The Reverend Canon Wallace Harold Elliott (1884 - 1957) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman and

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

of the

Chapels Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, British and Monarchy of Canada#Federal residences and royal household, Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family ...

, and a broadcaster on religious matters for the BBC, known as "the Radio Chaplain".

Early life and education

Elliott was educated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, where he was Colquitt

Exhibitioner An exhibition is a type of historical financial scholarship or bursary awarded in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Purpose An exhibition is historically a small financial award or grant, of lower status than a "scholarship", given to an individu ...

, and took a 2nd-class BA in Theology in 1906, being promoted to MA in 1910. He subsequently studied at

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon (RCC) is a Church of England seminary, theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local orda ...

, outside Oxford.

Career

Being ordained deacon in 1907 and priest in 1908, Elliott was curate at

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark i ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

from 1907 to 1909, before being appointed

Church of England Men's Society Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian co ...

organizing secretary for the Northern Provinces. From 1909 he was also curate at

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. In 1918 he became vicar of Holy Trinity, Folkestone, "a carpeted and golden edifice built in 1868 for the West End of Folkestone", remaining there until 1928; from 1924 to 1928 he was also a prebendary of

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

. His service as chaplain to the King began in 1926, and he was a canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London from 1928. From 1930 to 1941, Elliott was vicar of St Michael's church,

Chester Square Chester Square is an elongated residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It was developed by the Grosvenor family, as were the nearby Belgrave and Eaton Square. The square is named after the city of Chester, the city nearest ...

, in London's

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

district. Along with serving as Precentor of the Chapels Royal from 1941 to 1946, he was sub-dean from 1942 to 1948, when he retired. He was also

Deputy Clerk of the Closet The Deputy Clerk of the Closet is the Domestic Chaplain to the Monarch, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The office was created in 1677. Since 1931, the Deputy Clerk is also the sub-dean of the Chapel Royal (under the Clerk of the Closet). The De ...

and Sub-Almoner to the King from 1941 to 1948, and

Domestic Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligen ...

to the King from 1942 to 1948. Alongside his broadcasting for the BBC, Elliott was also a writer. He appeared as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' on 26 March 1942. Elliott persuaded Plomley to let him write his own script which Plomley regretted as the script turned out to be a kind of sermon.

Personal life

Elliott married Edith Plaistow Kilburn; their son was the theatre and television director Michael Elliott.Who's Who in the Theatre, ed. John Parker, Pitman, 1981, p. 204

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, W. H. 20th-century Church of England clergy BBC people 20th-century English people English chaplains 1884 births 1957 deaths