Alfred Vincent Hurley,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, TD, MA (12 January 1896 – 24 February 1986) was

Archdeacon of Dudley The Archdeacon of Dudley is one of two archdeacons in the Anglican Diocese of Worcester, England (the other being the Archdeacon of Worcester). History The archdeaconry of Dudley was created by Order in Council on 11 February 1921 from the Worcest ...

from 1951 until 1968. Hurley was born in Caversham educated at

Queen Mary's School for Boys, Basingstoke Queen Mary's School for Boys (QMSB) was a maintained (state funded) grammar school in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England for boys aged 11–18. The school existed between 1556 and 1970 and was latterly funded by the Hampshire County Council Educat ...

and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

; and ordained in 1911. After wartime service with the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles is a regiment of the Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regimen ...

and the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1922 and began his ecclesiastical career with a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which houses now the Leeds Industrial ...

. He was

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

HM Prison Leeds HM Prison Leeds is a Category B men's prison, located at Gloucester Terrace in the Armley area of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1847. Leeds Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is still known locally as ...

from 1923 to 1924; and of Portland Borstal in 1924. He became

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in 1931; and

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

of Weymouth in 1937. In 1939 he became a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

and

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

in 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a

to the Forces, serving with the 4th Dorsets, 1939; the 42nd East Lancs Division and the Eighth Army, where he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

. From 1945 to 1946 he was Chaplain General to the South East Asia Allied Land Forces. He was

Oldswinford The name Oldswinford is now used for a small area of Stourbridge, close to the parish church. History Originally, it was an extensive ancient parish, covering the whole of the former Municipal Borough of Stourbridge, except Pedmore. This included ...

flickr
/ref> from 1948 to 1964; an

Honorary Canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...

from 1951 to 1968, and also

Examining 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, intelligence ...

to the

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

for much of that period.

References

People from Caversham, Reading People educated at Queen Mary's School for Boys, Basingstoke Royal Flying Corps officers Alumni of Keble College, Oxford 1896 births 1986 deaths Archdeacons of Dudley Artists' Rifles soldiers Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire British Army personnel of World War I {{Canterbury-archdeacon-stub