Thomas Matthew Mary Nangle (1889 – January 4, 1972) was a

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

cleric, military chaplain of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I, diplomat and later a

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

n politician and farmer.

Early life

He was born in St. John's,

and educated at St. Bonaventure College before attending All Hallows College seminary in Dublin and St. Patrick's, Carlow College in Ireland. He was ordained in the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1913 at the

Basilica of St. John the Baptist The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoun ...

in St. John's, Newfoundland and enlisted in the Newfoundland Regiment in 1915 becoming the regiment's padre ultimately gaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel. While on

furlough A furlough (; from nl, verlof, "leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be s ...

in 1917, he returned to St. John's, Newfoundland to deliver popular lectures about the experiences of the troops and calling for new recruits to join the war effort.

Public service career

Following the war, Nangle was appointed by the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

's government as Director of War Graves, Registration, Enquiries and Memorials and also as the country's representative on the Imperial War Graves Commission in London and supervised the construction of memorials to Newfoundland soldiers in Newfoundland, including the National War Memorial in St. John’s at King’s Beach, and 15 war graveyards and memorials in Europe and

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

including the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in Beaumont-Hamel in France and four other similar memorial parks at Gueudecourt,

Masnières Masnières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry History Masnières figured into the 1917 Battle of Cambrai during which time it was briefly captured by the British on the first day of the battle, November 20, an ...

and Monchy-le-Preux in France and at Courtrai/Kortrijk Belgium on notable battlefields where the Newfoundland Regiment fought. While in London, he acted as the High Commissioner of Newfoundland to the United Kingdom from 1923 to 1924.

Rhodesia

In 1926, Nangle later left the priesthood, emigrated to

in Africa where he became a farmer, married, and became active with the Reform Party, which he had helped found, and was elected in the 1933 election to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly as the MP for Salisbury District. He was defeated the next year in the 1934 election by Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia

Godfrey Martin Huggins Godfrey Martin Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern (6 July 1883 – 8 May 1971), was a Rhodesian politician and physician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1933 to 1953 and remained in office as the first Prime Mini ...

who ran against Nangle in his district. Nangle ran for the legislative assembly again in the

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

and 1948 elections as a candidate for the Rhodesia Labour Party but was defeated. He died in Rhodesia in 1972 at the age of 83.

Legacy

A street in St. John's is named Padre Nangle Place in his honour, and in 2016, Nangle was named a National Historic Person.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nangle, Thomas 1889 births 1972 deaths Rhodesian politicians White Rhodesian people Canadian emigrants to Rhodesia Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Diplomats of former countries World War I chaplains Alumni of Carlow College Alumni of All Hallows College, Dublin Newfoundland military personnel of World War I 20th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests Rhodesian Roman Catholics Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Royal Newfoundland Regiment officers Canadian military chaplains Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia