The Priest's Tale

by Reverend Roger Redding, MBE,
retired Chaplain to Gypsies, Travellers and Showmen

My introduction to the Gypsy Traveller world began in 1996 when I was selected for the post of Team Vicar in the Chalke Valley in the diocese of Salisbury. The parishes bordered the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. I had been working in urban areas where there were large housing estates and vast parishes so arriving in rural Ebbesbourne Wake came as quite a shock. After about a month I began to wonder why God had chosen me for this isolated post. However it was at this point that I was invited to officiate at my first Romany funeral.

Mr Cooper had not travelled for many years but had bought a piece of land above Salisbury where he constructed a small site for his family to live.

I was invited by the family on the evening before the funeral to see the body into the family home where the deceased would lie in state. The family were in deep mourning and there were many relatives all gathered to pay their respects. I was ushered into a room where Mr Cooper was lying and was asked to pray for his soul and his family also.

I prepared to leave them to their watching when a Romany lady addressed me with the words—“You haven’t had much to do with Travellers have you vicar?” In my heart I heard a voice saying to me, 'That is all going to change from now on.'

Like most Traveller funerals it was huge with around 400 people attending and masses of wonderful flowers.

The family requested that their great friend Eli Frankham, a Gypsy counsellor, should be able to speak about Mr Cooper as a Travelling man. This was the first time that I had come in contact with a Traveller activist. Eli told me something of the spirituality of this much loved man. He was very generous of heart and if you admired anything that belonged to him he would insist that you take it. I am a Franciscan, so this kind of spirituality was of great interest to me. I began, over the following months to be drawn to studying this fascinating nomadic tribe of people.

One of my parishioners told me that there were Travellers who came to camp on the downs above Alvediston and that she would call me when they arrived. On new year’s day 1997 I received the call from Laurie Bissett to tell me that Dave Rawlings and his family had arrived on the drove road.

Romany musician and his wife
from an oil painting by Roger

I drove up just a little apprehensive as I had not encountered itinerant Travellers before. I approached a man who was cold shoeing a horse outside his Gypsy vardo. I asked if he was Dave Rawlings and he answered yes, I am but who are you? I told him that I was the local vicar and he said, “Good, my daughter wants to get married.”

This extraordinary day was to be the start of a wonderful friendship. Dave opened the doors into the Traveller community and introduced me to some amazing people.

Within a year of meeting the Rawlings family I had spent time living on the road with them and become involved with the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

As time went by I came to know of the real suffering of the Travelling people and also gained an insight into their deep spirituality.

I remember Dave saying to me once, “ You know the story in the new testament about the kingdom of heaven having many mansions? Well I look at it like this, I am one of those mansions, a dwelling place for God’s spirit.” That to me was a very special insight into Traveller spirituality.

The thread of nomadic spirituality runs right through the bible form Abel to Abraham, Moses and to Jesus himself who was the ultimate nomad.

I often felt that I was being ministered unto rather than being the one ministering.

It has been a great joy to live and work with my adopted nation and to share in their joys and sorrows.

I would like to offer you God’s blessing as you continue to read on.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Traditional Gaelic Blessing