The Man and his work
Since his arrival in September 2004 Tony Cumberlidge has become as much a part of the Lambourn Valley as its possible to be. He has worked tirelessly towards his goal of creating a church environment that is welcoming to all. He has introduced a more modern and interesting approach to his churches, giving them a high degree of relevance to the lives of the parishioners in both his parishes, regardless of age or means. These changes haven't been easy to achieve as there is always resistance by the minority, to any form of change, be it the church, the local bus timetable or even the firm that cuts the grass verges. To his credit, Tony has stuck to his guns and, to that end, has become one of the most respected (and liked) figures along the northern end of the valley.





In November 2003 the Revd Bill Stewart retired from his post as Priest-in charge of our three valley churches, St Michael and all Angels Lambourn, St James the Greater, Eastbury, and our own All Saints' here in East Garston. As in all changes of circumstance there was a fair amount of concern, the general feeling was that Bill would be a hard act to follow. Thankfully those fears were unfounded as the ecclesiastical reigns for the valley, from East Garston through to Lambourn, have now passed into the safe hands our new Priest in Charge; The Revd. Tony Cumberlidge. The licensing took place in St Michael's Church on Thursday 30th September and was carried out by the Rt Rev'd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, with the installation by the Area Dean, the Rev'd Tom Moffatt, Rector of Thatcham.. A packed church of well over 200 witnessed a very impressive opening procession comprising crucifer, choir, visiting clergy, patrons representatives, Deanery lay chairman, Area Dean, verger, priest-elect, churchwardens, bishop and bishop's chaplain and the service proceeded with some well-known hymns - two of which were chosen by Tony.
Following an address by the bishop the two patrons' representatives presented the new priest who, in turn, was presented with the symbols of the church (a stole, a bible, a jug of water and the oils, along with a chalice and paten) by the churchwardens and verger. After swearing his allegiance the new priest was led to his stall by the Area Dean, from where he tolled the bell to show he had definitely "arrived".
 

reproduced by kind permission of the Village Views Team.

Not long after we moved to the Vicarage, a friend E-mailed me a poem entitled "Upper Lambourn" written by Sir John Betjeman. Here's part of verse 3:
'To the down the string of horses'
' Moving out of sight and mind.
The string of horses on their way to the down is a familiar sight from my study window and often makes me pause to reflect on how it was that I came to be in this beautiful part of the world, with its rolling downs, woods and river. You see, I'm a Welshman, more used to the rugged mountains and rivers of North Wales than the gentle hills and chalk streams of Berkshire. I grew up in a small village called Meliden near Prestatyn, with the mountains behind and the sea in front. I attended the village school' was a member of the church choir and indeed was married to my wife Gaynor (from Prestatyn) there in 1972. We both attended St Asaph Grammar school and I was confirmed and later ordained in the Cathedral there. When we married, I was working for National Westminster Bank and in 1973 we were living in Wrexham where our two children, Matthew and Bethan were born. In 1979, after 14 years in the banking world, I offered myself for ordination and was accepted for training at Salisbury and Wells Theological College in Salisbury. I was ordained deacon in St Asaph Cathedral in 1982, and served my curacy in Deganwy in the parish of Llanrhos near Llandudno. A few years later I was appointed Rector of a nearby group of country parishes and in 1987 was invited by the Chaplain General to accept a regular commission in the Royal Army Chaplains Department.



Thereafter followed nearly 17 years of the most fulfilling, demanding and challenging ministry that a priest could hope to have. Within a couple of weeks of being a country parson I was being bawled and sworn at by a loud mouthed staff sergeant instructor in Sandhurst Character building stuff, Padre" I was told! Two postings to Germany followed, then 2 years in Cyprus, another tour in Germany including 6 months in Bosnia as Senior UN Chaplain when the UN transferred authority to NATO a UK tour, another Germany posting and a final posting to a Brigade HQ in Preston which included another operational tour to Bosnia. Much travel and separation from home was involved- operational tours and exercises to Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the snow in Norway the desert in Africa, the prairies of Canada, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, the jungles of Brunei to name but a few places.

My plan was to return home to Wales when I left the army. Those Welsh exiles among you will recognize the word "hiraeth" - a longing to be home. But as a servant of Christ having surrendered your life to Him, you go where He leads. He has led me to Lambourn. This is not like another army posting where you go where you are told - I believe I was called to serve here, and, as I said to the Bishop at my Licensing Service, when facing the challenges ahead I shall face them "with the help of God" and the support of the people of God in all three parishes.

  
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Alongside his Church duties, Tony is also a governor of Great Shefford C of E School and takes a keen interest in a variety of school activities
As with most professions there are perks that crop up from time to time and here, Tony gets up close and personal with that most wonderful of machines ~ "The Supermarine Spitfire"
The evolvement of the gift day into a much longer and more involved facet of the church year has brought together a series of people from different walks of life. pictured with Tony are:- (top left) Peter Durant, archivist. (top right) Geoffrey Tyack, Church Historian. (bottom left) Susan Rixon, historian and (bottom right) The Bishop of Reading The Rt. Revd. Stephen Cottrell.
Above, a selection of the many areas of work covered by Tony throughout the year. Mothering Sunday, The Nativity, Baptism and Memorial. But perhaps the most unique attribute I can credit to our Vicar, is his willingness to get involved in whatever needs to be done. The maintenance day recently introduced at All Saints' saw him don overalls and toil alongside those that had come along to do the work. In my experience, most Vicars would turn up as the work was finishing, just in time to say thank you.
Remembrance 2004 was to be my first meeting with Tony Cumberlidge. Here in the village for reason's I will never understand, we had been without a proper remembrance service for many many years. Tony changed all that from day one, and has given the Parish back its ability to honour its war dead with the appropriate respect and dignity they deserve.