Oyez! Oyez! William stands on ceremony

The voices of disabled people often go unheard, but in the Buckinghamshire town of Chesham, every­one stops and listens when William Ellis rings his bell

Chesham is quite a traditional town, but it has only had a town crier in modern times for ten years.

When I found out I was going to be the next town crier I was amazed and surprised: I had no idea I was going to be chosen.

It all started because I attend a day centre and the mayor at the time, Councillor Jane Bramwell, wanted to promote disability, so she selected two of us from the day centre and we became her ambassadors for a year. People said I’d done really well so they elected me as town crier.

It felt special putting on the ceremonial clothes for the first time – they are red and I love the colour red and I love the red feathers in my hat.

I have a mentor who is a town crier in a nearby town – his uniform is blue – and he’s helped me practise.

I ring my bell three times and say “Oyez!” Then I put the bell down and read from a scroll made by Chesham Guild and I take my hat off at the end and say “God Save the Queen!”

The speeches on the scroll are typed up – we are emailed them beforehand and I practise them in a big, loud voice. I’m good at projecting my voice. I do a lot of speeches but they have to be short because people get bored if you say too much.

In your term as town crier, you have six compulsory events and after that, it’s whenever you are required. I’ve done the Royal Wedding event (that was my first ever duty), I’ve opened a Costa Coffee and I’ve led a carnival procession.

At Christmas, I’m doing a Victorian late-night shop­ping evening, and people will dress up. There’ll be a fairground with a carousel and pantomimes.

People have been very supportive – someone even wrote to me after I was featured in a BBC online news story. She said her son has Down’s syndrome too and she congratulated me on my job and said I was an inspiration to her.

I love being a town crier, I absolutely love it. My friends at the day centre are all happy for me. Sometimes they come and watch me do my duties.

Being a town crier is a big thing for me. I’ve gained a lot of confidence from it.