Kempsford Bells Poem

Ring Kempsford bells, till far and near
Your iron tounges beat loud and clear,
Your music floats, borne swift and high
On wings of air, twixt earth and sky.
Ring as the years their scenes unfold,
Ring in the new, ring in the old.

Ring Kempsford bells, ring out your chimes.
Ring as of yore in olden times.
Ring louder still with all your powers
In tones that shake vibrating towers.
Ring o'er the vale, the haunts of men.
Echoing strains o'er hill and glen.

Ring Kempsford bells, with swinging toss.
For thos beneath the Southern cross.
For those who scan the prarie main,
O'er African veldt or Indian plain.
With fancy's thought how of it seems
The village bells ring in their dreams.

- Written by William Hayward during the Boer War