Martin George Poll, (born 1961) is a British

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest and former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

. Since 2012, he has been the Canon Chaplain of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and Domestic Chaplain to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

. From 2010 to 2012, he was Archdeacon for the Royal Navy and Principal

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 ...

Chaplain of the Royal Navy Chaplaincy Services.

Early life

Poll was born in 1961 in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, Greater London. He was educated at

Edmonton County School Edmonton County School is a coeducational all-through school and sixth form for pupils aged 4 to 18. The school is located over two sites in Edmonton, London, Edmonton in the London Borough of Enfield in north London, England. Admissions The Ca ...

, a state school in the London Borough of Enfield. He then studied

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Religious Studies at the

University of Kent at Canterbury A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1983.

Ordained ministry

Early ministry

In 1984, Poll entered

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 ...

. He spent the next three years training for ordination. One of his placements during training was to the Royal Army Chaplains' Department. He did not feel that the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

was right for him, but remained attracted to

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

cy. Poll was

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 the

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1987 and as a

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 1988. From 1987 to 1990, he served his

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 ...

John Keble Church The John Keble Church is a Church of England parish church in Mill Hill, London Borough of Barnet. The church was completed in 1936 and is of a modernist design. It is the only church dedicated to John Keble, one of the leaders of the Oxford Mov ...

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

, London. It was during this time that he saw an advertisement for the Royal Navy Chaplaincy Services. He was given a tour of the service, and found that it appealed to him.

Military career

In 1990, Poll was commissioned as a

in the Royal Navy Chaplaincy Services,

. Chaplains do not hold a

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

, only "chaplain", and wear the chaplain's badge as insignia. His appointments included chaplain at HMS ''Raleigh'' (the Royal Navy's

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

facility), and chaplain at

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

(the Royal Navy's initial officer training establishment). As chaplain to the

Royal Marines Commando The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

helicopter squadrons, he served abroad in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. In 2007, he became chaplain to , a light aircraft carrier. He then moved to

HMNB Portsmouth His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

, where he was leader of its chaplaincy team and chaplain of St Ann's Church (the base's Anglican chapel). On 1 November 2010, Poll was promoted to Deputy Chaplain of the Fleet. As the most senior Anglican chaplain, he was also appointed Principal Anglican Chaplain and the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy. As Archdeacon, he was elected to the

General Synod of the Church of England 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 ...

. On 11 December 2011, he was made an

Honorary Canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of ...

. On 7 August 2012, Poll stepped down as Deputy Chaplain of the Fleet; he was succeeded by Ian Wheatley. He retired from the Royal Navy on 29 October 2012.

Later ministry

Poll was installed as a Canon of Windsor on 1 October 2012. He serves as

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Chaplain of St George's Chapel,

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

, and Chaplain to the Great Park. On 1 November 2010, Poll was appointed an

Honorary Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...

(QHC). June 2014, Poll was appointed Domestic Chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen (Windsor Great Park).

Personal life

Poll is married to Diana. Together they have two children: a daughter and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poll, Martin George 1961 births Living people Church of England priests 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests Royal Navy chaplains People from Enfield, London People educated at Edmonton County School Alumni of the University of Kent Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Honorary Chaplains to the Queen Church of England archdeacons (military)