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Michael Haynes, 18th December 1967 – 30th September 2025

Michael Haynes of Milcombe, Oxfordshire, was taught to ring by Alan Griffin at Bloxham in 1995 and became widely-known within the Four Shires Guild (FSG) and overlapping territorial guilds. A committee member for the FSG, Michael organised many congenial walking-ringing tours, and could be relied upon to provide a sincere and friendly welcome to any practice in his soft Oxfordshire burr, latterly becoming a faithful member of the Old Marston and Hook Norton bands, and rang the Ellacombe Chimes at Milcombe at any opportunity, notably the Ride and Stride each year to welcome visitors. Michael enthusiastically organised quarter and peal attempts, often in his “method of the moment” (Very Easy Treble Bob Major and Cambridge Minor spring to mind), and was never short of a footnote request in memory of ringers and clergy from near or far, or in celebration of the induction of a new minister at some far-flung church. The reason for this seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of diocesan happenings became clear at his funeral, where The Rev Dale Gingrich related that Michael was the only person he knew who avidly read the Church Times from cover to cover. In his warm and personal tribute, Rev Gingrich also told of Michael’s characteristic determination in rising to the many challenges he encountered in life, repeatedly exceeding expectations, a description instantly recognisable to his fellow ringers. Chatting before a peal in Michael’s memory, Mike Chester, who conducted 43 of Michael’s 73 peals, recalled that when learning blue lines had proved problematic, Alan had thought outside the box and recited the work of the blue line into an audio recording which enabled Michael to learn methods. Nick Allsopp spoke for us all in saying he was delighted for Michael that he had achieved his goal in life to follow in his father’s footsteps to become Church Warden at St Laurence’s church, Milcombe, where he was the last in a long line of the Haynes family associated with the church for over 150 years. Michael’s death came as a great shock to ringers and neighbours alike, with standing room only at his funeral and an outpouring of affection and gratitude from the Milcombe community which he loved and served.