[p49 - Souvenir Programme of the Abingdon Ring Meeting 1956]

[p50]

Meeting at Abingdon 14^th- 16^th September 1956

The fifty-fifth meeting of the Morris Ring was held at Abingdon on the week-end September 14^th-16^th 1956 at the invitation of the Mayor and Corporation, and formed part of the celebrations of the Quatercentenary of the granting of the Borough Charter.

A total of 340 dancers took part representing 38 clubs, 30 of which sent complete teams.

The clubs represented at the meeting which approached in numbers the great London meeting of 1955 were as follows: Abingdon, Bampton, Bathhampton, Beaux, Bedford, Bedford Boy’s Club, Burton-on-Trent, Cambridge, Colchester, Coventry, East Surry, Foresters, Gloucestershire, Headington Quarry, Jockey, King’s Collage N/C, Leeds, Lichfield, London Pride, London Rodney, Longstraw, Martlet, Medway, Newcastle, Northampton, Oxford University, Ravensbourn, St. Albans, South Barks, Standon, Stockton, Thames Valley, Thaxted, Westminster, Whit Church White Horse, White Rose & Winchester.

The Corn Exchange was kindly put at our disposal free of charge for the week-end & was used as headquarters. The Morris Ale was held here on the Friday evening under the Squire’s direction, refreshment being available at the

buffet bar. The beer on this occasion was given by the brewers, Messer’s. Morland & Co. Those men that chose to sleep in beds were divided between Rodley College & Culham College, while campers and caravanners were accommodated in the grounds of Caldecott House.

At 10 o’clock on Saturday morning the men assembled at the car park behind the Corn Exchange and gradually sorted themselves into their various tours of which there were 10 each with 3 full sides. In order to guard against parties losing themselves and to keep them as closely as possible to their published schedules, nearly every tour was accompanied by an Abingdon dancer as guide. It should not escape notice that this public-spirited arrangement meant that the Abingdon Men themselves had no dancing until the evening. Its effectiveness was borne out by the fact that all tours kept perfectly to their time-tables with the lamentable exception of one tour for which no guide could be provided. It is rumoured that these men lunched too well at Witney, aided & abetted by newly arrived Oxford University men all of whom were musicians. At all events what ever the truth of the matter, the populace of Stanton Harcourt,

including the Squire of the village, awaited at 2.30 in vain. It is believed they succeeded in keeping their 3.30 engagement at Standlake. Tour "F" was scheduled to dance at the main entrance of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at the precise moment when visitors would be arriving for the open day. Evidently Security must have become aware of this manoeuvre because when the men arrived it was found that all visitors were being driven direct into the works by coach at another entrance half a mile away. The men danced in Chilton village instead. The next stop on this tour was Didcot. Here the East Surrey Bessie capped her 1952 achievement in the same village by importuning not only a constable on point duty (to the value of 6d) but also a sergeant (to the value of 1/-); In addition six Morris bells were auctioned for 6/-. The onlookers here included a retired Oxford policeman who had danced the Morris with Col. Fox at the Albert Hall; but the most appreciative of all was an inebriated Pole who presented the Squire-Elect of the Ring with a unopened bottle of port, repeating again & again that he loved England. The men watched him mount his bicycle and observed with interest that he rode perfectly although he had been unable to walk straight. At the

final show of this tour at Steventon the men were greeted by a clergyman from Reading, who claimed to have danced the Morris over 50 years ago in Cirencester. It should be noted that tours A&B were on foot and confined to Abingdon & its immediate environs included several modern housing estates. The remaining tour travelled into the country by car & details of the itineraries are given in the printed programme of the meeting. In due course all tours returned to Abingdon and tea was available in the Corn Exchange. At 5.30 a brief meeting of club Representatives was held in the Magistrates room and at 6 o’clock most teams gathered in Abbey Gardens, but owing to the great numbers some danced first in Ock Street. In the Abbey Gardens the Squire directed a display which lasted a full hour & a half before a large and appreciative audience.

The Feast was at 8.15 in the Corn Exchange. The five guests were the Mayor of Abingdon (Councillor G. Stow), the Deputy Mayor (Coun. G. Barber), Alderman F. Stimpson, the Chief Constable (Supt. A.A. Walker) & the Vicar of St’ Michel’s (Rev. L.G. Janes). 345 was many more than had ever before dined together in the Corn

Exchange, and the Ring is greatly indebted to the caterers (the Abbey Café) for their ingenuity in overcoming so successfully the many problems with which they were faced. At the conclusion of the meal the Squire (Donald Cassels) gave the formal toasts. He them presented staffs of membership to the Squires of the newly admitted clubs: the Foresters Morris Men, Burton-upon-Trent Morris Men and the Martlet Sword & Morris Men. Next the Squire rose to propose the toast of the Morris Ring & the Squire-Elect. He thanked the clubs for making his two years in office so pleasant. He revealed that during his time he had visited 32 clubs, travelling 4,800 miles, and his correspondence as well as being voluminous had been strangely varied - one day a blast from Bill in the far north, the next a circular advertising outside conveniences. Donald continued by thanking all who had helped to organise Ring Meetings during the two years, especially those concerned with the London meeting, and he also warmly thanked the Bagman for his support. He then sprang a great surprise on us all by producing two magnificent pewter tankards, which he said he would like to present to the Ring for the use of the reigning Squire & Bagman. The Squire’s tankard has a glass bottom, the Bagman’s is provided with a lid, and each is

suitably inscribed. In offering the toast Donald spoke of Bill Cassie, the Squire-Elect, saying he was confident Bill’s election would lead to a valuable strengthening of the links between the northern clubs and those in the rest of the country. The toast was then drunk and forthwith, to the acclamation of all-present, Donald handed the symbols of his office, the Squire’s Staff and the Ceremonial Badge, to the new Squire, Bill Cassie. Bill then addressed the men, thanking them for his election.  He gave an account of his early introduction to the Morris and concluded with a warm tribute to Donald for the hard work he had put in for the Morris Ring during his term of office. Toasts of Abingdon & the Abingdon Morris Dancers was proposed by Kenworthy Schofield who drew attention to the uniqueness of the occasion in that we were all here at the entirely unsolicited invitation of the Mayor & Corporation and also in the remarkable circumstances of having two mayors sitting at the same table. He had a special greeting for Tom Hemmings, Mayor of Ock Street & the Morris, and expressed the warm thanks of all the men to Abingdon Morris Dancers, particularly their Bagman, Jack Hyde, for the excellent manner in which the meeting had been organised.

The Mayor of Abingdon, replied to the toast, welcome the men and said he noticed they need not worry about car lights as they had the Chief Constable safely inside. He said Abingdon was proud of its Morris & that the team would be dancing in Ock Street as the Queen passes by during her visit on November 2^nd. He concluded by saying that he thought Alderman Stimpson deserved a special word of thanks for his part in organising hospitality, and he wished the Ring all the best of luck for the future. Alderman Stimpson also replied to the toast on behalf of Tom Hemmings & the Abingdon Morris Dancers. The Bagman then read an account of the Meeting at Leeds, and soon after 10.30 the men dispersed to dance in the streets. The Officers and ex-Squires however enjoyed the hospitality of the Mayor of Abingdon in his Parlour. The Westminster Morris Men are reported to have taken port appropriately at the Unicorn Theatre.

At 9.30 on Sunday morning a further meeting of Club representatives was held in the Corn Exchange. Owing to the large numbers three separate processions were formed to St. Michel’s church, each with its own music. The special service at 11 o’clock took the form of a Solemn Eucharist and was conducted by the Vicar, the Rev. L.G. Janes who was on the

point of leaving the parish after a number of years there. The Bishop of Reading, Rt. Rev. A.G. Perham was present and the Morris Staffs were presented at the altar. After the service there was dancing in Ock Street in warm sunshine and a rapper team from the north gave a fine performance immediately outside the house of the Mayor of Ock Street. * At lunch time this memorable week-end of Morris was officially over and during the course of the afternoon the teams regretfully took their departure from Abingdon.

Bill Cassie
I/VI 57

[In pencil] *The new Squire danced himself in with a jig on the Market Place.

                            (Lumps of Plum Pudding)
                            (Kenworthy Schofield piped)