Richard Cuthbert Rudgard,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(28 December 1901 – 19 April 1985) was Archdeacon of Basingstoke from 1958 until his retirement in 1971. The son of Canon Richard Wiliam Rudgard, he was educated at

Radley Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...

and

St Augustine's College, Canterbury St Augustine’s College in Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom, was located within the precincts of St Augustine's Abbey about 0.2 miles (335 metres) ESE of Canterbury Cathedral. It served first as a missionary college of the Church of England (18 ...

. He 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 1934 after several years with the Melanesian Mission. He was

curate 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 as ...

Heene West Worthing is a neighbourhood of Worthing in West Sussex, England that was developed within Heene and later expanded beyond Heene's boundaries. Intended as an exclusive resort, the township of West Worthing was developed from around 1864 and m ...

from 1934 to 1936 when he became Rector of

Newbold Pacey Newbold Pacey is a village and civil parish south of Warwick, in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Ashorne and the parish council is called "Newbold Pacey & Ashorne Parish Council". In 20 ...

with

Moreton Morrell Moreton Morrell is a village and civil parish in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is part of the historic hundred of Kington and is located about three and a half miles north west of the village of Kineton. The settlement was first menti ...

. When

World War II 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 ...

began he became a Chaplain to the Forces, during which he 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 ...

thrice. In 1946 he became Rector of

Eversley Eversley is a village and civil parish in the Hart District, Hart district of Hampshire, England. The village is located around northeast of Basingstoke and around west of Yateley. The River Blackwater (River Loddon), River Blackwater, and ...

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 ...

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres ...

from 1953 to 1958. He was the

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Ellisfield Ellisfield is a village in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It lies approximately south of Basingstoke on the other side of the M3 motorway from the town. As a parish it is grouped together with Cliddesden, Dummer an ...

from 1960 to 1974.''

Crockford's Clerical Directory ''Crockford's Clerical Directory'' (''Crockford'') is the authoritative directory of Anglican clergy and churches in Great Britain and Ireland, containing details of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish benefices and churches, and biographies of aro ...

1971-72'' p833 London: Oxford University Press, 1971-72

Notes

1901 births People educated at Radley College Alumni of St Augustine's College, Canterbury Archdeacons of Basingstoke 1985 deaths World War II chaplains Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Ellisfield {{Canterbury-archdeacon-20C-stub