Wallis Huw Wallis Thomas (10 March 1906 – 2001) was a

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

priest who, at the time of his death, was the oldest working priest in Britain. He was

Archdeacon of Merioneth This is a list of the archdeacons of Meirionnydd. The Archdeacon of Meirionydd is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of Meirionydd, an administrative division of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The archdeaconry comprises the five dea ...

from 1959 to 1976, but was still thought of as the Archdeacon long after his retirement, and was generally known as "the Arch".

Life

Thomas was born in

Llanrwst Llanrwst ('church or parish of Saint Grwst'; ) is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed round the wool trade and became known als ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and educated at Pwllheli

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

University College, Bangor , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

and the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

(studying French at both) before moving to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

(where he studied theology). He was ordained and began his ministry in Bangor, Gwynedd in 1931, initially as a deacon before becoming a priest in 1932. Although his first language was

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, he generally preached in English, and was highly respected as a preacher. He was also a keen visitor to parishioners. After a period as a minor

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 ...

of Bangor Cathedral from 1935 to 1938, he was secretary and chaplain to the

Archbishop of Wales The post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England and disestablished. The four historic Welsh dioceses had previously formed part of the Province of Canterbury, and so came unde ...

before becoming

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 ...

Barmouth Barmouth ( cy, Abermaw (formal); ''Y Bermo'' (colloquial)) is a seaside town and community in the county of Gwynedd, northwestern Wales, lying on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the historic county of Merioneths ...

in 1946 and then

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Llanelltyd Llanelltyd ( cy, Llanelltyd) is a small village and community in Gwynedd, to the northwest of Dolgellau. The community population taken at the 2011 Census was 514, 57.4% of which speak Welsh. It is home to the 12th-century Cymer Abbey, a grade ...

(a village near Dolgellau) in 1966, before retiring in 1976. He was Archdeacon of

Merioneth , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

from 1959 to 1976 and was generally known as "the Arch" even after his retirement. His successors as Archdeacon, including Barry Morgan (later

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of ...

and

) and

Carl Cooper Carl Norman Cooper (born 4 August 1960) is a Welsh former Anglican bishop who was the Bishop of St David's from 2002 to 2008. Early life Cooper was born on 4 August 1960 and grew up in Wigan in Lancashire. He first spent time in Wales as an un ...

(later

Bishop of St Davids The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, f ...

), were left in no doubt by parishioners that Thomas was still the real Archdeacon as far as they were concerned. He continued to preach and lead services, in Dolgellau and in Llanelltyd, until well after his 90th birthday, sometimes playing the organ as well. He was described as the oldest working priest in Britain. He attributed the fact that he rose no higher than Archdeacon to his working-class background and his unmarried status. He was regarded as a fine speaker and raconteur, and a man of great charm, with a worldwide circle of friends; his female admirers were sometimes nicknamed the " Wallis Collection". He played several sports to a high standard, playing football for Oxford, representing north Wales at cricket in 1954, playing tennis for his county and acting as a reserve for the Welsh hockey team. He was president of the Merioneth district of the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

from 1959 onwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Wallis Huw Wallis 1906 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Welsh Anglican priests Archdeacons of Merioneth Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of Bangor University People from Merionethshire People from Llanrwst