This was included because bells were a huge symbol of V.E. Day, and our church also rang them this year.
There is also another connection, which our younger readers may not know, and that is that during the Second World War, starting in 1940, ringing bells was actually banned. The reason for this was that bells were only to be rung in the event of a German invasion. There is another layer to this, as it was believed that the Germans would not realise that we had stopped ringing the bells and would also not realise that it was a symbol for the civilians to flee and the forces, or any person who wished to remain and fight, to stand and take up their arms. This ban remained for three years, and it was only lifted in order to celebrate the Allied victory at El Alamein. It was then allowed that they be rung to celebrate the following Christmas, and in June 1943 it was decided that the threat of enemy invasion was unlikely, and so the bells were allowed to be rung.
However, there was difficulty with this, as most of the men who had formerly rung the bells were either away on War service or had been already killed. And at that time there was a certain resistance to allowing women to ring them, though eventually this was allowed, and it helped to restore some of the numbers.
This card is quite a scarce one, and it is really lovely, full of humour and charm.
Each bell has a name and is being rung, rather lustily, by characters related to that bell`s purpose. In our case the bell is a "tocsin" or alarm bell, and so it is being ridden by two firemen in their golden brass helmets and full uniform. The full set comprises :
- La Cloche d`Alarme - alarm bell - two sailors above a stormy sea
- La Cloche de L`Ecole - school bell - two school boys
- La Cloche de l`Hotel - hotel bell - a chef and a housemaid
- La Cloche du Bapteme - baptismal bell - an elf and someone in a christening gown
- La Cloche du Chateau - house bell - a pair of uniformed servants
- Le Tocsin - the alarm bell - firemen
The unusual one is La Cloche du Bapteme, because this is a naval phrase, relating to that fact that if there was a birth at sea the infant would be baptised under the ship`s bell. ban was lifted (which many people do not remember)