Tony Dunning –
The great thing about Tony was the way he brought his cheerful enthusiasm to things in the community.
He learnt to ring in his mid thirties as part of the first band ringing the newly installed bells at Whitehaven. He rang his first quarter on 25th July 1980, and the first of his 13 peals on 13 December of the same year. The peals included first peal by a Sunday Service Band in the history of the guild, and first peal on 12 by an all guild band. He rang them all in his favourite position, covering on the tenor. For him it was about getting involved and making a good noise for the right reasons, not about doing the difficult stuff. When I moved to the area he was steeple keeper at Whitehaven, a position he held for over 35 years.
Ringing wasn’t the only thing he did in the community. He was a morris dancer. He was involved in community transport. He was involved in waterways. He was involved in the local vintage rally.
Tony was involved in ringing until 2022, when his health deteriorated to the point where he could no longer ring. He died on the 19th June 2024 and his funeral was held on Thursday 11th July in Distington Crematorium.
Richard Last
