Augustine John Hodson (called Austin; 6 May 187928 January 1961) was the first

Bishop of Tewkesbury The Bishop of Tewkesbury is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, but the bi ...

(

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

in the

Diocese of Gloucester The Diocese of Gloucester is a Church of England diocese based in Gloucester, covering the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire. The cathedral is Gloucester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Gloucester. It is part of the Province ...

) from 1938 until his resignation in 1955. Son of John and Annie, Hodson was educated at

Lichfield Grammar School Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth, south-west of Burton upon Trent and 14 miles (22.5 ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He studied for ordination at St Stephen's House, Oxford, and never married. He was made

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 ...

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

1906 (23 December), by Edgar Gibson,

Bishop of Gloucester The Bishop of Gloucester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester, England, Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Gloucestershire, County of Gloucestershire and part ...

, at

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...

, and ordained

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 ...

in 1908, serving his

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

at All Saints',

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

. Between 1911 and 1915 he was Assistant Missioner to the Gloucester Diocesan

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

before serving

Leckhampton Leckhampton is a village and a district in south Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The area is in the civil parish of Leckhampton with Warden Hill and is part of the district of Cheltenham. The population of the civil parish taken at the Un ...

as curate-in-charge (1915–1921); during the latter he was also a temporary

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

(1918–1920). He had been interviewed by the Chaplain-General in July 1918, was described as 'Dark, keen... good' and sent to France to work in a Casualty Clearing Station. Before he was demobilised, it was reported, 'Has done good work as hospital chaplain in spite of rather poor health'. He moved in 1921 to become

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 ...

Chalford Chalford is a large village in the Frome Valley of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. It is to the southeast of Stroud about upstream. It gives its name to Chalford parish, which covers the villages of Chalford, Chalford Hill, Fra ...

, then of

Wotton-under-Edge Wotton-under-Edge is a market town and civil parish in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. Near the southern fringe of the Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills ...

from 1924. Hodson departed Wotton in 1934 to become a

canon residentiary 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 ...

, in which post he remained until death. During that time, he was

Archdeacon of Gloucester The Archdeacon of Gloucester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Gloucester, England whose responsibilities include the care of clergy and church buildings within the area of the ''Archdeaconry of Gloucester.'' History The first ...

(1938–1948) and

— the first

of the diocese (1938–1955). He was consecrated a bishop on 24 February 1938 (the Feast of St Matthias), by

Cosmo Lang William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was a Scottish Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His elevation to Archbishop ...

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 Lambeth Palace chapel; and resigned the See effective 31 March 1955. His younger brother was

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 ...

, Bishop suffragan of Shrewsbury.

References

1879 births Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Bishops of Tewkesbury 1961 deaths World War I chaplains People educated at King Edward VI School, Lichfield Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub