Private Reuben Horton remembered (killed in action 30 January 1915)

Over the next 4 years the bell ringers at Nocton Church are going to attempt to ring a half muffled quarter peal to commemorate the centenaries of the deaths of the 12 Nocton residents/natives who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Great War.  The plan is to ring these quarter peals on the actual anniversary of their deaths if possible.

Sadly we have realised after doing our research that we missed the anniversary of the first Nocton resident/native to be killed during the Great War and so to correct this mistake the bell ringers are planning to ring a half muffled quarter peal on Saturday 30 May 2015.  The ringing will last around 45 minutes and will have the mournful sound of being rung half muffled, which gives a loud stroke followed by a quiet stroke (effectively an echo).

Private Reuben Horton was the son of Ellen Horton of Ten Row Nocton and was married to Florence Ada Horton.  He served during the Great War in the 1^st Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own).  He was sadly killed in action on 30 January 1915 aged 35, making him the first Nocton resident/native to be killed during the Great War.  His name appears on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Belgium on the panel 3 to 4.  He is also remembered on the War Memorial on the west wall at the back of Nocton Church and on a plaque in his memory at the east end of the south aisle in the Church.  A half muffled quarter peal will be rung on the bells at Nocton Church in his memory on Saturday 30 May 2015.