THE RING OF EIGHT
Horham, England

St. Mary’s Church in Horham, England houses a ring of eight bells, the oldest being cast in 1568.  On a 1981 visit to Horham, it came to the attention of veteran “Lefty” Nairn that the bells had not rung since 1911 because of their decayed wooden frames.  He began a campaign to have the bells restored, and at the 1988 95th Bomb Group Association reunion in Cincinnati, the project of tuning, re-hanging, and restoring the bells at Horham was approved by the Board of Directors.  This goal, with the help of the English Friends of the 95th and members of St. Mary’s Church, was finally accomplished on December 28th 1990.  Today, a climb up into the bell tower not only gives a close up view of the bells, but a lovely vista of the surrounding countryside.  In 1993, the “Ring of Eight” was recognized by the English Heritage Secretary for “outstanding achievement in the field of conservation and restoration.”

Across the street from the Church is another memorial, this one in the shape of a B-17 tail with the 95th's "Square B".  Again, this was a joint project with the English Friends of the 95th, unveiled in 1981 in memory of the 192 B-17 crews that failed to return.

LINK TO PHOTOS OF ANCIENT "RING OF EIGHT" bells in St.Mary's Church in HORHAM, ENGLAND.