Eric Milner Milner-White, (23 April 1884 – 15 June 1963) was a British

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 t ...

priest, academic, and decorated

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term '' ...

. He was a founder 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 ...

, an Anglican dispersed community, and served as its

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

between 1923 and 1938. From 1941 to 1963, he was the

Dean of York Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

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 Brit ...

Early life and education

Milner-White was the son of Henry Milner-White (a barrister and company chairman) and his wife Kathleen Lucy (née Meeres), later Sir Henry and Lady Milner-White. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

before going to

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

in 1903. He won a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

to read history and graduated in 1906 with a double-first and as the recipient of the Lightfoot Scholarship.

Dean of King's College, Cambridge

After theological training at Cuddesdon College in 1907, Milner-White was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1908 and

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 partic ...

in 1909 (at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark ...

). He served curacies at

St Paul's Church, Newington St Paul's Church is a parish church in Lorrimore Square in the London Borough of Southwark. The church describes itself as St Paul's, Lorrimore Square. History Designed by local ecclesiastical architect Henry Jarvis, the original church was bui ...

(1908–09) and

St Mary Magdalen Woolwich St Mary Magdalene Woolwich is an 18th-century Anglican church dedicated to St Mary Magdalene in Woolwich, southeast London, England. History Christianity in Woolwich goes back to the Early Middle Ages. In 2015 Oxford Archaeology discovered ...

(1909–12) before returning to King's College as chaplain in 1912. He was also appointed a lecturer in history at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th centur ...

at the same time.Natalie K. Watson
‘White, Eric Milner- (1884–1963)’
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, September 2004; online edition, May 2008, . Retrieved on 28 November 2008. He then served as an army chaplain during the First World War on both the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

and in the Italian Campaign. He was appointed senior chaplain to 7th Infantry Division on 15 February 1917 (with temporary promotion to Chaplain to the Forces, 3rd Class) For his service during this period he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

on 24 December 1917 and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

. He resigned his commission on 5 January 1918 and returned to Cambridge. Upon returning he was made the Dean and a Fellow of King's College. He was a founder of the

and also the order's superior from 1923 to 1938. He was re-appointed as an honorary chaplain to the armed forces, 3rd class, on 1 September 1921. During his time at King's College, Milner-White introduced the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. This was first broadcast in 1928 and has now become a major part of the BBC's

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

schedule. Milner-White was also instrumental in inspiring the composer Herbert Howells to write his ''

Collegium Regale is a collection of choral settings by the English composer Herbert Howells of the canticles for the Anglican services of Mattins, Holy Communion and Evening Prayer. Scored for four-part choir, solo tenor and organ, the pieces were written b ...

'' service settings when he challenged Howells to write music for King's College as part of a bet in 1941. Howells remarked that his composition was "the only to be born of a decanal bet". The settings have since become a well known part of the

Anglican church music Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing ''a cappella'' or accompanied ...

repertoire.

Dean of York

Milner-White remained at King's until 1941, when he was appointed

. During his time as dean, he directed the replacement of many of

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

's windows and undertook a great deal of writing on

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

matters, for example ''My God My Glory'' (1954). He served on various national committees and served on the advisory council of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

from 1944 to 1959 due to his interest in stained-glass windows. He also became provost of the northern section of the

Woodard Corporation Woodard Schools is a group of Anglican schools (both primary and secondary) affiliated to the Woodard Corporation (formerly the Society of St Nicolas) which has its origin in the work of Nathaniel Woodard, a Church of England priest in the Anglo- ...

, a charity which runs a number of private schools with a strong Christian ethos and, from 1948 to 1962, was amongst those who produced the

New English Bible The New English Bible (NEB) is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published in 1961 and the Old Testament (with the Apocrypha) was published on 16 March 1970. In 1989, it was significantly revised and republished as the R ...

. A variety of Milner-White's written papers are held at the King's College Archive Centre at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, having been presented to the university in 1982 by Milner-White's "literary executor", the Revd P. N. Pare. Other items have since been added to the collection. He was an avid collector of ceramics. Milner-White was made an honorary freeman of the

Worshipful Company of Glaziers The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Guild of Glaziers, or makers of Glass, the company's forerunner, existed as early as the fourteenth century. It received a r ...

in 1948. appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 1952

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dynastic ...

, The same year he was also awarded a

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

Doctorate of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

. He was also awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

(DLitt) in 1962 by the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

."Honorary graduates"
(2008), University of Leeds. Retrieved on 2 May 2008. Milner-White died of cancer in the deanery of York Minster on 15 June 1963. Since his death, a court of student accommodation at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for post-nominals) is a collegiate research university, located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, co ...

's Vanbrugh College have been named after him. He was godfather to the historian of stained glass, Hilary Wayment.

References

External links

*
Bibliographic directory
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milner-White, Eric 1884 births 1963 deaths Deans of York Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Harrow School Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers British Army personnel of World War I Members of Anglican religious orders Deans of King's College, Cambridge