The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides

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 ...

s for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Mission

The Mission of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch is to serve the RAF Community through: Prayer, Presence and Proclamation. The motto of the branch ''Ministrare Non Ministrari'' translates as ''..To serve, not to be served'' and is derived from Mark chapter 10: verse 45.

History

The Reverend Harry Viener was invested as the first

Chaplain-in-Chief The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides military chaplains for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. Mission The Mission of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch is to serve the RAF Community through: Prayer, Presence and Proclamation. ...

on 11 October 1918 with the Chaplaincy branch officially established in December 1918. Reverend Viener had been a Royal Naval Chaplain and was 'lent' to the Air Force by the Admiralty. A Chaplaincy school was established at

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in November 1943 with the motto of 'Truth'. The Chaplaincy School was moved to Dowdeswell Court in Gloucestershire in February 1945. Thereafter it moved to

Amport House Amport House is a country house near the village of Amport, Andover, Hampshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The house was built in 1857 by John Paulet, 14th Marquess of Winchester. After being requisitioned during the Second Wor ...

in Hampshire in December 1961. In September 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that Amport House would be put up for sale as part of a programme of defence estate rationalisation. A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, indicated that the Armed Forces Chaplaincy would close by 2020, which it subsequently did.

Training

RAF chaplains receive training on the Specialist Officers Initial Training Course (SOITC) at

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is respo ...

in Lincolnshire. Both RAF chaplains and candidates receive training at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, the latter was located at

until 2020. The Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre was relocated to Beckett House, Shrivenham, near Swindon. In 2020 The Reverend (

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

) Geoffrey Withers was the first RAF Chaplain appointed Principal, Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre Shrivenham.

Endorsing authorities

To serve in the Chaplains Branch, chaplains and candidates must be endorsed by a religious body. RAF commissioned chaplains are accepted from the various Christian denominations. The British military forces are also served by "tri-service chaplains" from other world faiths, including Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh. In 2018, the first Sikh and Muslim military chaplains to join the British armed forces passed out from the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is resp ...

to join the RAF Chaplain's Branch. In November 2023 the Ministry of Defence announced the intent to recruit Non-Religious Pastoral Support Officers into Chaplaincy in order to reflect the changing demographics of the United Kingdom and HM Force

Noncombatant status

:''See: ''

Chaplain-in-Chief

The RAF Chaplains Branch is led by a Chaplain-in-Chief.About Us: Welcome
webpage. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 10 September 2010. Harry Viener was the first ''Chaplain-in-Chief''. When the Chaplain-in-Chief is an Anglican, he or she is also the ''

Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force The most senior Anglican chaplain in each branch of the British Armed Forces (Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force) is made an archdeacon in the Church of England. Respectively they are titled the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy, the Archdea ...

'' – otherwise, the most senior Anglican chaplain takes that title along with that of ''Principal Anglican Chaplain''. *1918–1926 Harry Viener *1926–1930 Robert Hanson *1930–1933

Sidney Clarke Sidney Clarke (October 16, 1831 – June 18, 1909) was a U.S. Representative from Kansas, a Kansas state speaker of the house, and an Oklahoma territorial legislator. He was a part of the Oklahoma statehood movement. Early life Born in Southbri ...

*1933–1940 James Walkey *1940–1944 Maurice Edwards *1944–1949

John Jagoe John Arthur Jagoe CBE (2 January 188916 October 1962) was an Irish Anglican bishop who served as Chaplain-in-Chief of the (British) Royal Air Force and the second Bishop of Bermuda. Early life Born on 2 January 1889, Jagoe educated at Trinity C ...

*1949–1953 Leslie Wright *1953–1959:

Alan Giles Alan James Giles OBE is a British businessman and currently a non-executive director of the Competition and Markets Authority. He is also a non-executive director of Rentokil Initial plc and a member of OFT's Audit and Risk Remuneration committ ...

*1959–1965

Francis Cocks Francis William Cocks, (5 November 1913 – 20 August 1998) was a British Anglican bishop and military chaplain. He was the Bishop of Shrewsbury from 1970 to 1980. Early life and education Cocks was born on 5 November 1913 into an ecclesiastic ...

(first ''Archdeacon for the RAF'') *1965–1969 Wilfred Payton *1969–1973

Leonard Ashton Leonard James Ashton, (27 June 1915 – 19 January 2001) was an English Anglican bishop and military chaplain. He was the inaugural Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf, serving from 1976 to 1983. He had previously spent most of his ordained ministry ...

