Walter Baddeley
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Walter Hubert Baddeley DSO MC* (22 March 189411 February 1960)Blain, Michael. ''Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific — ordained before 1932'' (2019) pp. 57–63. (Accessed a
Project Canterbury
27 June 2019)
was a British Anglican bishop who served as Bishop of Melanesia from 1932 to 1947 and Bishop of Blackburn from 1954 till his death.


Family and education

Called Hubert by his family, Baddeley was born in
Portslade Portslade is a western suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century. The arrival of the railwa ...
,
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, and educated at Varndean School and
Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...
. When the
Great 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 ...
came, he paused his studies to join the
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: 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 ...
four times and awarded the
Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...
(DSO) and the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
(MC). In 1914, he had applied for a temporary commission, and his medical examination described him as 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a weight of 123 lbs but with a ‘chest 2 inches deficient’. He served in France from July, 1915, first with the Royal Sussex and, from June, 1918 with the East Surrey's.TNA WO374/3013 Both his MCs have citations, and his Bar, gazetted on 13 September 1918, demonstrated his courage and leadership qualities. ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during an enemy attack. He commanded his company with great skill and determination. He reorganised and directed men in a masterly manner, and displayed the powers of command.’ There is no citation for the DSO. Baddeley had been promoted from 2nd Lt to Acting Lieutenant-Colonel during the War, and a reference on him dated 7 January 1919, noted that he ‘Commanded the 8th East Surrey Regiment with conspicuous success ... He has proved himself to be a capable and energetic commander in action and when out of the line.’ Baddeley was one of 10 diocesan bishops in England in the 1950s who had been combatants in the Great War. Following completion of his degree (1920,
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
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), he trained for the ministry at Cuddesdon College. He married Kath Thomas, youngest daughter of Nutter Thomas, Bishop of Adelaide, on 13 November 1935 at St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide (Thomas conducted the ceremony).


Early ministry

Baddeley was made deacon on
Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...
1921 (22 May) and ordained priest that
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(18 December 1921) — both times by Thomas Strong, Bishop of Ripon, at
Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, ...
. He served his title (curacy) at St Bartholomew's Church, Armley until 1924, when he became Vicar of
South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...
, North Yorkshire (where his curate was
John Dickinson John Dickinson (November 13, O.S. November 2">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. November 21732Various sources indicate a birth date of November 8, 12 or 13, but his most recent biographer ...
, later his assistant-bishop in Melanesia).


Melanesia

Having refused the role of assistant bishop of Melanesia to Merivale Molyneux in late 1930, Baddeley was recommended by Cosmo Lang,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
to become diocesan bishop there after Molyneux's resignation; on 6 July 1932, the New Zealand bishops appointed him Bishop of Melanesia in 1932, and he departed Britain in October. He was consecrated bishop on St Andrew's day 1932 (30 November) by
Alfred Averill Alfred Walter Averill (7 October 18656 July 1957) was the second Anglican Archbishop of New Zealand, from 1925 to 1940. He was also the fifth Anglican Anglican Diocese of Auckland, Bishop of Auckland whose episcopate spanned a 25-year period durin ...
, Archbishop of New Zealand, at St Mary's Cathedral, Auckland. During his time in the region, he served as a member of the Advisory Council of the Solomon Islands. Following his marriage in late 1935, he spent half of 1936 in Britain, and returned via
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,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
,
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
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and
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. Sending his wife and children to
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, Baddeley himself remained in his diocese during
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 ...
, paying particular attention to medical work among those injured in fighting with the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
. To hide from the Japanese, he moved hospital equipment into the bush, and continued throughout the fighting to minister to natives and to US and other Allied wounded at Guadalcanal. At the invitation of Henry St. George Tucker, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, he undertook a tour (1944–5) of the United States; he received an honorary
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(Hon STD) degree from
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in 1944 and the Medal of Freedom in 1945. In 1945, he was party to the agreement that the church in the Mandatory
Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an adm ...
(i.e. the north of his diocese) should be wholly ceded to the Diocese of New Guinea (the agreement was enacted 1 July 1949). His appointment as Bishop of Whitby (
suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...
in the
Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ar ...
) having been announced 20 December 1946, he undertook a farewell tour of his diocese and of New Zealand, he vacated his See and departed for Britain on 2 April 1947.


Return to England

He arrived 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 ...
on 10 April and had
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 ...
before taking up his new post. Baddeley was a popular figure with the austere Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett, but Garbett did not support him for the post of diocesan bishop of Blackburn. ‘Great vigour and personal zeal. On the intellectual side, he would be below the usual standard, for he reads very little’. However, the key figure in the appointments process was the PM, Winston Churchill, who would have been impressed by Baddeley's Record in both World Wars. So, on 13 August 1954, his nomination as Bishop of Blackburn was announced, and he took up the See on 10 October. He died in post at Bishop's House, Salesbury ( Clayton-le-Dale, Lancashire) and his funeral was at Blackburn Cathedral on 15 February 1960, officiated by Michael Ramsey,
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
. Baddeley is listed in the Calendar of saints (Church of the Province of Melanesia). Baddeley's son was Martin Baddeley, who was Archdeacon of Reigate, and his grandson is Jeremy Greaves, Assistant Bishop for the Northern Region in the
Anglican Diocese of Brisbane The Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, also known as Anglican Church Southern Queensland, is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The diocesan bishop's seat is at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The diocese stretches from the south-eastern coastl ...
since 2017.


References


External links


Material by and about Walter Hubert Baddeley
from
Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ...

The 1938 Book of Common Prayer
of the Diocese of Melanesia, edited by Baddeley {{DEFAULTSORT:Baddeley, Walter Hubert 1894 births 1960 deaths People from Hove Anglican bishops of Melanesia Bishops of Whitby Anglican saints 20th-century Anglican bishops in Oceania Bishops of Blackburn Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Alumni of Keble College, Oxford 20th-century Christian saints Members of the Advisory Council of the Solomon Islands Recipients of the Medal of Freedom