Eric William Bradley Cordingly

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(17 May 1911 – 14 August 1976) was the Anglican

Bishop of Thetford The Bishop of Thetford is an episcopal title which takes its name after the market town of Thetford in Norfolk, England. The title was originally used by the Normans in the 11th century, and is now used by a Church of England suffragan bishop. ...

from 1963 until his death in 1976.

Early life and ordination

Cordingly studied theology at King's College London and

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an Anglican theological college and one of five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford, England. It will cease to be a permanent private hall in 2023. The college has a very small proportion of undergraduate s ...

before his ordinations. He was deaconed on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...

1934 (27 May) and priest the next Trinity Sunday (16 June 1935) – both times by Arthur Winnington-Ingram,

Bishop of London 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 ...

at St Paul's Cathedral. He was a curate at St Peter Le Poer,

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North ...

(1934–1936). He then became curate at

Minchinhampton Minchinhampton is an ancient Cotswolds market town in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Estuary into Wales and furth ...

, before becoming

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 Stanton in 1938.

Prisoner of war

After the start of

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 opposing ...

, Cordingly joined as an army chaplain in a territorial battalion of the

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

. He was deployed to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and took part in the Dunkirk evacuation. On 4 February 1942, Cordingly's unit arrived in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Just a few days later, British forces lost the

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

and surrendered to Japan. From 18 February 1942 until the end of the war, Cordingly was held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

by Japanese forces. He spent most of this time at a prisoner-of-war camp in

Changi Changi () is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the Seran ...

, Singapore. The site is now commemorated at the

Changi Museum The Changi Chapel and Museum is a war museum dedicated to Singapore's history during the Second World War and the Japanese occupation of Singapore. After the British army was defeated by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Battle of Singapore, thou ...

, which contains the original cross that Cordingly used during his wartime church services. From April 1943 to April 1944 Cordingly was sent with other prisoners to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

to work on the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

. Many of his fellow captives did not survive. He later wrote about this experience in a book, ''Beyond Hatred'', calling it "To me a yearthe toughest of my life, grim and shocking as it waswhich on reflection I would not have missed. I have learned muchbut it is a year I would never wish to live through again. Eight chaplains were in this Forcethree are buried in Thailand."

Release

After the Surrender of Japan and the end of

, Cordingly returned to the UK. He was subsequently awarded an

for his services while he was a

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

. He resumed his work as

Leckhampton Leckhampton is a Gloucestershire village and a district in south Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The area is in the civil parish of Leckhampton with Warden Hill and is part of the district of Cheltenham. The population of the civil pari ...

. In 1955, Cordingly became

of Stevenage. From 1960 to 1963 he was an

Honorary Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...

. in 1962 he was appointed

Archdeacon of Norfolk The Archdeacon of Norfolk is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Norwich, who exercises supervision of clergy and responsibility for church buildings within the geographical area of their archdeaconry. The current a ...

. A year later he became

: he was consecrated a bishop by

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1 ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury, on 18 October 1963 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

Personal life

Cordingly died in 1976, aged 65. He was married with four children. His eldest son,

David Cordingly David Cordingly is an English naval historian with a special interest in pirates. He held the position of Keeper of Pictures and Head of Exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England for twelve years. David Cordingly organis ...

, is a naval historian.

War Diaries

In 2013, his family published ''Down to Bedrock'' https://www.amazon.co.uk/Down-Bedrock-Prisoner-Chaplain-1942-45/dp/0900616954/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380093689&sr=8-1&keywords=eric+cordingly - a collection of the diaries he wrote as prisoner of war.

References

External links

Changi Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordingly, William Bradley 1911 births Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College London Members of the Order of the British Empire Bishops of Thetford Archdeacons of Norfolk 20th-century Church of England bishops 1976 deaths Honorary Chaplains to the King World War II chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers British World War II prisoners of war People associated with the University of East Anglia Burma Railway prisoners British Army personnel of World War II