Walter Kenrick Knight-Adkin (17 August 1880 – 24 May 1957) 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 first half of the 20th century.

Ecclesiastical career

Born in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, Knight-Adkin was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

. He did his pastoral training at

Wells Theological College Wells Theological College began operation in 1840 within the Cathedral Close of Wells Cathedral. It was one of several new colleges created in the nineteenth century to cater not just for non-graduates, but for graduates from the old universiti ...

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 June 1908 at

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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he was a

Curate 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 ...

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

before commencing a long period of service on 31 April 1910 as a

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 ...

with the

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 ...

rising to become

Chaplain of the Fleet The Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service provides chaplains to the Royal Navy. The chaplains are commissioned by the Sovereign but do not hold military rank other than that of "Chaplain Royal Navy". They are usually addressed as Padre, Reverend or more ...

from 1929 to 1933, after which he was

Dean of Gibraltar The Dean of Gibraltar is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese in Europe and ...

. Evacuated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1941 due to illness, he became civilian

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 pref ...

Sparkwell Sparkwell is a small village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon. Historically it was part of Haytor Hundred. Its local Anglican church is All Saints Church, Sparkwell. Its local non-conformist church is Lee Mill Congregation ...

then

to the Lord Mayor of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

at St Mark`s Church, College Green. He was awarded the OBE in 1919 and appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1932. On 25 January 1929 he was appointed as Honorary Chaplain to HM King George V. He was 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 ...

and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and of

on 3 June 1950.

Family

Knight-Adkin was the second son of the Rev Harry Kenrick Knight-Adkin (1851–1928) and Georgina Elizabeth Knight (1849–1930). He was born in

on 17 August 1880.The Times, Monday, 27 May 1957; pg. 14; Issue 53851; col E He married Elizabeth Cuff Napier (1891–1984) at St. Andrew's-by-the-Green,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 20 December 1915. His bride was the daughter of Colonel Alexander Napier

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. They had one child, Peter Napier Knight-Adkin, who died at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1918. Walter died at his home at 17 Miles Road, Bristol on 24 May 1957. His wife was to live a further 27 years. His elder brother was the war poet James Harry Knight-Adkin. His younger brother, Frederick John Knight-Adkin, after a period working as a journalist and author in New York, emigrated to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

where he became a successful cattle rancher. He had two sisters, Georgina Noel Knight-Adkin, a photographer in Bristol, and Violet Doris Knight-Adkin who died at the age of 19.

Naval career

* 1910 HMS ''Lancaster'' * 1912 * 1913 HMS ''Conqueror'' * 1916 * 1919 HMS ''Revenge'' * 1920 RN College Dartmouth * 1923 HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' * 1924 * 1929

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

Navy List

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight-Adkin, Walter Kenrick 1880 births People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Church of England archdeacons (military) Officers of the Order of the British Empire Deans of Gibraltar Honorary Chaplains to the King Companions of the Order of the Bath 1957 deaths Chaplains of the Fleet World War I chaplains Alumni of Wells Theological College Royal Navy chaplains Royal Navy officers of World War I