Ralph Creed Meredith, M.A., (7 October 1887 – 10 January 1970) was an Anglican cleric who succeeded Edward Keble Talbot as

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to His Majesty,

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

and afterwards Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In New Zealand he was president of the New Zealand Badminton Association and the New Zealand Croquet Association. The son of Sir James Creed Meredith, and a brother of Judge James Creed Meredith, Meredith was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was educated at Rhos College in North Wales and afterwards at Trinity College Dublin, receiving his B.A. in Ethics and Logic with Honors after the Michaelmas Term in 1909. Meredith earned his M.A. at Trinity in 1912. He married Sylvia Aynsley (1894–1987) on 21 April 1915, daughter of Joseph Aynsley o
Blythe House
near

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, Staffordshire. According to the 1932 Crockford's Clerical Directory, in succession became a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''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 w ...

Caverswall Caverswall is a village and parish in Staffordshire, to the south west of Staffordshire Moorlands. In the middle of the 19th century there were about 1500 inhabitants. In the 1880s an urbanised part of the parish called East Vale was transferred ...

, Meir, Staffordshire (1912–1914), curate at

St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley St Bartholomew's Church, Armley is a parish church in the Church of England in Armley, West Yorkshire. The church is one of two Church of England churches in Armley; the other being Christ Church. Worship at St Bartholomew's is firmly rooted ...

, Leeds (1914–1917), served the Diocese of Lichfield (1917–1918), was curate of St. Peter's Church, Harborne, Birmingham (1919–1920), and eventually took charge of the Conventional District of

Bournville Bournville () is a model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alcohol was forbidd ...

, a village south of Birmingham diocese from 1920 to 1924. His successes at Bournville led the Bishop of Wellington to appoint Meredith Vicar of Whanganui, New Zealand in 1924, where he remained until 1932. He eventually became

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of Waitotara (1925–1932) as well, despite using addresses in both New Zealand and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

during that time. Meredith was a Freemason and an athlete of some note. After arriving in New Zealand in 1924, he was the winner of several New Zealand National Badminton Championships in 1927 and 1928, and was a world class

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the W ...

player, having performed for the New Zealand team competing for the 1930

MacRobertson International Croquet Shield The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier croquet team event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia, England, New Zealand and the United States. It is known affectionately as the ''MacRob'' or just the ''Mac' ...

, which fell to Australia, 3–0. Meredith also competed in numerous croquet tournaments in southern England and Ireland after relocating from The Vicarage in Windsor to

Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, Dorset. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone - "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in local parlance - is so-called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of th ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

. Meredith had a club foot and wore a surgical boot during competition, as well as his clerical "dog collar." Meredith is credited with being the "prime mover" in the 1927 formation of Badminton New Zealand (then known as the New Zealand Badminton Association), of which he was president for two years. He was also president of the New Zealand Croquet Association and the Manawatu Association. Meredith required surgery in April 1931 and had travelled to England for the procedure. On his return voyage, emergency surgery was required during a stopover in

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. Subsequently, in poor health, he accepted an offer from the

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly t ...

to take over the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Waltha ...

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

, in Hertfordshire in 1932. According to Kelly's 1933 and 1937 Directories of Hertfordshire, Meredith served as Vicar at St. Mary the Virgin and was

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. Location The town lies on the north–south A10 road which is partly shared with the east–west A414 (f ...

, residing at The Vicarage, Churchgate. He also served as Vicar of

St John the Baptist Church, Windsor St John the Baptist Church is a parish church in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The church was rebuilt in Gothic Revival style in 1822. It is the civic church of Windsor, and many Mayors o ...

, 1940–1958. In 1946, Meredith was appointed

to His Majesty,

and retained a place in the College of Chaplains 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 ...

of Elizabeth II on 5 August 1952. Meredith died in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council ...

, England, where he had served as

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

since 1962.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Creed Meredith, Ralph 1887 births 1970 deaths New Zealand male badminton players Archdeacons New Zealand croquet players Irish Anglicans