William Aubrey Aitken (known as Aubrey; 2 August 19111 June 1985) was the second

Bishop of Lynn The Bishop of Lynn is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Kin ...

from 1973 until 1985. Born into a family of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s (his father,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, whose own father,

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

, was a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

) and educated at

Norwich Grammar School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private selective day school in the cathedral close, close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the List of the oldest schools in the ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

(he gained the degree of Oxford Master of Arts ). He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

on 23 December 1934 and a

on 22 December 1935, both times by

Harold Bilbrough Harold Ernest Bilbrough (1867 – 15 November 1950) was the fourth Anglican Bishop of Dover in the modern era. Life and career Bilbrough was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, he began his ecclesiastical career with a curacy at ...

, Bishop of Newcastle, in

Newcastle Cathedral Newcastle Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas, is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Newcastle (England), Bishop of Newcastle and is the mother church ...

. and in 1937, he married Margaret Cunningham; they had three sons and two daughters. After curacies at

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

(1934–1937) and

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

(1937–1940), he was successively the

Kessingland Kessingland is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around south of Lowestoft on the east coast of the United Kingdom. It is of interest to archaeologis ...

(1940–1943), Vicar of

Sprowston Sprowston ( or ) is a town and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England. It is bounded by Heartsease to the east, Mousehold Heath and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south, Old Catton to the west, and by the open farmland ...

and Rector of

Beeston, Norfolk Beeston is a village in the county of Norfolk, England, in the civil parish of Beeston with Bittering, west of Dereham and south of Fakenham. It may also be known as Beeston All Saints or Beeston-next-Mileham to distinguish it from the three o ...

(1943–1953) and St Margaret's

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

(1953–1961) before becoming

Archdeacon of Norwich The Archdeacon of Norwich is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Norwich, who exercises supervision of clergy and responsibility for church buildings within the geographical area of her or his archdeaconry. History ...

in 1961, a position he held until his appointment to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

. He served as a Proctor in Convocation (1944–1974); from 1958, he was an

honorary canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the dioc ...

; and with his suffragan See he also held the Archdeaconry of Lynn (until 1980). He was ordained and consecrated a bishop on 2 February 1973, by

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988), was a British Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. A keen yachtsman, his residence at his death was the Bishop's House,

Ranworth Ranworth is a village in Norfolk, England in The Broads, adjacent to Malthouse Broad and Ranworth Broad. It is located in the civil parish of Woodbastwick. The village's name origin is uncertain 'Edge enclosure' or perhaps, 'Randi's enclosure ...

, and he died in post at the age of 73.''Obituary — Bishop of Lynn''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, Monday, 3 June 1985; p. 12; Issue 62154; col. G

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Aubrey 1911 births People educated at Norwich School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 20th-century Church of England bishops Archdeacons of Norwich Bishops of Lynn 1985 deaths