The Reverend John Langdon (24 April 1921 – 4 November 2015), was a Royal Marine officer and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

vicar. Langdon was present at

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, became a vicar in the Church of England, being noted for baptising the future

Dean of Ripon The Dean of Ripon is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds. The dean is the head of the chapter at Ripon Cathedral – his predecessors were deans of the same church when it was previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Rip ...

( John Dobson), who would later become his boss.

Life

Langdon was born in a log cabin in Enderby, Canada in 1921. The family decided to move back to England for a "more comfortable experience" and Langdon was educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire ...

and joined the Royal Marines in 1942. On D-Day, Langdon was in charge of the landing craft from the ''Empire Broadsword'' and on the five trips the ship made in the days following the 6 June 1944, Langdon helped ferry over 5,000 troops ashore. In early July, the ''Empire Broadsword'' struck two mines and sunk from the aft. Langdon helped one wounded survivor, but returned to his cabin to retrieve his bible and some tennis rackets; he was later rescued by the ''Empire Battleaxe''. After some rest, Langdon was sent to the Far East and assisted in the attack on

Ramree Island Ramree Island (; also spelled Yanbye Island) is an island off the coast of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Ramree island is the largest island on the entire Arakan Coast and in Myanmar. The area of the island is about and the main populated ce ...

. After the war, Langdon attended Lincoln College in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and studied PPE (

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

) and underwent theological instruction at

Ripon Hall Ripon College Cuddesdon (RCC) is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and ...

in Oxford. As a curate, Langdon served in

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...

then

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Thereafter, his religious career remained in the north, where he was incumbent at

Swillington Swillington is a village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It is situated east from Leeds city centre, north of the River Aire, and is surrounded by streams including Fleaking ...

, before serving a lengthy spell at Wrangthorne and Woodhouse. Although Langdon officially retired in 1992, he was installed as the chaplain of the chapels of

St Mary Magdalen Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

and St John the Baptist in Ripon. In 2014, he led the prayers at the service for the newly installed

, John Dobson. Dobson was to become Langdon's boss, something that both men found funny as Langdon had baptised Dobson as a baby in his Swillington parish in the early 1960s. In June 2014, Langdon travelled to the site of his 1944 landing site (

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

) in France to commemorate the 70 years since D-Day. Just days before he died, Langdon was awarded the

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

by the French Government in recognition of his contribution to D-Day, and thus, the liberation of France.

Honours

References

External links

Langdon's entry with Crockford's Clerical Dictionary (requires subscription)Cathedral pays tribute to Ripon's 'Legion d'Honneur priest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langdon, John Bonsall 20th-century English Anglican priests 1921 births 2015 deaths Royal Marines officers Royal Marines personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel from British Columbia People educated at Oundle School Recipients of the Legion of Honour