Edwin James Greenfield Ward (26 October 1919 – 22 November 2005) was the longest-serving Chaplain to the Sovereign, from 1955 until his death. He was also

Archdeacon of Sherborne The Archdeacon of Sherborne is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. They are responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five Rural Dean, area deaneries: Dorchester, Lyme Bay, Sherborn ...

from 1967 to 1984.

Life

Ward was born in Australia on 26 October 1919, but his family soon returned to England and he was educated at

St John's School, Leatherhead St John's School in Leatherhead, Surrey is a fully co-educational private school for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school offers day, weekly and flexible boarding for approximately 800 pupils. St John's was founded in 1851 to educate the sons of ...

and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

. Taking a commission with the

King's Dragoon Guards The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was an Cavalry regiments of the British Army, armoured cavalry and dragoon guard regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by John Lanier, Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, name ...

at the outbreak of World War II, he was captured in 1940 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war, mainly in northern Italy. After his release he returned to study at the theological college of

Ridley Hall Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and members ...

in Cambridge, and 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 ...

in 1948, becoming first a

curate 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 as ...

East Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the Breckland District of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich and east of King's Lynn. The civi ...

, Norfolk, then

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 ...

North Elmham North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and is located about north of East Dereham, on the west bank of the River Wensum. Including Gateley, the civil parish had a population of 1,4 ...

, also in Norfolk, from 1950 to 1955. In 1955, the

Clerk of the Closet The College of Chaplains of the Ecclesiastical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is under the Clerk of the Closet, an office dating from 1437. It is normally held by a diocesan bishop, who may, however, remain in office after leav ...

recommended Ward for appointment as one of the Chaplains to the Sovereign, part of the

Ecclesiastical Household The Ecclesiastical Household is a part of the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Reflecting the different constitutions of the churches of England and Scotland, there are separate households in each nation. England The Church ...

. He was Chaplain of the

Royal Chapel A royal chapel is a chapel associated with a monarch, a royal court, or in a royal palace. A royal chapel may also be a body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch. Commonwealth countries Both the United Kin ...

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of to the south of the town of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, Windsor, Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park ...

and was responsible for the Sunday services attended by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Household. He also had pastoral responsibility for the 1,800 employees of the Windsor estate. According to Ward's obituary, his youth and his tact and diplomacy served him well at this post and he made many friends in royal circles. Since he continued to be a Royal Chaplain for the rest of his long life,''Church news''

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 ...

(London, England), Tuesday, 2 October 1984; p. 16; Issue 61951 he became the longest-serving holder of this position. In 1963 he was admitted as a

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

, and in 1967 was appointed as Archdeacon of Sherborne and Rector of

West Stafford West Stafford is a village and civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, situated in the Frome valley east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 291. The village contains the public house 'The Wise Man Inn', and S ...

in Dorset, holding both positions until his retirement at the end of 1984. Ward was also a canon and prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral, working there on several committees, notably one that dealt with the care of church buildings. After his retirement he lived at Alresford in Hampshire until his death on 22 November 2005. His wife, Grizell, had died in 1985 and he was survived by three children; one of his daughters married

John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, (born 22 June 1932) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. He was chancellor of Brunel University between 1998 and 2012, and since then has been its chancellor emeritus. Wakeham was a director ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Edwin 1919 births People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge 1st King's Dragoon Guards officers Honorary chaplains to the King Archdeacons of Sherborne 2005 deaths People from Alresford