TWO brothers with more than 100 years’ experience of church bell-ringing between them will be leading an attempt to ring all the church bells in Suffolk this holiday weekend as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Derek and Maurice Rose, from Hartest and Rougham respectively, will be among the many campanologists sending out celebratory peals from the church towers across the county.

According to Derek, who is master of the south west district of the Suffolk Guild of Ringers, the only thing that will prevent all the church bells from being rung is a lack of available ringers.

He said: “We are going to call out as many people as we can and see how far we can get. We are desperately short of ringers and with some people going away this weekend we might not have enough but we’ll give it a good go.”

Derek, 59, who started bell-ringing when he was nine years old, will be spending most of his time in Sudbury during the celebrations where there are plans to ring the bells of the town’s three main churches – St Gregory’s, St Peter’s and All Saints – on different days.

At St Gregory’s Church, the Rev Gregory Webb said: “There will be something special about so many bell chimes in the town.

“For me church bells help to increase the sense of community in a place.”

And for Derek it will be an honour to be involved in such an historic occasion.

He added: “I will be very proud to play my part in showing our support for all the good work the Queen has carried out over the years.

“And hopefully when people hear the bells, it might spur them to come and join us and give bell-ringing a go themselves.”

There are Jubilee celebrations happening all over Suffolk and Essex this weekend and while we aim to get to most, our photographers won’t be able to visit every community. So take some photos and video footage, upload them at www.iwitness24.co.uk and share your celebrations with our readers.