Chaplains - anyone researching this? Any database?

[Chris_Baker]

Over the years I have had a few email enquiries about army chaplains, asking for any information about their attachments to units. In most cases I have been able to point the enquirer at the man's service records and all has become clear. But one has asked me about a man who served until 1945 (so his record is with the MOD and it will take several months yet ...).

Do we know of anyone who has compiled this data? Or is doing so?

[Rachd]

The place I go to for any chaplain related research is the Royal Army Chaplains museum at Amport, Hampshire.

David Blake is the curator there and is one of the most helpful gentlemen I have encountered in my research. Plus the museum itself is small but wonderfully presented and highly interesting. I can't recommend it highly enough.

One of the Great attractions is that (for the second war and I believe it's the same for the first) there are record cards that record the assignments of the Padres. These give a great insight into how the Padres moved about. However the cards are based on what was notified to the department so can have gaps.

I know this is not quite what you asked but the Musuem has some great resources.

Regards

Neil

[charlesmessenger]

Chris

Someone whom I suspect does have a database is Peter Howson, himself a former Army chaplain. His Muddling TYhrough: The Organisation of the British Chaplaincy in World War 1 was published by Helion last year. Its appendices include the details of chaplains mobilised in August 1914 and one of those made POW.

Charles M

[Chris_Baker]

Two excellent ideas there, Neil and Charles. Thank you.

[Peterhastie]

Whilst searching for an officers record in WO339 I came across a Reverend...........

Put "Reverend" into keyword options, all of these words and came up with 619 hits (probably not all of them).

Downloaded the csv file, "hey presto", the start of a database.

[Malcolm]

I have seen a book on Chaplains in WW1 which listed all but I can't remember it's name. It was written by a Bishop I think. I borrowed it from someone who will be at a meeting I will be at tomorrow night. I'll get the details.

Aye

Malcolm

[Guest]

"The Cross on the Sword: Catholic Chaplains in the Forces" by Tom Johnstone and James Hagerty will go some way to covering this space.

[Chris_Baker]

Thanks again.

Peter, I have researched a number of Chaplains over the years and their service records in WO339 are normally not bad. The first one I looked at was awarded the MC and Bar, and had a trench named after him, too.

[David_Underdown]

David Youngson, author of "Greater Love: A Directory of Chaplains of the British Army, Australian, Canadian, East African, New Zealand and South African Forces Who Gave Their Lives in the Period 1914-1922" is on the forum, but his moniker escapes me at the moment. I'd echo general comments about RAChD museum, though I've not been, they have a very good twitter presence.

[CarylW]

I'm sure you already know about Crockford's Clerical Directories. I notice Ancestry has one for 1932

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1548

Useful for biographies of those who survived to that year. I've noticed the odd one or two in local archives.

[Don]

.

[Peterhastie]

Hello Chris

Who was he, Ive come across a VC DSO MC, VC & MC, DSO & MC, DSO and plenty with just MCs , which is not meant to be disrespectfull to those who where awarded the MC

Rev. THEODORE BAILEY Hardy V C, D S O, M C

Rev. Edward Noel Mellish V.C.,M.C.

Rev. Simon Stock KNAPP DSO,MC

Rev. DONALD Fraser DSO

Reverend Ernest Courtenay Cross M.C., D.S.O,

Reverend Canon Thomas Emerson Crawhall D.S.O.

Rev. SYDNEY RANGELEY Hewitt OBE

[Chris_Baker]

Rev George Smissen MC. He was for the most part attached to the 15th Sherwood Foresters, who named "Smissen Post" after him.

[Don]

Tis might be of use

G

Keatinge.pdf

[6th Shropshires]

I am looking into a chap from Ludlow who may have been a chaplain, and I will be looking at the Royal Army Chaplains museum at Amport, but I will post his name here just in case someone as come across it and can help me out-his name was Ernest Poyner.

Annette

[Peterhastie]

I suppose you already looked WO and found no file, he may have been YMCA and I don't know whether he would have a record per se.

[Malcolm]

David Youngson, author of "Greater Love: A Directory of Chaplains of the British Army, Australian, Canadian, East African, New Zealand and South African Forces Who Gave Their Lives in the Period 1914-1922" is on the forum, but his moniker escapes me at the moment. I'd echo general comments about RAChD museum, though I've not been, they have a very good twitter presence.

Ah well, that's the book I was talking about. I'll get my coat.............................

Aye

Malcolm

[fellop]

David Youngson’s book ‘Greater Love’ [of which I have copy number 57 of 100, we have worked together on an unrelated ongoing project] only deals with those Chaplains who gave their lives in the period 1914-1922. As the Rev George Smissen MC survived and served until 1945 he is not mentioned in this work.

[Brian Curragh]

Chris - Dr. Michael Snape at Birmingham is probably not a bad contact in this area - he seems to be rapidly gathering a number of postgraduate students around him who are looking at this topic

Brian

[spof]

Rev George Smissen MC. He was for the most part attached to the 15th Sherwood Foresters, who named "Smissen Post" after him.

Chris

I'm assuming a typo when you omitted the "and Bar" post nominal

Glen

[Audax]

On Thesis on the subject of Army Chaplains in the First World War:

Irish Catholic Chaplains by John Brennan :http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/3413/1/Brennan12MPhil.pdf

Catholic Chaplains by Martin Purdy http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/3762/2/Purdy%20Martin%20Final%20e-Thesis%20%28Master%20Copy%29.pdf

Anglican Chaplains (post War) by Linda Parker http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/4495/1/ParkerL13PhD.pdf

Anglican Chaplains in the First World War by Alison Brown

http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/2771

Note : these are pdf files,

A

[Chris_Baker]

I'm assuming a typo when you omitted the "and Bar" post nominal

Indeed. I finished work on George many years ago. Both MCs were for front line work. A brave man.

[Palestine1948]

Not sure if this is entirely relevant but I have just come across a very detailed book on Canadian Chaplains by Duff Crerar entitled PADRES IN NO MAN'S LAND - CANADIAN CHAPLAINS AND THE GREAT WAR. It is available to read on the link below and includes a Nominal List for all Canadian Chaplains Serving in the First World War.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2XOMqLViAX4C&pg=PA235&lpg=PA235&dq=great+war+chaplains+nominal+list&source=bl&ots=mWY3I_y5Ac&sig=3JdZvOlWlgXCdGn0do8RuC_D-8w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZJvyUrWQAqjB7Abi-oGADQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=great%20war%20chaplains%20nominal%20list&f=false

[rolt968]

A couple of odd pieces of information:

All Church of Scotland ministers (well up to about 25 years ago in the latest edition) with brief biographies should appear in Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae.

Methodist ministers are all listed in the relevant year's Minutes of the Methodist Conference and there are biographical details in the obituaries in the Minutes for the year following their death. This applies following the union of the main streams of Methodism in 1929. I'm not sure about the minutes from the conferences before then. From our point of view unfortunately some ministers specifically requested that the obituary should be confined to their dates of birth and death and the churches in which they served.

Roger.

[MaureenE]

The Military Archive, a pay site (see Forum thread below) has a book called Some Chaplains in Khaki 
by FC Spurr


Publisher: HR Allenson, Ltd.


Year of Publication: Believed to be 1916


Coverage: 1914-1916


Pages: 157


List of Plates: None, but portrait photographs throughout.

http://www.militaryarchive.co.uk/the-library/main-library-catalogue/miscellaneous-section-including-army-navy-air-force-police-histories-etc/royal-army-chaplains-department/some-chaplains-in-khaki.html?category=

Forum thread about the Military Archive

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=181370&hl=%22military+archive%22

Cheers

Maureen