Henry Russell Wakefield (1 December 1854 – 9 January 1933) was an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop 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 ...

and author in the first quarter of the 20th century. Born on 1 December 1854 he was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

and the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

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 1877 after a period at

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay min ...

, Who was Who 1987-1990: London,

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 ...

, 1991 following two London

curacies 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 ...

he was

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

at several

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es before senior posts as

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 ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

Dean of Norwich The Dean of Norwich is the head of the Chapter of Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, England. The role is vacant since Jane Hedges' retirement on 1 May 2022. List of deans Early modern *1538–1539 William Castleton (last prior) *1539–1554 J ...

and finally

Bishop of Birmingham 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 ...

. He was also a member of the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for ...

representing the Marylebone Division from 1897-1900 and Mayor of

St Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it merge ...

in 1903–1905. Wakefield was politically active and a close associate of both Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H H Asquith, Liberal Prime Ministers. At that time, since bishoprics were Crown appointments, the Prime Minister was the key figure in the process and, in 1907, Campbell-Bannerman nominated Wakefield for Bishop of Chichester. The King, Edward VII, asked Campbell-Bannerman to reconsider the appointment and consult the Archbishop of Canterbury who described Wakefield as 'not a very refined or scholarly or cultured man'. Eventually the Dean of Carlisle was appointed to Chichester and in 1911, Wakefield was offered and accepted what was seen as the more suitable post of Bishop of Birmingham. Wakefield was a strong supporter of British participation in the Great War. He wrote 'I am quite certain that Germany regards England as her greatest competitor, and if she is at war with her she will wish to inflict upon her the severest defeat possible .... but I feel honestly that on this occasion England goes into battle with clean hands and noble motives'. One of Wakefield's own sons was in the Royal Navy, in command of HMS LYSANDER in 1914, and both his other sons served in the military including Gilbert who was wounded on the Western Front and later became a playwright.Church Times obituary, 13.1.1933 Russell Wakefield was active in recruitment to the forces, notable at a large Town Hall gathering in 1914, and in 1918 was still pressing clergy to volunteer as chaplains. 'I am, frankly, not over-pleased if I find a parish still thoroughly well-staffed with youngish men. I dislike intensely exercising episcopal pressure in these matters; the persuasion of a tender conscience and of a true patriotism should be more than enough.' During the First World War, Wakefield once controversially referred to British Roman Catholics as "guests of the nation". This earned him a rebuke from the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clifton, George Burton. Wakefield's Roman Catholic counterpart at Birmingham at the time was

Edward Ilsley Archbishop Edward Ilsley was born in May 1838. He was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Birmingham from 1888 to 1911, and then the first Archbishop of Birmingham from 1911 to 1921 when his resignation was accepted by the Pope. He died in 1926. Career ...

, under whose metropolitan jurisdiction Clifton Diocese fell. In October 1918, Wakefield went to Canada, travelling some 18,000 miles explaining the moral issues behind the War. For this, he was awarded the CBE. Wakefield was described in his ''

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specific ...

'' obituary in January 1933 as a "layman's bishop." Between 1908–14, he was the sole Church of England representative on the Executive Committee of the

National Service League The National Service League (NSL) was a British pressure group founded in February 1902 to campaign for the introduction of compulsory military training in Great Britain, in order to protect the country against invasion, particularly from Germany ...

.Annual Reports of the National Service League

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Henry Russell 1854 births People educated at Tonbridge School University of Bonn alumni Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deans of Norwich Bishops of Birmingham 1933 deaths Members of the London School Board Mayors of places in Greater London Members of St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council