Hugh Richard Lawrie Sheppard (2 September 1880 – 31 October 1937) was an English

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 ...

priest,

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate precur ...

and

Christian pacifist Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chri ...

Early life and education

Sheppard was the younger son of Edgar Sheppard, a minor canon at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor, and Mary White. Born at the Cloisters in Windsor, he was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and then (1901–1904)

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. He worked with the poor from

Oxford House The term Oxford House refers to any house operating under the "Oxford House Model", a community-based approach to addiction recovery, which provides an independent, supportive, and sober living environment. Today there are nearly 3,000 Oxford House ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

and then for a year as secretary to Cosmo Lang, then Bishop of Stepney. He volunteered to serve in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

: however, an injury sustained while en route to the railway station rendered him permanently disabled and unable to serve.

Career

He studied for the ministry at Cuddesdon College and was ordained priest in 1908. Returning to work with the poor at Oxford House, in 1910 he suffered the first of what would prove to be recurrent breakdowns due to overwork. With the onset of war, Sheppard spent some months as chaplain to a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

in France, before being sent home with exhaustion. He had joined the chaplaincy soon after war was declared. Bishop Gwynne, who became deputy chaplain-general on the Western Front, wrote of Sheppard, 'He is a man of real magnetic power and has left his living of St Martin's-in-the-Fields to come out with the Australian hospital'. Sheppard wrote to Lang of his experiences, "I've sat in a dugout expecting the Germans at any moment all through one night. I've held a leg and several other limbs while the surgeon amputated them. I've fought a drunken Tommy and protected several German prisoners from a French mob. I've missed a thousand opportunities and lived through a life's experience in five weeks." Sheppard had a breakdown which resulted from this experience, and these few weeks in France affected his view of warfare. Supported by Lang, he returned to the fashionable and high-profile living at St Martin-in-the-Fields, turning the church into an accessible social centre for all those in need. He married Alison Lennox, who had nursed him during his breakdowns, in 1915. From 1924, when Sheppard provided the first service ever broadcast by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, his broadcast sermons gave him national fame. However, another breakdown and acute asthma led to his resignation in 1926. Having become a pacifist, he articulated a vision of a non-institutional church in ''The Impatience of a Parson'' (1927). Sheppard was partly responsible for the annual

Festival of Remembrance The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

that takes place in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London on the first Saturday in November before Remembrance Sunday. In November 1925 he wrote to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' protesting against a proposed Charity Ball on Armistice Day. Following a nationwide response a solemn ceremony ''In Memory'' replaced the Ball. Such was its resonance with the public that it became an annual event that continues to this day. Lang, appointed

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

in 1928, supported the appointment of Sheppard as

in 1929. Although his preaching attracted huge audiences, illness once again forced resignation in 1931.

After resignation

Trying to develop a public political platform for pacifism, with Herbert Gray and

Maude Royden Agnes Maude Royden (23 November 1876 – 30 July 1956), later known as Maude Royden-Shaw, was an English preacher, suffragist and campaigner for the ordination of women. Early life and education Royden was born in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, the ...

, Sheppard proposed in 1931 a Peace Army of unarmed peacemakers to stand between the Chinese and Japanese armies in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. More successfully, he issued a call for "peace pledges" in 1934. He published ''We Say 'No' ''(1935) and formally established the Peace Pledge Union in 1936. In 1937 – the year of his death aged 57 – his wife left him and students elected him Rector of Glasgow University.

Death and legacy

Sheppard died at home in

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area cal ...

and his funeral in

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 ...

drew huge crowds. He is buried in the cloisters at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. The character of the priest Robert Carbury in Vera Brittain's novel ''Born 1925'' is based on Sheppard. There is a memorial chapel named after Sheppard at St Martin-in-the Fields. The former office of the Peace Pledge Union was called Dick Sheppard House. An altar cross and candlesticks were presented as a memorial in Sheppard's name to

Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral at Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral stands, with Viscount Bennett, ...

in 1957 by his friends and family.

Publications

* ''The Human Parson'' (1925) * ''My Hopes and Fears for the Church'' (1930) * ''The Impatience of a Parson'' (1930) * ''The Psalms for modern life'' (1933; illustrated by

Arthur Wragg Arthur Wragg (3 January 1903 – 17 August 1976) was a British illustrator. His stark poster-like artwork often dealt with themes of social alienation and spiritual emptiness. All his work was done for publication, rather than in 'fine art' media ...

) * ''Two days before : simple thoughts about Our Lord on the cross'' (1935) * ''We say "No" : the plain man's guide to pacificism'' (1935) * "Introduction" to ''We Did Not Fight : 1914–18 experiences of war resisters'' by

Julian Bell Julian Heward Bell (4 February 1908 – 18 July 1937) was an English poet, and the son of Clive and Vanessa Bell (who was the elder sister of Virginia Woolf). The writer Quentin Bell was his younger brother and the writer and painter Angelica ...

(1935) * ''H. R. L. Sheppard : A Note in Appreciation'' (1937) * ''Sheppard's Pie'' (1937) * ''The Root of the Matter'' (1937) * ''The Christian attitude to war : St. Mary Woolnoth, 26 February 1937'' (1937) * ''Let Us Honour Peace'' (1937; with Rose Macaulay,

J. D. Beresford John Davys Beresford (17 March 1873 – 2 February 1947) was an English writer, now remembered for his early science fiction and some short stories in the horror story and ghost story genres. Beresford was a great admirer of H.G. Wells, and w ...

, Gerald Heard, Vera Brittain, Captain Philip S. Mumford, L.B. Pekin, Canon C.E. Raven, E. Graham Howe,Elizabeth Thorneycroft, and R.H. Ward). * ''More Sheppard's Pie'' (1938) * ''Peace : A challenge to the Church'' (1973)

References

*''Dick Sheppard by his friends'' (1938) *R. E. Roberts, ''H. R. L. Sheppard'' (1942) · *C. S. Matthews, ''Dick Sheppard: man of peace'' (1948) *C. Scott, ''Dick Sheppard'' (1977) · · *A. Wilkinson, ''Dissent or conform? War, peace and the English churches, 1900–1945'' (1986) *A. Hastings, ''A history of English Christianity, 1920–1990'', 3rd edn (1991)

External links

A brief history of the PPU

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Dick Deans of Canterbury 1880 births 1937 deaths People from Windsor, Berkshire English pacifists Anglican pacifists English Christian pacifists Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Rectors of the University of Glasgow Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour