“On Monday evening last the Diss Company of Change Ringers rang on the bells of the Parish Church …. with the bells half muffled, as a last tribute of respect to the memory of Thomas Clarke…”

About Thomas Clarke

Thomas Clarke was born 1825 in the small rural English village of Palgrave, Suffolk. Census records revealed that Thomas worked as an agricultural labourer, married late in life, and had no children. The newspaper report of his death in 1902 was more informative, and helps bring Thomas to life.

According to his death notice, Thomas had been a member of the change bell ringers’ company of nearby Diss, Norfolk, since his youth.… Continue reading