William Stuart MacPherson (30 September 1901 – 7 July 1978) was an eminent Anglican priest in the second half of the 20th century. He was born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, Yorkshire, the fourth of five sons of Henry MacPherson, an electrical engineer, and Lilly Hallewell MacPherson. He also had a younger sister, Eileen.''1901 England Census'' His brother Alfred Sinclair MacPherson married writer Margaret Kendall while his brother Henry Douglas MacPherson was killed in the First World War. He was educated at

Sedbergh Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about east of Kendal, nor ...

and Pembroke College, Cambridge. Ordained in 1932 he began his career with a

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 ...

Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

after which he was a Minor Canon at

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, i ...

. When World War II came he was a chaplain in the

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

. Later 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 ...

then Archdeacon of Richmond. In 1954, he was appointed

Dean of Lichfield The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Lichfield Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S ...

, a post he held for 15 years."Church News Dean of Lichfield To Retire". ''

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 ...

'' Monday, 17 February 1969; p. 10; Issue 57487; col A He died in

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

, Devon, aged 76.''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007''

References

1901 births People educated at Sedbergh School Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy chaplains Deans of Lichfield Archdeacons of Richmond 1978 deaths World War II chaplains Clergy from Leeds {{ChurchofEngland-dean-stub