Ronald Erskine Ramsay was the first Suffragan Bishop of Malmesbury, with the additional title of Archdeacon of Swindon, from 1927 until 1946. He was born on 4 November 1882 and educated at

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...

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 1909 his first post was a

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 ...

in Lozells. Later

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of the

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

Mission, he served during 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 ...

as a chaplain to the Forces. He had been interviewed in May 1916, and his experience of extempore preaching at open-air meetings made him a suitable candidate for the Chaplaincy. He served for one year in France with the Glosters including when they were active during the Battle of the Somme Following this he was Clerical Secretary to the ''Bristol Board of Finance'' until his ordination to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

. A man of deep compassion, he retired in 1946 and died on 26 March 1954. An obituary on one of his sons referred to his father, Ronald, being a notable cricketer and the only bishop known to have been captain of his golf club.The Times obituary,30.11.2010

References

1882 births Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Archdeacons of Swindon 20th-century Church of England bishops Bishops of Swindon (previously Malmesbury) 1954 deaths World War I chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub