Clarence Gerald Brown was born in Chester on 11^th 1924. As a child he often used to lose his voice and so he acquired the nickname 'Croaker' which stayed with him throughout his life. He told me once that only his mother ever called him Clarence.

While Croaker was still a boy his family moved outside the city walls to Handbridge, and he attended school there and in Chester. He was fifteen when the Second World War broke out and in 1942 he reached the age when he was old enough to be called up like other young men of his generation. In Croaker's case, however, he was unable to join the armed services due to a perforated ear drum and he spent his years of war service making shells.

When the war ended Croaker settled down to his profession as a draughtsman, working for Vauxhalls at Luton. He was at that time a member of the Labour Party and it was at a Labour Party dance that he met a young typist, Jean Cumberland. Romance blossomed, and the two became engaged. Croaker was already a committed Christian and following his lead Jean was baptised and confirmed before they were married.

Croaker later transferred to Vauxhalls at Ellesmere Port and it was at this time he and Jean came to live in Neston. Jean joined the Mothers' Union in Neston church and in 1981 she was one of a group of members who came up the church tower to see the bells. Croaker accompanied them out of interest and although none of the Mothers' Union members decided to learn to ring, he did.

Croaker mastered Plain Hunt and attempted Plain Bob Doubles inside but he was never really happy on a working bell and much preferred covering on the tenor, which everyone in the band regarded as 'his' bell. I do not know exactly how many quarter peals he rang but it must have been about a hundred, all covering.

In 1987 Croaker retired from work at the age of sixty three. Sadly the following year Jean became ill and in 1993 she died after a long fight against cancer.

Croaker was never quite the same afterwards and although he carried on as usual, much of the sparkle had gone.

Croaker's ambition as a bellringer had always been to ring a peal. At that time peals at Neston were few and far between due to complaints about noise, but, typically of Croaker, he did not grumble and waited patiently for five years for an opportunity to present itself. In 1993 permission was finally granted for a peal to be rung and Croaker was able to achieve his ambition, covering to Plain Bob Triples at Neston on 20^th November. (Number 9344; p56 Chester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers eighty-sixth Annual Report). He would never even have considered ringing his peal in another tower instead.

It was around this time that Croaker noticed he was suffering from occasional memory loss. He went to see his doctor, who told him that the problem was due to grief at his wife's death, but the memory loss persisted and Croaker went back to the doctor again. This time he was sent for tests and he was eventually diagnosed as suffering from Parkinson's Disease.

As his illness progressed Croaker was forced to curtail many of his activities and in June 1997 he regretfully gave up ringing altogether. He carried on living at home for as long as possible but eventually had to go into hospital and then into a nursing home. He died on 24^th July.

It would not be possible to place too high a value on the unstinting service Croaker gave to his tower in the sixteen years he rang there. For most of his ringing career he held the posts of steeple keeper and treasurer and he was always ready to give up his time to walk down to the tower to unlock the door for visitors. When the band went through a lean period he was one of the three remaining ringers who turned up without fail every week to keep the bells ringing until new recruits could be obtained and the tower will be the poorer without him.

The following quarter peals were rung half-muffled in memory of Croaker.

Heswall, Merseyside. 31 Jul, 1259 Plain Bob Triples: Susan E Costello 1, Lindsey C Bryant 2, W Brian Shone 3, Alexander J Martin 4, Peter M S Newton 5, Margaret K S Allin 6, John S T Willasey (C) 7, Ralph Maudsley 8.

Neston, Cheshire. 2 Aug, 1280 Spliced S Major (C,Y,R,N,S,P): John R Williams 1, Rhiannon J Matthews 2, William E Court 3, Janet M Jones 4, Robert Peers 5, Randle T J Tinkler 6, Kenneth W Price (C) 7, Eric R Jones 8. First 6-spliced 2 and as C.

Susan E Costello	August 2001
See also The Ringing World No. 4713 p864.