Edwin Sidney Savage (28 February 1862 — 26 October 1947) was a British priest in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and an author. Born in Port Elizabeth South Africa, Savage was educated at New College, Eastbourne,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. Savage married Jane McEwan, who died on 23 November 1886 following the birth of their only child, Ronald McEwan Hill Savage. He married secondly, in 1889, Sibil Farrar, daughter of

Frederic Farrar Dean Frederic William Farrar (Bombay, 7 August 1831 – Canterbury, 22 March 1903) was a senior-ranking cleric of the Church of England, schoolteacher and author. He was a pallbearer at the funeral of Charles Darwin in 1882. He was a member of ...

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter (religion), Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of dean (religion), Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Dea ...

(1895-1903); they had a son (

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Cuthbert Savage, killed in action during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

) and four daughters (Enid, Audrey, Rosella and Elflida). Savage was the Rector of Hexham from 1898 to 1919, during which time he oversaw the abbey's rebuilding. After serving with 21 ships during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as Chief Commissioner of

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

in the Mediterranean, Savage was decorated with the Serbian Red Cross Order for services in relief of its civilian population. He also received the

Order of St Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a Order (distinction), state order awarded by both the Kingdom of S ...

as well as the honorary military rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

from

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Peter I of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He was also honoured with the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

's Golden Cross, whose insignia of a large pectoral cross in repousse gold he later often wore. He also served on the International Commission to report on the Bulgarian Atrocities. On the evening of 26 October 1947, Savage was found dead in a smoke-filled room after raising the alarm for a fire in his sitting room at 18 London Road in Bexhill, a town he had been associated with for the previous 20 years. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death but his cause of death remains in doubt as there was no evidence of burning. Other achievements: *Constructor of the Abbey Institute in Gilesgate Hexham, now home to the Hexham Community Centre *Restorator and conservator of the Church of St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, during his term as rector (1929–1944) *Honorary chaplain to the Worshipful Companies of Butchers and Makers of Playing Cards *Honorary canon of

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 ...

Writings

*''A Record of All Works Connected with Hexham Abbey since January 1899 and now in progress'', J. Catherall, Hexham, (1907) *''Rahere Yesterday and Today & His Priory Church of St. Bartholomew: Its Chequered Story and An Appeal'', London: Waterlow & Sons Limited, (circa 1930)raheresgarden.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Edwin Sidney 1862 births People from Penge 1947 deaths Alumni of University College London Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Recipients of the Order of St. Sava YMCA leaders