Name of Applicant:

Harry Helyer

Date of birth:

07/04/2008

Email address:

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Home tower:

Northallerton & Ormesby

County:

North Yorkshire

Consent given:

Parent/Guardian name:

Fiona Helyer

Parent/Guardian email address:

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Application:

Over the last year, I have developed a band of ringers at one of my home towers, Ormesby, where back in 2022, we had 6 ringers who could only ring call changes. In November, we rang the first complete local band quarter since 1977. This was done by recruiting and training of new ringers, and managing to convince lapsed ringers to return, helping our band grow. Not only have I taught people to ring, but helped share my steeple keeping skills with my young keen learner, who is now capable of changing a rope, changing a stay, fitting muffles, tucking up tail ends and walked him
through the process of doing belfry checks, ensuring our tower is kept in good order. I also founded the Ormesby Change Ringers Committee, which was brought in as a way to see that our tower progresses, and that fund raising for our tower repairs is steadily increasing. I chair these meetings and am the youngest member of our committee by about 50 years. Since July 2025, just after the RWNYC in Birmingham, I took over the role of leading the Yorkshire Tykes young ringers group - which carries great responsibility, for a county that is so big, this means arranging a band for our 8 Bell Method Competition, which can be a difficult process when you have 30+ young ringers all eager to be apart of the team. This requires maturity and a level of leadership which acts in a tactful and professional manner. All ringers who attend the Yorkshire Tykes monthly
meetings have a fair chance at practice, which is I believe is a very important part of leadership. In October 2025 - the Cleveland Cluster of Change Ringers was set up, which has brought the whole community of ringers in the Cleveland area together. I ran a practice at Ormesby - where no more than 10 can fit up the tower at one time, being able to manage and overcome obstacles such as communicating with downstairs in the church, and organising bands with people I haven’t rang with, requires great perseverance, which I believe is a really important value of being a leader, and demonstrating good leadership.

Since Yorkshire is such a huge county, a lot of travelling is required - and some of that money will go towards petrol, which is a pretty expensive thing for a 17 year old to be paying for. Alongside this, I will invest the money into material that will be useful for my learners and ringers at Ormesby, and potential new recruits, who are looking to begin such a wonderful hobby. One of the things we are lacking at Ormesby is: written material, such as method books, learner log books. I think this would be a very useful investment, as a lot of our practices see a new method each month.