John Herbert Orpen (30 September 1868 - 3 December 1950) 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in the 20th century. He was born on 30 September 1868, educated at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

, and

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 ...

for service in the

Diocese of Liverpool The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey, part of West Lancashire, part of Wigan in Greater Manchester, Widnes and part of Warrington and in Cheshire (it was origi ...

in 1894. He held

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 ...

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area w ...

, Beeston and

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and ...

. After this he served incumbencies at

Burton, Pembrokeshire Burton is a small village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, set on a hill overlooking the River Cleddau with views of the estuary to the south, east and west. The community includes the village of Hill Mountain. History In 1844, the ...

, Thurston and Melton. He was commissioned as a Temporary Chaplain to the Forces on 1 October 1918, and was attached to the 1st London Reserve Brigade in Eastern Command. A son was killed in July, 1916, serving as an officer with the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

. In 1929 he became

Provost of St Edmundsbury The Dean of St Edmundsbury is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of St Edmundsbury Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the Cathedral Church of Saint James in Bury S ...

, a post he held until 1940. From then until his death on 3 December 1950 he was

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 ...

Fornham All Saints Fornham All Saints is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England in the West Suffolk district. It is north-northwest of the town of Bury St Edmunds and 500m west of Fornham St Genevieve. The village sign depicts a helmet and crossed swor ...

.National Archives
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Notes

1895 births Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Provosts and Deans of St Edmundsbury 1958 deaths World War I chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers {{ChurchofEngland-dean-stub