Kenneth Julian Faithfull Bickersteth, (5 July 1885 – 16 October 1962) was an English

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 ...

priest,

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

, and headmaster from the prominent Bickersteth family. He served as Archdeacon of Maidstone from 1942 to 1958. In 1953, he was appointed

Honorary Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning mona ...

Early life and education

Bickersteth was born in 1885 in

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

, Yorkshire, England, into a prominent ecclesiastical family. He was one of six sons born to The Rev. Canon Samuel Bickersteth (1857–1937) and Ella Chlora Faithfull Monier-Williams (1858–1954). His mother was the daughter of academic

Sir Monier Monier-Williams Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, especially Sa ...

, and she was "one of the five or six little girls in Oxford on whom

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

modelled his ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

''". His nephew was Bishop

John Bickersteth John Monier Bickersteth (6 September 1921 – 29 January 2018) was an English Anglican clergyman who served as the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1975 to 1986, and Clerk of the Closet from 1979 to 1989. Bickersteth descended from a clerical fam ...

. Bickersteth was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

, then an all-boys public school in

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

, Warwickshire. He studied mathematics at

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 graduated from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1907 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Oxon). After completing his undergraduate degree, Bickersteth spent a year teaching English in the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. He decided to enter the clergy and returned to England. He then entered

Wells Theological College Wells Theological College began operation in 1840 within the Cathedral Close of Wells Cathedral. It was one of several new colleges created in the nineteenth century to cater not just for non-graduates, but for graduates from the old universiti ...

, an

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

to train for ordained ministry. As a graduate, he only needed to spend one-year training before ordination.

Career

Early ministry

Bickersteth 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 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, ...

as a

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 ...

in 1909 and as a

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 1910. From 1909 to 1912, he served 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 St Andrew's Church,

, which was then in the Diocese of Worcester. In 1912, he first moved to Australia where he had been appointed the chaplain to Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Military service

In 1915, one year after the start of 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 ...

, Bickersteth returned to England with the intention of becoming a

. As a temporary chaplain to the forces, he served with the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. His duties included taking services in makeshift chapels, caring for the wounded, ministering to men condemned to execution, and taking burials; he took seventy on the second day of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. He found himself preparing men for

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

one day and then burying them the next. He first served as chaplain to The Rangers,

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and then as senior chaplain to the

56th (London) Infantry Division The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World Wa ...

. He ended the war as a deputy assistant chaplain-general (equivalent in rank to lieutenant colonel) attached to the XV Corps. On 9 June 1917, Bickersteth was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

by Field Marshal

Sir Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until t ...

. On 1 January 1918, he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

(MC) "for distinguished service in the Field". Though he was immediately given the

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...

to wear on his uniform, he had to wait till 1919 to receive the medal itself. That year, during a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, he stood side by side with one of his brothers as they were both awarded the Military Cross by

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

. Having reached the rank of chaplain to the forces third class (equivalent to

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 ...

), he relinquished his commission on 20 February 1920 and was allowed to keep his rank on an honorary basis.

Post-war service

Between the wars, Bickersteth returned to teaching. In 1919, he was offered the position of headmaster of The Collegiate School of St Peter in Adelaide, Australia, which he accepted without ever attending an interview. Following his arrival at the school in 1920, he increased pupil numbers from 550 to 720, and "built a war memorial hall, science laboratories, and several boarding-houses". He was also involved in the wider education sphere of Australia: he was the driving force behind the first

residential college A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship ...

of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

( St. Mark's College) which opened in 1925, and he co-founded the

Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia Chairman of Conference * William Still Littlejohn, William Littlejohn of Scotch College, Melbourne * Richard Penrose Franklin of Melbourne Grammar School * Francis Rolland of Geelong College * Leonard Robson of Sydney Church of England Grammar Sch ...

in 1931. He also continued his military service and was a senior chaplain to the

Australian Military Forces The Australian Military Forces (AMF) was the official name of the Army of Australia from 1916 to 1980. This encompassed both the (full-time) "regular army", and the (part-time) forces, variously known during this period as the Militia, the Citizen ...

between 1928 and 1933. He was then headmaster of

Felsted School Felsted School is a co-educational independent school, independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school, situated in Felsted in Essex, England. It is in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, and was founded i ...

in Essex, England. From 1942 to 1958, he served as Archdeacon of Maidstone in the

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Chur ...

. On 3 November 1953, Bickersteth was appointed an

(QHC). He died at

Kent and Canterbury Hospital Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

in 1962.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickersteth, Julian 1885 births 1962 deaths Military personnel from North Yorkshire 20th-century English Anglican priests Australian headmasters Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers People from Ripon People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Wells Theological College Recipients of the Military Cross Honorary chaplains to the King British Army personnel of World War I World War I chaplains Headmasters of Felstead School Schoolteachers from Essex Julian