Frederick William Thomas Craske (called Thomas and Tom; 11 May 190110 March 1971) was Bishop of Gibraltar from 1953 to 1959.

Family and education

Craske was born on 11 May 1901, son of William James Craske, and educated at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He therefore graduated

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and

Associate of King's College The Associateship of King's College (AKC) award was the degree-equivalent qualification of King's College London from 1833. It is the original qualification that King's awarded to its students. In current practice, it is an optional award, unique ...

(AKC) before embarking on an ecclesiastical career. He married Nellie, daughter of a Harold Wilson; they had two sons.

Priestly ministry

He was made deacon at

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

1927 (2 October) by

Arthur Winnington-Ingram Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram (26 January 1858 – 26 May 1946) was Bishop of London from 1901 to 1939. Early life and career He was born in the rectory at Stanford-on-Teme, Worcestershire, the fourth son of Edward Winnington-Ingram (a Ch ...

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, 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 ...

(by

letters dimissory Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

from the Bishop of Manchester) and ordained priest the following Michaelmas (23 September 1928) by William Temple,

Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Manchester, Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.) The current bishop is David Walker (Bishop of Manchester), David Walker who w ...

, at

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the c ...

. He served his title (

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 St Chrysostom's Church, Victoria Park (Manchester). He was on the staff of the

Student Christian Movement of Great Britain Student Christian Movement of Great Britain (or SCM) is a British religious charity led by students, past and present. The movement is an ecumenical and inclusive community that recognises unity in diversity and explores faith through worship, dis ...

from 1929 until 1932 (as International Secretary until 1930, and as London Secretary thereafter); during which time he was also an assistant curate at

All Hallows Lombard Street All Hallows Lombard Street, also seen with the descriptor Gracechurch Street, was a parish church in the City of London. It stood behind thin buildings fronting both streets in Langbourn Ward, The west and south sides faced into Ball Alley. O ...

(City of London) and a lecturer at King's College in 1932. After this he held incumbencies at John the Evangelist Read-in-Whalley (1932–1935) and St John the Evangelist,

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

(1935–1939). From 1939 to 1950 he was education secretary to the Missionary Council of the

Church Assembly The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

while also serving as founding General Secretary of the Church of England Youth Council (1942–1944) and a Select Preacher at Cambridge in 1943. He was representative of the

British Council of Churches Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Ce ...

in Germany, 1950–1953, serving also as an

Examining 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, intelligenc ...

for Guy Smith,

Bishop of Leicester The Bishop of Leicester is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England. Through reorganisation within the Church of England, the Diocese of Leicester was refounded in 1927, and St Martin's ...

Episcopal ministry

Craske was consecrated into bishop's orders on St Andrew's Day 1953 (30 November), by

Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marl ...

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

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

. While Bishop of Gibraltar, he became a

Fellow of King's College King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's became ...

in 1954; and a Chaplain and Sub-Prelate of the Order of St John of Jerusalem

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 ...

, Thursday, Mar 11, 1971; pg. 18; Issue 58119; col E ''Rt Rev F. W. T. Craske'' in 1956. He resigned his See in 1959 to become Moderator of the Central Advisory Council for the Ministry (1959–1965); he served as

Assistant Bishop of London The bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of ...

from 1961 until his death at home in

Raynes Park Raynes Park is a residential suburb, railway station and local centre near Wimbledon, London, and is within the London Borough of Merton. It is situated southwest of Wimbledon Common, to the northwest of Wimbledon Chase and to the east of Ne ...

. He became Chairman of the Prison Chaplaincies Council of the Church Assembly in the same year.

Notes

References

1901 births Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College London 20th-century Anglican bishops of Gibraltar 1971 deaths Sub-Prelates of the Venerable Order of Saint John {{Gibraltar-bio-stub