George Vincent Gerard, (24 November 1898 – 14 January 1984) was the seventh Anglican

Bishop of Waiapu The Diocese of Waiapu is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area around the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, including Tauranga, Taup ...

, serving from 1938 to 1944; and Assistant Bishop of Sheffield, 1947–1971. He served with distinction in both World Wars.

Early life and education

Gerard was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch. He came to England in 1917 and joined the Inns of Court Regiment and was soon offered a commission with the East Kents (the Buffs). He served in France and earned a Military Cross. Gerard then obtained a degree at Brasenose College, Oxford and was ordained in 1923.

Ministry

He returned to New Zealand and embarked on 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 ...

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

. He was made deacon on 21 December 1922 and ordained priest on 23 December 1923, by

Churchill Julius Churchill Julius (15 October 1847 – 1 September 1938) was an Anglican cleric in England, then in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the first Archbishop of New Zealand. Biography Julius was born at Richmond, Surrey in 1847. He was educated ...

, Bishop of Christchurch and

Primate of New Zealand Primate of New Zealand is a title held by a bishop who leads the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Since 2006, the Senior Bishop of each '' tikanga'' (Māori, Pākehā, Pasefika) serves automatically as one of three co-equal ...

, at

ChristChurch Cathedral ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city ...

."Gerard, George Vincent" in Blain, Michael. ''Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific — ordained before 1932'' (2023 edition) p. 787 (Accessed a
Project Canterbury
4 February 2023
archived
4 February 2023) Later he was Vicar of

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, then

Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in P ...

, and finally (before his appointment to the

episcopate 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 ...

) of St Matthew,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. Gerard was elected Bishop of Waiapu and consecrated a bishop on 28 October 1938, by

Alfred Averill Alfred Walter Averill (7 October 18656 July 1957) was the second Anglican Archbishop of New Zealand, from 1925 to 1940. He was also the fifth Anglican Bishop of Auckland whose episcopate spanned a 25-year period during the first half of the 20 ...

and Bishop of Auckland, at Napier Cathedral. He served as Senior Chaplain to the New Zealand forces when the Second World War broke out but was taken prisoner in 1941 and repatriated in 1943. He was appointed CBE in 1944 and resigned his See on 30 April that year. He was then Senior NZ Chaplain in the South Pacific until the War ended. By 1945 Gerard had renewed his acquaintance with Leslie Hunter, by then Bishop of Sheffield, with whom he had worked in Barking in the 1920s. Gerard was appointed vicar and rural dean of Rotherham that year and, in 1947, Assistant Bishop of Sheffield. He became 'a loved and honoured figure throughout the diocese'. Gerard resigned the vicarage and deanery in 1960, but remained Assistant Bishop until 30 September 1971 and was Chairman of the

Church Assembly The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

's House of Clergy, from 1965 to 1970. He died in 1984.

References

*''Playing with Strife'', The Autobiography of a Soldier, Lt-Gen. Sir Philip Neame, V.C., K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., George G Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1947. 1898 births People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Anglican bishops of Waiapu 20th-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1984 deaths {{Anglican-bishop-stub