Thomas Matthew Mary Nangle (September 5, 1889 – January 4, 1972) (known to family and friends as "Tim") was a

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

cleric and diplomat. He served as the military chaplain of the

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal ...

during

World War I 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 ...

. In his later life, he moved to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

, where he became a farmer and was briefly elected to their Legislative Assembly.

Early life

Nangle was born in St. John's,

, the son of a tailor. He was educated at St. Bonaventure College before attending

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing because of declining student enrollment. The sale ...

seminary in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

St. Patrick's, Carlow College St Patrick's, Carlow College, is a liberal arts college located in Carlow, Ireland. The college is the second oldest third level institution in Ireland and was founded in 1782 by James Keefe, then Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, a ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Nangle was ordained in the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priesthood in 1913 at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's. When the Great War broke out, he enlisted in the Newfoundland Regiment in 1915. He became the regiment's padre and eventually gained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. While on

furlough A furlough (; from , "leave of absence") is a temporary cessation of paid employment that is intended to address the special needs of a company or employer; these needs may be due to economic conditions that affect a specific employer, or to thos ...

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 included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...

's government as the Director of War Graves, Registration, Enquiries and Memorials. He was also made the country's representative on the Imperial War Graves Commission in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he supervised the construction of memorials to Newfoundland soldiers. These included the National War Memorial at King's Beach in St. John's. He was also responsible for the "Trail of the Caribou" memorials in each of the noteworthy battlefields where the Royal Newfoundland Regiment fought:

Beaumont Hamel Beaumont-Hamel () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was close to the front line, near many attacks, especially during the Battle of the Somme, one of the la ...

, Gueudecourt,

Masnières Masnières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population 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, ...

, and Monchy-le-Preux in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Courtrai/Kortrijk in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. While in London, Nangle acted as the High Commissioner of Newfoundland to the United Kingdom from 1923 to 1924.

Rhodesia

In 1926, Nangle abruptly left the priesthood and emigrated to

(today

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

) in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. In a 1960 letter to

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

, Nangle revealed that his wartime service caused him to have a crisis of faith, and he privately became an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

. As he was "faced with the choice of being a living hypocrite all the rest of my life or clearing out to avoid as much scandal as possible," he chose to leave his life in Newfoundland behind and start anew. In Rhodesia, Nangle became a farmer and married a local woman. He became politically active and helped establish the Reform Party, which formed the government in the 1933 election under

Godfrey 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 ...

. Nangle was elected that year to the

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970. Background In 1898, the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, Southern Rhodesia's first elected representative body, was foun ...

as the Reform Member of Parliament (MP) for

Salisbury District Salisbury was a Districts of England, local government district in Wiltshire, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of Salisbury. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 and the Englis ...

. When the party split on ideological lines, Nangle was challenged by Huggins in his district, and he was defeated in the subsequent 1934 election. He twice attempted to return to the legislative assembly as a candidate for the

Rhodesia Labour Party The Rhodesia Labour Party was a political party which existed in Southern Rhodesia from 1923 until the 1950s. Originally formed on the model of the British Labour Party from trade unions and being especially dominated by railway workers, it fo ...

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, but he was defeated in both elections. He died in Rhodesia in 1972 at the age of 83 and was buried in the city of

Kwekwe Kwekwe ( ), formerly known as Que Que, is a city in the Midlands province in central Zimbabwe. The city has a population of 119,863 within the city limits, as of the 2022 census, making it the 7th-largest city in Zimbabwe and the second-mo ...

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 Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) () are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nangle, Thomas 1889 births 1972 deaths Rhodesian politicians White Rhodesian people Canadian emigrants Immigrants to Rhodesia Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Rhodesian diplomats 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