St John Basil Wynne Willson (surname Wynne-Willson; 28 August 186815 October 1946) 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 ...

bishop in the first half of the 20th century. He was the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1921 to 1937. The maternal grandson of Michael Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, Willson was educated at

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 ...

and St John's College, Cambridge. He was an Assistant Master at The Leys School and

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

before Headships at Haileybury College and

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

. Ordained in 1904, he was appointed Dean of Bristol in 1916, a post he held for five years. The Bishop of Bristol ( George Nickson) and the Dean were strong supporters of Britain's involvement in the Great War and Willson, although 48, volunteered for the Army Chaplaincy. He was interviewed on 7 February 1917, and he asked to be posted to France or Salonika; but bouts of colon pain and shortsightedness meant that he had to serve in England. He left the army in 1918. He married Alice Lillian Wills in 1919, and died in 1946. He was consecrated a bishop on

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honor of all the saints of the church, whether they are kno ...

1921 (1 November) by

Randall Davidson Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican priest who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the English Reformation, Re ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, 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 ...

. He then served as Bishop of Bath and Wells until his retirement on 1 November 1937.

Publications

A classical scholar, Willson's translations included Aeschylus’ '' Prometheus Bound'';

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

’s Gallic Wars, Books 4 and 5; Virgil's Aeneid, Books 5 and 6; and

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

of Samosata's ''

Wonderland Wonderland may refer to: Places Municipalities * Wonderland, California, a ghost town in Plumas County * Wonderland, Ohio, a ghost town in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Roads, streets, and trails * Wonderland Avenue, a roadway in Laurel Canyon, Los Ang ...

'' (''Vera Historia'').

References

External links

* People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Heads of schools in England Deans of Bristol 20th-century Church of England bishops Bishops of Bath and Wells 1868 births 1946 deaths {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub