Robert Murray Waddington, OGS (24 October 1927 – 15 March 2007) was a British Anglican priest. He was the

dean of Manchester The Dean of Manchester is based in Manchester, England and is the head of the Chapter of Manchester Cathedral. The current dean is Rogers Govender MBE. List of deans *1840–1847 William Herbert *1847–1872 George Bowers *1872–1883 Benj ...

in the

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 Britai ...

from 1984 to 1993. He additionally served as superior of the

Oratory of the Good Shepherd The Oratory of the Good Shepherd (OGS) is a dispersed international religious community, within the Anglican Communion. Members of the oratory are bound together by a common rule and discipline, which requires consecrated celibacy, and are strength ...

(a dispersed community of Anglicans) from 1987 until 1990.

Early life and education

Born in

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

on 24 October 1927, he was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

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

Ely Theological College Ely Theological College was a college in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for training clergy in the Church of England. Founded in 1876 by James Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, the college had a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. Ely's "ritualistic" (i.e. ...

Ordained ministry

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 ...

in 1954, he began his career at St John's,

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 Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

. Afterwards he was chaplain at Slade School in

Warwick, Queensland Warwick ( ) is a town and locality in southeast Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Region local government area. The surrounding Darling Downs have fostered a strong agr ...

. He returned to England in 1959 to join the

, an order of celibate priests. After 18 months, he returned to Australia to become headmaster of St Barnabas School, Ravenshoe, where he remained nine years. Returning to England in 1971, he was at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

's department of education before becoming a canon residentiary at

Carlisle Cathedral Carlisle Cathedral is a grade-I listed Anglican cathedral in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It was founded as an Augustinian priory and became a cathedral in 1133. It is also the seat of the Bishop of Carlisle.Tim Tatton-Brown and John ...

and bishop's adviser for education then general secretary of the National Society until his appointment as dean. He was superior of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd from 1987 until 1990. On 15 March 2007, Waddington died in

, West Sussex, England.Obituary, ''The Times'', 26 March 2007
/ref> He had been suffering from throat cancer.

Child abuse

In January 1999, a former pupil of St Barnabas School, Ravenshoe, Australia, (where Waddington had been headmaster) contacted the Bishop of North Queensland. He reported that he has been abused by Waddington in the 1960s and wanted reassurance from the bishop that it would not be allowed to happen again. In September 2003, it was reported to the Diocese of Manchester that a boy had been abused by Waddington when he was aged 11, 12 and 13, and was a chorister at Manchester Cathedral. In April 2013, it was revealed by the press that allegations of child sexual abuse had been previously made against Waddington (in 1999 and in 2003). This had resulted in his right to officiate at services being removed by the then archbishop of York,

David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes David Michael Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes, (born 14 April 1940) is a retired Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Wakefield between 1985 and 1990 and the Bishop of London between 1990 and 1995. From 1995 to 2005, he was the Archbishop of Yor ...

. However, he was not reported to the police; Hope had cited his " oncernabout Waddington's state of health" as the reason for not doing so. One of Waddington's reported victims spoke 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'' (f ...

'' in May 2013, described how he was groomed by Waddington while he was a choir boy at Manchester Cathedral in the 1980s. The sexual abuse started when he was 13 and continued until he moved away to university. He had reported the abuse to the police in October 2012. David Hope among others was censured for failing to act when complaints were made which put other children at risk. Bishop David Walker praised the current archbishop of York, John Sentamu, for starting an enquiry. Walker also praised the courage of those who spoke out about abuse and said:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waddington, Robert Murray 1927 births People from Bognor Regis People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Alumni of Ely Theological College Deans of Manchester 2007 deaths

Early life and education

Ordained ministry

Child abuse

See also

References