My grandfather, Ebenezer Roberts (1867-1947) was an interesting character. He first worked as the driver of a goat-chaise on Eastbourne seafront before being promoted to a ‘bath-chairman’. He later worked as a greengrocer in Old Town and as a painter and decorator. He was the Chairman of the Eastbourne Old Age pensioners Committee and a ‘sick-visitor’ for the local branch of the Oddfellows. He was a poet and was very religious being a staunch baptist.

For many years Ebenezer was the head of the Old Town, Eastbourne Bonfire Society. He would lead the torch-lit bonfire processions to a huge bonfire off the East Dean Road. I am lucky that I still have many of his hand-written bonfire speeches, in fact he was so proud of them, he had some printed. This is the speech he gave 125 years ago today on 5th November 1900

SPEECH TO BE DELIVERED ON BEHALF OF THE 

ST MARY’S WARD BONFIRE SOCIETY

NOVEMBER 5^th 1900

Ladies, Gentlemen and brother Bonfire Boys. I feel a great pleasure in standing before you  this evening as a true patriot of Great Britain and a maintainer of those religious and civil liberties for which our ancestors counted their lives dear unto them that we might enjoy the same. 

There are some people who think that in the present age in which we live, that because a person bears the name Protestant, he is a bigot of the worst type and his or her presence should be carefully avoided but, before coming to such a conclusion, they should carefully examine our stand points and ascertain, by hearing our views pronounced, whether we are  as represented to be or not.  And let me, for the information of such individuals, say that as Protestants we hold the scriptures in religious matters to be the sole rule of our faith as opposed to ceremonial practices either in Ritualistic or Romanistic places of worship which are evidently at variance with the Protestant Constitution as laid down at the time of the Reformation and we further affirm that all just laws passed for the benefit of this Great Empire find their basis within the greatest, wisest and best of all books – The Bible – which our Sovereign Queen Victoria has acknowledged to be the source of England’s greatness. 

Would it not be a safer, wiser and better employment for those men who have taken oaths of allegiance to the Queen and swore in the presence of a Bishop and the Lords assembled also in the sight of God, that in being ordained they would be diligent in prayer and in reading of the Holy Scriptures?  And, out of the same, instruct the people committed to their charge instead of borrowing and using from an Apostate Church the following ceremonial observances – The Holy Water Font, the bells at the Sanctus, All Souls altar, the Mixed Chalice, the Finish of the Mass  – which practices are unwarranted and repugnant to spiritual jurisdiction and equally abhorred by every true Protestant. 

The cause of our gathering here tonight is to keep the memory that great event in our national history known as the Gunpowder Plot which was discovered beneath our houses of legislature  on November 5^th 1605. Guido Fawkes, better known as Guy Fawkes being one of the chief conspirators  in the notorious gang, which plot, had it succeeded, would have dealt a severe blow to our Protestant Constitution.  But, through the mercy of God it was frustrated and in order to show our dislike as Protestants to such infamous acts, I shall shortly order this effigy to be committed to the flames.  The next effigy that I have to bring before you is the Head of the Roman Catholic Church who has power, according to the faith of that church, to place a reigning monarch by issuing one of his bulls under an interdict and we have every reason to believe by the form of prayer to be used yearly on the 5^th November for the happy deliverance of King James 1^st and the three estates of England from the most traitorous and bloody intended massacre by gunpowder an extract of which I will give you, that the plot was of a Romanistic character. 

We yield thee our unfeigned thanks and praise for the wonderful and rightly deliverance by our gracious Sovereign King James the First, the Queen, The Prince and all the Royal Branches within the Nobility, Clergy and Commons of England assembled in Parliament by popish treachery appointed as sheep to the slaughter in the most barbarous  and savage manner beyond the example of former ages. 

I shall now order both the effigies of Guy Fawkes and the Pope to be committed to the flames as a standing protest against this great authoritarian system whether carried out in the open forum or under the guise of ritualism. 

I was glad to see that Doctor Tristram, Chancellor of the Diocese of Chichester gave judgement on 21^st August at St Michaels Church in Lewes in the case of Mr Davey, a Brighton parishioner against the vicar and churchwardens of the Church of the Annunciation in Brighton for the removal of certain illegal ornaments in that church. 

NOTE:  The case referred to in the speech, was started in 1898 and known as Davey -v- Hinde (the vicar of the church) it carried on for over five years resulting in many of the mentioned fittings being removed from the church in 1903.  In the 1930s the church was renovated and many of the fittings were returned.   These items were: 1) Stations of the Cross 2) Confessional boxes 3) Holy water stoups 4) Crucifixes 5) Tabernacles for the reception of the sacrament placed on the Holy Table 6) An Image of the Good Shepherd surrounded with candles 7) An image of the Virgin Mary with candles. 

Time would fail me to tell of the cruel failures, tortures, suffering and death which many of our ancestors as martyrs suffered at the hands of those professing the Roman Catholic faith in order to obtain religious and civil liberties to their successors. 

Protestants! look after your children. Do not let them form any guild, fraternity or society that panders to a Romanistic tendency, for such societies are a danger to their religious and moral welfare and the service of those churches which profess  to be Protestant according to the constitution of the established church, rid themselves of their Romanish trinkets where they are in existence, the better will it be for the country at large for my experience goes to tell that anything bordering  on Romanism is detested and abhorred by members of my fellow countrymen especially amongst the British workmen.

I trust these fair remarks I endeavoured to make will not fall to the ground but bear Protestant fruit especially amongst the rising generation. 

In conclusion, on behalf of the committee  we beg to tender our best thanks to all those who have rendered any assistance in carrying out this celebration, not forgetting our subscribers, press and police.  I shall now call for three cheers, for all to sing the Bonfire Hymns and National Anthem.   In addition  to this celebration may I ask for three hearty cheers for our Army and Navy both of who fought so nobly in South Africa not forgetting the splendid work of our Volunteers many of whom have formed the Eastbourne contingent of the 1^st Sussex Royal Engineers. 

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