*1973–1980

Hewitt Wilson The Venerable (John) Hewitt Wilson CB, MA (14 February 1924 – 29 June 2008) was an eminent Anglican priest in the second half of the 20th century. He was born on 14 February 1924 and educated at Kilkenny College and Trinity College, Dublin. A ...

*1980–1983 Herbert Stuart *1983–1988

Glyndwr Renowden The Venerable Glyndwr Rhys Renowden CB (13 August 1929 – 17 August 2002) was an eminent Anglican priest in the second half of the 20th century. Biography He was born into an ecclesiastical family on 13 August 1929. He was educated at Llanel ...

*1988–1991

Brian Halfpenny Brian Norman Halfpenny, CB, QHC, FRSA (7 June 1936 – 2 May 2024) was a British Anglican priest and military chaplain. From 1988 to 1991, he served as Chaplain-in-Chief, and thereby head of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch, and Archdea ...

*1991–1995

Brian Lucas Brian Humphrey Lucas (born 20 January 1940) is a British Anglican priest and retired military chaplain. From 1991 to 1995, he served as Chaplain-in-Chief, and thereby head of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch, and Archdeacon for the Royal ...

*1995–1998 Robin Turner *1998–2001

Peter Bishop Peter Bishop is a fictional character of the Fox television series ''Fringe''. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson. Fictional character biography Peter Bishop was born on September 18, 1978, in the alternate universe, to parents Walter Bishop, al ...

*2001–2006

Ron Hesketh Ronald David Hesketh, (born 16 June 1947) is a British Anglican priest and retired military chaplain. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Chaplain-in-Chief, and thereby head of the Royal Air Force Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch, Chaplains Branch, a ...

*2006–2009 Peter Mills ''(

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

)'' **Archdeacons for the Royal Air Force: **2006 onwards:

Ray Pentland Raymond Jackson Pentland, (born 14 July 1957) is a British Church of England priest. He is a retired military chaplain, having served as Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force and head of its Chaplains Branch from 2009 to 2014. Early life ...

RAF Chaplains – Ven Ray Pentland
(Retrieved 7 June 2012) *2009–2014 (ret.): Ray Pentland *20142018 Jonathan Chaffey *2018–2022 (ret.): John Ellis *2022–present: Giles Legood

World faith chaplains

The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch has 5 world faith chaplains as of October 2021: * Flt Lt. Mandeep Kaur (Sikh) *Mr Krishan Attri (Hindu) *

Sqn Ldr Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

. Imam Ali Omar (Muslim) *Dr Sunil Kariyakarawana (Buddhist) *Rabbi Reuben Livingstone CF (Jewish)

Central Church of the Royal Air Force

St Clement Danes Church is the Central Church of the Royal Air Force located in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

, London. For generations, members of the Royal Air Force family have enjoyed services of Holy Matrimony and Baptisms. Memorial and funeral serves have taken special place. These remain a strong feature today. The church holds the Books of Remembrance to all those who have died in service in the Royal Air Force. The Friends of St Clement Danes support the work and ministry of the Central Church of the Royal Air Force. The Friend's Patron-in-Chief is

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the youngest ...

Resident Chaplain, St Clement Danes

The following have served as Resident Chaplain of St Clement Danes: *1958–1959 Gerald Groves *1959–1960 Hugh Rees *1960–1965 Tom Ryder *1965–1969

*1969–1971 Walter Pellant *1971–1976 Thomas Thomas *1976–1979

*1979–1982 Dennis Clark *1982–1984 Raymond Hubble *1984–1987 Roger Kenward *1987–1989 Michael Stokes *1989–1991 William Sirr *1991–1993 Anthony Goode *1993–1995 George McAvoy *1995–1997

*1997–2002 David Mackenzie *2002–2005 Christopher Long *2005–2009 Thomas Lee *2008–2010 Canon Adrian Gatrill *2010–2022 David Osborn *2022–present Mark Perry

Gallery

RAF Padre Phil.jpg, A padre in combat uniform Archbishop of Canterbury with military chaplains (Ray Pentland cropped).jpg,

in service dress

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

RAF Chaplains
official website
Careers: Jobs: Chaplain
RAF Careers official website
RAF MOD St Clement Danes Church
RAF MOD official website for St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes Church
RAF St Clement Danes official website {{RAF Chaplains-in-Chief Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force Military in Hampshire Religion in the military Religion in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1918 Test Valley 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom