Frank Thewlis (13 September 1917 – 31 August 1990) was a British Methodist minister beginning in 1941 and an international conference speaker in the 1950s–1980s. He was born in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. As superintendent of the Brighton Dome Mission Circuit in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

between 1967 and 1975, Thewlis preached weekly at the large

Brighton Dome The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England, that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre (formerly the Pavilion Theatre). All three venues are linked to the rest of the Royal Pavilion Estate by a tunnel to ...

Concert Hall in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, the largest Methodist congregation at the time in the United Kingdom. He was also a frequent guest on "Pause for thought", a religious segment heard on the long-running

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

programme, ''

The Radio 2 Breakfast Show ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' refers to a range of programming on weekday mornings on BBC Radio 2 since the station's inception on 30 September 1967. The show's longest serving host to date was Sir Terry Wogan, who worked on the programme for 2 ...

''. During a career in the ministry spanning five decades, he preached at the three largest Methodist congregations in the United Kingdom.

Early years

Thewlis was born on 13 September 1917, in

. As a boy growing up in

Southport, Lancashire Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

, he first aspired to a career as an architect, before finding himself called to the ministry. A fan of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, he was assistant secretary with the Southport Football Club before entering college. In 1938, he entered Wesley College, then in

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

, completing his studies there in 1941.

Ministry

Whilst a probationer minister before ordination, Thewlis served as an army chaplain during the Second World War; he received a commission in the

Royal Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

in May 1943. Following the end of the war and his ordination by the

Methodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestantism, Protestant List of Christian denominations, Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodism, Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, an ...

in 1945, he became minister of St George's Central Hall at

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, in the East End of London, and later at

Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Birmi ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, where crowds were so large that two services on Sunday nights became necessary to accommodate the throngs. In 1955, Thewlis was named

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

and then served at the Methodist church in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, which had the largest Methodist congregation in the north of England at the time. In 1967, Thewlis became minister of Dorset Gardens Methodist Church in

and superintendent of the Brighton Dome Mission Circuit (which merged in later years with the

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

Circuit) on the

coast. In addition to conducting Sunday morning services at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, he preached weekly on Sunday evenings at the large

Concert Hall to audiences of to as many as persons. This was the largest Methodist congregation in the British Isles at the time. He continued there until August 1975. The Dome from Pavilion Gardens - geograph

The Dome from Pavilion Gardens - geograph

In 1968, Thewlis participated with other clergy in the 72nd anniversary of the

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

Mission and the start of a fundraising campaign for the construction of its new facilities. His final pastorate before retirement was at

Victoria Hall, Sheffield Victoria Hall is a Methodism, Methodist place of worship situated on Norfolk Street in Sheffield Sheffield City Centre, city centre. It is the most important Methodist building in Sheffield and it is a Grade II listed building. Thewlis wrote the book ''Think Again'', a 1978 compendium of his frequent talks on "Pause for thought", a religious segment heard by millions on the long-running

programme, ''

''. In response to criticism of

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

as unchristian, Thewlis urged his fellow Masons, "Try not to feel hurt, don't give way to those who seem determined to turn Methodism into an exclusive minor sect". As a prominent religious leader in Great Britain, he was often asked to comment on current events and issues. In 1979, he urged closer liaison between social workers and lawyers in child-care cases in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. In the midst of the rioting in English cities in 1981, Thewlis feared that the unrest in

might become a race war, saying, "I would make an appeal from the pulpit — but what's the use? It would fall on wrong ears". Thewlis was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II a member of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

(MStJ) in 1977.

International preaching

Thewlis' gifts as a preacher and evangelist gained him an international reputation as an effective speaker and resulted in frequent guest-speaking engagements throughout Great Britain and beyond, including numerous appearances in the United States between the 1950s and the 1980s. He spoke with a

Yorkshire accent The Yorkshire dialect (also known as Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, Yorkie or Yorkshire English) is a dialect of English, or continuum of dialects, spoken in the Yorkshire region of Northern England. The dialect has roots in Old English and is influen ...

and peppered his sermons with humorous anecdotes, much to the delight of American audiences. Thewlis spoke at a conference in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

, in 1954 and was invited back for a return engagement twelve years later in 1966, the event organizers recalling "the lasting impression that grew out of his stirring Christian message" resulting from his previous visit. Thewlis was a favourite speaker at

Ocean Grove, New Jersey Ocean Grove is a unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Neptune Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

, who was the Labour Party's

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976. Wilson's paternal grandmother was a Thewlis. Wilson and Thewlis were both born in Huddersfield, 15 months apart. Thewlis was a strong supporter of the Labour Party, greeting Wilson personally on a

first name basis A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

whenever the Labour Party's annual conference was held in Brighton and its Conference Service was held as part of the Sunday morning service at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church. Thewlis often wore a red

pocket square A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as wip ...

(also called a pocket handkerchief) in the chest pocket of his suit jacket when preaching, subtly indicating his Labour Party support. Thewlis and his wife, Edna (née Jukes), had been teenage sweethearts and married in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

in 1943. He died at home on 31 August 1990, aged 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thewlis, Frank 1917 births 1990 deaths World War II chaplains 20th-century Methodist ministers English Methodist ministers People from Huddersfield Chaplains of the Order of St John English military chaplains Harold Wilson Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers