Ivan Saunders

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Ivan J M Saunders, one of the Guild’s Vice-Presidents, on 4th April 2020.

Ivan was born in 1938 in Danbury, Essex, and began his ringing career at the age of 12. Already an accomplished peal ringer by the time he joined the RAF in 1958, he continued to ring both tower and hand bells during postings in Cheshire, Shropshire and Norfolk serving as an Air Traffic Controller.

A civilian career in ATC took Ivan first to Heathrow and then Bournemouth during the 1960s before marriage to Julie and the arrival of children saw the family settling in Old Woking in the early 70s and the start of Ivan’s close association with the Guildford Guild, particularly with the Chertsey District. He joined St Mary’s, Send, in 1973 and was tower captain and correspondent there for many years as well as a ringer and helper at Old Woking, Horsell and Ockham.

Ivan served the Chertsey District in various offices including Assistant Ringing Master, District Ringing Master for two terms, Secretary, and Executive Committee Member continuously from 1999. From setting up the District bookstall and joining the Guild’s Library sub-committee in 1978/9, Ivan went on to become Guild Librarian, a position which he held from 2005 up to the time of his death. He was elected as a Vice-President in 2007 in recognition of his long and outstanding service to the Guild. A more detailed biography can be found at http://guildfordguild.org.uk/biographies/ivan-jm-saunders-vice-president/.

Ivan was predeceased by Julie in October 2019. He will be much missed by his fellow ringers within the Guild and in the wider ringing community.