W Hill 7, Bernard G North 8. Rung in memory of Elizabeth A Coke.

Worcester. (All Saints) 10 Mar, 1344 Worcestershire S Major: Roy Williams (C) 1, Hilda C Ridley 2, Kath Cocks 3, Rosie Marshall 4, Clive Sheppard 5, Andrew D Evans 6, Martin Bluck 7, Di Sheppard 8. In memory of our friend Elizabeth A. Coke (“Liz”). Paul Evans, Robin Walker, Mark Wilson & Stuart & Nicky Piper wish to be associated with this Q. £4

Ringing Room. (Ladies Who) 11 Mar, 1344 March D Minor: Jennifer A Dearie 1, Sandra Alford 2, Margaret L Sherwood 3, Elizabeth A Barnes 4, Louise G Pink 5, Pauline M Kennard (C) 6. In memory of Liz Coke. £8

Cheltenham, Glos. (Minster Church of St Mary) 15 Mar, 1289 Stedman Caters: Sandra Y Alford 1, Cath Jack 2, Jeremy D Alford 3, Hilda C Ridley 4, Ray Talbot 5, Mike Hartley 6, Mark B Davies (C) 7, Greg Jones 8, Richard Knight 9, Anthony P Foster 10. Rung in memory of Liz Coke, our friend & the core of this band. £5

Longney, Glos. 15 Mar, 1280 Bristol S Major: Ben Gooch 1, Rusty Hartley 2, Louise C Palmer 3, Roy Williams (C) 4, Phill A Butler 5, Ian D Bucknell 6, David A C Matthews 7, Quentin S A Jackson 8. In memory of Liz Coke. £4

Upton St Leonards, Glos. 15 Mar, 1344 Grandsire Major: David A C Matthews 1, Louise C Palmer 2, Roy Williams 3, Ben Gooch 4, Rusty Hartley 5, Phill A Butler 6, Ian D Bucknell 7, Quentin S A Jackson (C) 8. In memory of Liz Coke. £4

Cheltenham, Glos. (Minster Church of St Mary) 25 Mar, 1301 Stedman Cinques: Jeremy D Alford 1, Anthony J Cox 2, Mike Hartley 3, Sandra Y Alford 4, Cara A L Capewell 5, Richard Knight 6, Greg Jones 7, Cath Jack 8, Mark B Davies (C) 9, Becca Meyer 10, Elizabeth A Evans 11, Rebecca J Cox 12. Rung in memory of Liz Coke on the eve of her funeral. The last time we rang this touch, it was with her: https:// bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1773506. £6

Alexandria, VA. 26 Mar, 1250 Yorkshire S Major: Susan M O’Neill 1, Beth Sinclair 2, Quilla Roth 3, Brenda Parr 4, Nicholas J Parr 5, Meredith A Morris 6, B Haley Barnett (C) 7, Robert G Gibson 8. Rung in memory of Liz Coke, whose funeral was held today.

Cheltenham, Glos. (S Mark) 26 Mar, 1260 Grandsire Triples: Hilda C Ridley 1, Anthony P Foster 2, Andrew Haynes 3, Alfie Stick 4, Roy Williams (C) 5, Andrew D Evans 6, Simon J Ridley 7, Anthony Stick 8. Rung in celebration of the life of Liz Coke, on the day of her funeral. Liz was a strong supporter of the ringing at St Marks & will be missed. £2.50

Prior’s Norton, Glos. 26 Mar, 1260 Grandsire Triples: Hilda C Ridley 1, Mike Hartley 2, Stuart Tomlinson 3, Cath Jack 4, Richard Knight 5, Quentin Jackson 6, Mark B Davies (C) 7, Ray Talbot 8. Rung in memory of Liz Coke, on the day of her funeral. A practice for the Penn Trophy. In years past Liz would always ring with us in this competition. £4

Prestbury, Glos. (S Mary) 9 Apr, 1344 Glasow S Major: Reg Hitchings 1, Mike Hartley 2, Roy Williams (C) 3, Mike Seagrave 4, Hilda Ridley 5, Andrew D Evans 6, Henry J Stephenson 7, Richard H Knight 8. Rung in memory of Liz Coke (nee Glasow). The method was named after her & first ring to a peal on 24th February 1984. Liz was a regular member of this band. 1st in m for all except 3.

Cheltenham, Glos. (Minster Church of St Mary) 13 Apr, 1260 Grandsire Triples: Isabel Hitchings 1, Reg Hitchings (C) 2, Chris Hickey 3, Cath Jack 4, Pat Hickey 5, Anthony P Foster 6, Richard H Knight 7, Anson Jack 8. By members of the Sunday afternoon Q band in memory of Liz Coke. £4

Maidstone, Kent. (All Saints) 3 May, 1282 Cambridge S Royal: Linda J Etherington 1, Graham D Heath 2, Martin W Marshall 3, Elizabeth A Barnes 4, Catherine Piper 5, Phillip R J Barnes 6, David W Grimwood 7, Steven J Haynes 8, Mark Chittenden- Pile 9, Neil W Jones (C) 10. Rung for the 12th Birthday of Kara-May Williams, Great Niece of 2. 1st Cambridge S Royal for 39 years: 5 (rung with Liz Coke in Sheffield, who was also a band member at All Saints before moving to Cheltenham, may she rest in peace).

Liverpool. (Our Lady & St Nicholas) 22 Mar, 255 Stedman Cinques: Catherine J B Jack 1, Paul Wells 2, Sandra Alford 3, Cara Capewell 4, Rachel Bagley 5, Hilda Ridley 6, Ian Bucknell 7, Michael Hartley 8, Gregory Jones 9, Jeremy Alford (C) 10, Simon J Ridley 11, David P Bagley 12. The Cheltenham team 12 Bell Qualifiers test piece, dedicated to Liz Coke who was to have rung today.

Cheltenham. (S Mark) 26 Mar, Called Changes: Simon J Ridley (C), Mike Fitch, Angela Dann, Simon Dann, Steve Knott, Andrew Haynes, Aidan Derby, Andy Clark, Hannah Guggiari. Rung open in celebration of the life of Liz Coke, on the day of her funeral.

Yardley, W Mids. 26 Mar, 240 PB Doubles: Lesley A Llewellyn 1, Shaun A Bailey (C) 2, M Ann Bailey 3, Julie Adams 4, Simon E Adams 5. Rung in memory of Liz Coke, on the day of her funeral, friend of 2.

Submit any corrections to performances@ringingworld.co.uk