William Pye Baddeley (20 March 1914 – 31 May 1998) was an Anglican priest who was the
Dean of Brisbane
St John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia. It is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The cathedral is situated in Ann Street ...
from 1958 to 1967.
Early life
He was born in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
on 20 March 1914, the son of the French singer Louise Bourdin. His mother had married a composer, William Clinton-Baddeley, in 1896, with whom she had a number of children, including the actresses
Angela and
Hermione Baddeley
Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy".Folkart, Burt, "Noted ...
.
By 1914 Clinton-Baddeley had left, and Bourdin had taken in lodgers. It was to one of these, known only as 'Uncle Pye', that William Bye Baddeley was born.
The young William was given away to a family in
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
,
where his birth was registered. Unlike his half-sisters, who were educated privately, Baddeley was educated at a local school.
He drifted into the orbit of the Rev
Cyril Easthaugh
Cyril Easthaugh (22 December 189716 December 1988) was a British Anglican bishop in the 20th Century. He was Bishop of Kensington from 1949 to 1961 and Bishop of Peterborough from 1961 to 1972.
Early life and education
Easthaugh was born on 22 ...
at
St John the Divine, Kennington
St John the Divine, Kennington, is an Anglican church in London. The parish of Kennington is within the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. The church was designed by the architect George Edmund Street (who also built the Royal Courts of Justice on S ...
.
Eastaugh arranged for Baddeley to attend a
crammer
A cram school, informally called crammer and colloquially also referred to as test-prep or exam factory, is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high school ...
at
Tatterford
Tatterford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tattersett, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. The village is 4.8 miles south west of the town of Fakenham, 30.3 miles north west of Norwich and ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, run by the Rev William Hand (whose son
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
would become the first Archbishop of the
Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea is a province of the Anglican Communion. It was created in 1977 when the Province of Papua New Guinea became independent from the Province of Queensland in the Church of England in Australia (officially ren ...
).
Clerical career
From Tatterford he went on to
St Chad's College, Durham
, motto_English = Not what you have, but who you are
, scarf =
, established = 1904
, principal = Margaret Masson
, senior_tutor = Eleanor Spencer-Regan
, undergraduates = 409
, postgraduates = 150
, website =
, coordinates =
, location_map ...
and trained for ordination at
Cuddesdon
Cuddesdon is a mainly rural village in South Oxfordshire centred ESE of Oxford. It has the largest Church of England clergy training centre, Ripon College Cuddesdon. Residents number approximately 430 in Cuddesdon's nucleated village centre a ...
,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
['BADDELEY, Very Rev. William Pye', '']Who Was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
'', A & C Black
A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels.
History
The firm was founded in 18 ...
, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 21 Aug 2012
/ref> He was ordained deacon in 1941 and priest in 1942, and served curacies at St Luke's, Camberwell
Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...
(1941-1944), St Anne's Church, Wandsworth (1944-1946) and St Stephen's Church, Bournemouth
St Stephen's Church is an Anglican church in Bournemouth, Dorset (formerly in Hampshire). The liturgical life of the Church is rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. The Church has a noted Lady Chapel, and celebrates Marian masses, benediction a ...
(1946-1949).
He was then appointed Vicar of St Pancras (1949–58), for whose restoration he is credited with having raised £60,000 (worth £1.5m as of 2019 adjusting for inflation). During that time he was also Chaplain to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female physi ...
(1949-1958) and St Luke's Hospital for the Clergy
St Luke's Hospital for the Clergy was a charity founded in 1892 to support sick members of the Anglican clergy and which owned a hospital in Fitzroy Square, London. In 2009 the building was sold (it is now a private hospital); the charity was rena ...
(1952-1954). In 1958 he was appointed Dean of Brisbane. Upon his return to England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
he was 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 ...
of St James's, Piccadilly
Westminster St James (or St James Piccadilly) was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish followed the building of the St James's Church, Piccadilly, Church of St James, Piccadilly, in 1684. After ...
from 1967 to 1980, during which period restoration of Sir Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
's spire was completed after bombing in the war. He was Chaplain to the Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
(1968–80), Chairman of the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children (1968–92) and a Life Governor of the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children
The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children is a large children's charity in London which uses the working name Coram (formerly Coram Family).
It originated as part of England's oldest children's charity, the Foundling Hospital, established by ro ...
from 1955.
He was also active in Australian civic life when he was in Brisbane, being active in the arts as President of the Brisbane Repertory Theatre
La Boite Theatre is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. Playing a vital role in the cultural landscape, La Boite Theat ...
(1961–64) and Director of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally.
Founding
In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...
(1963–67), and making television and other media appearances to which "the Australian public responded, as had his English audiences, to his ''joie de vivre''"; as Sir James Killen
Sir Denis James "Jim" Killen, (23 November 1925 – 12 January 2007) was an Australian politician and a Liberal Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from December 1955 to August 1983, representing the Division of Moreton in Q ...
recalled, "There was nothing sedating about his sermons."
Personal life
He died on 31 May 1998. He was survived by his wife, Shirley (née Wyatt), who was daughter of Lt-Col Ernest Wyatt 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 ...
DSO, a niece of Field Marshal Sir Claud Jacob
Field Marshal Sir Claud William Jacob, (21 November 1863 – 2 June 1948) was a British Indian Army officer. He served in the First World War as commander of the Dehra Dun Brigade, as General Officer Commanding 21st Division and as General Offi ...
, first cousin of Lt-Gen Sir Ian Jacob
Lieutenant General Sir Edward Ian Claud Jacob (27 September 1899 – 24 April 1993), known as Ian Jacob, was a British Army officer, who served as the Military Assistant Secretary to Winston Churchill's war cabinet and was later a distinguished ...
, and a direct descendant of both Robert Caldwell
Robert Caldwell (7 May 1814 – 28 August 1891) was a missionary for London Missionary Society. He arrived in India at age 24, studied the local language to spread the word of Bible in a vernacular language, studies that led him to author a tex ...
and twice-appointed Apothecary to the Household
The Apothecary to the Household is an officer of the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He has a salaried daily surgery.
The Apothecary to the Household was originally responsible for providing medic ...
John Nussey, who was master of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence.
The society is a m ...
. They had one daughter.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baddeley, William Pye
1914 births
1998 deaths
Clergy from London
Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham
Alumni of Durham University
Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon
Deans of Brisbane