About East Grinstead Bonfire Society
East Grinstead Bonfire Society (EGBS) represents the historic market town of East Grinstead, West Sussex. Run by volunteers, the society brings members together throughout the year for fundraising, social events and participation in the autumn bonfire season.
East Grinstead has a long history of Bonfire celebrations, although the tradition has not always been continuous. The modern society has helped bring Bonfire back into the life of the town, building its own identity while drawing upon East Grinstead’s distinctive history.
Today, members represent East Grinstead at celebrations around Sussex and work throughout the year to raise the funds needed to support the society and its activities.
Bonfire in East Grinstead
Bonfire celebrations in East Grinstead can be traced back well beyond the present society.
Like many towns, East Grinstead historically marked the Fifth with bonfires, fireworks and public gatherings. Over the years organised celebrations came and went, leaving periods when the town no longer had an active society of its own.
The revival of East Grinstead Bonfire therefore represented more than the creation of another community group. It restored the town’s own place within a tradition in which it had previously participated.
Since its return, the society has worked to establish traditions that are recognisably connected with East Grinstead itself.
The East Grinstead Martyrs
East Grinstead has a particularly significant connection with the history remembered during Bonfire through the East Grinstead Martyrs.
During the reign of Queen Mary I, three Protestants – Thomas Dungate, John Forman and Anne Tree – were burned for their beliefs in East Grinstead on 18 July 1556.
The executions took place close to the town's historic High Street, and a memorial to the three martyrs can still be found in the churchyard of St Swithun's Church.
Their story gives East Grinstead its own direct connection with the Marian persecutions and forms an important part of the town's local history.
The First Pioneers
One of the most interesting aspects of East Grinstead Bonfire Society is the historical inspiration behind its Pioneer costume.
Rather than choosing a costume without a connection to the town, the society has looked to East Grinstead's own past when developing its identity.
This approach allows the Pioneer group to do more than provide colour to a procession. It gives members an opportunity to represent and interpret an aspect of local history while taking the East Grinstead name to celebrations elsewhere.
Combined with the society's striped bonfire costume, banners and other regalia, the Pioneers help give EGBS a recognisable identity of its own.
Representing East Grinstead
For members, the bonfire season involves considerably more than a single celebration.
East Grinstead Bonfire Society travels to events around Sussex, joining host societies and other visiting groups in their processions.
These outings are an important part of society life. They give members the chance to support other societies, maintain friendships within the bonfire community and, most importantly, represent East Grinstead.
For a revived society, being visible on the road also helps build its identity and establish traditions that can eventually be handed down to future generations.
Community and Fundraising
Everything East Grinstead Bonfire Society does ultimately depends upon volunteers.
Throughout the year, members organise fundraising activities to meet the costs associated with running the society. There is also practical work to undertake, from maintaining equipment and preparing costumes to organising appearances and getting ready for the autumn season.
Fundraising events provide another way for local people to become involved, including those who may not wish to process themselves.
They also create a social side to the organisation, allowing friendships formed during Bonfire to continue throughout the rest of the year.
Membership
East Grinstead Bonfire Society welcomes new members who would like to become involved.
Joining provides an opportunity to wear the society colours, take part in processions and represent East Grinstead at events across the region. Members can also help with fundraising, preparation and the many behind-the-scenes jobs required to keep a volunteer society active.
New members are particularly important to a revived society. Every person who becomes involved helps build traditions that can be passed on to the next generation.
For those who have previously watched Bonfire from the roadside, membership offers the chance to experience the season from inside the procession instead.
An Older Bonfire Connection
East Grinstead's relationship with fire and public commemoration extends beyond the modern society.
The town's historic High Street, medieval buildings and long civic history provide a particularly atmospheric backdrop to its traditions. The story of the three East Grinstead Martyrs also gives the town a historical connection that distinguishes it from many other places represented during the season.
That local history provides plenty of material from which the society can continue developing its own customs and identity.
It also means that East Grinstead Bonfire is not simply an imported tradition. There are genuine stories within the town's past for today's members to remember and represent.
Supporting East Grinstead Bonfire Society
As a volunteer organisation, East Grinstead Bonfire Society depends upon the enthusiasm of its members and supporters.
Joining the society, volunteering at events, supporting fundraisers and making donations all contribute towards keeping the organisation active.
That support is particularly valuable because maintaining a society involves costs throughout the year, not simply during the few weeks of the main bonfire season.
Through the work of its members, East Grinstead Bonfire Society is building a new chapter in the town's Bonfire history while keeping a strong connection with East Grinstead's past.
With the story of the three martyrs of 1556, the town's remarkable historic centre and a growing community behind the society, East Grinstead has plenty of history and character from which to create traditions of its own for generations to come.