George Reginald Balleine
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George Reginald Balleine (1 April 1873 – 2 January 1966)''UK, Jersey, Channel Islands, Occupation Registration Cards, 1940–1945'' was a prominent historian and writer in the Island of
Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
.


Biography

George Reginald Balleine was born in Bletchingdon,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
. His father was
George Orange Balleine George Orange Balleine (31 October 1842 – 29 March 1906) was Dean of Jersey from 1888 until his death. He was born in St Helier. His father was George Balleine, a merchant, and his mother was Marie, daughter of Jean Orange. He was educated at V ...
, Dean of Jersey. His brothers were Robert Wilfred Balleine, Cuthbert Francis Balleine, and Austen Humphrey Balleine. He was educated by his father at home until 1885, when he went to stay with his grandfather in Jersey. There he attended the Grammar School at St Aubin until 1886, when he went to Victoria College. During his time there he gained the Queen's History Prize. He left in 1891, going to
The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...
, and gaining a 2nd class degree in Modern History. In 1886, he was ordained a
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 Churc ...
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 Britain ...
, and the 1897, a priest. He was Curate at St Mary's Whitechapel, then St Paul's, Penge. He became the Metropolitan Secretary to the
Church Pastoral Aid Society The Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) is an Anglicanism, Anglican evangelical mission agency. It was founded in 1836. History of the Society The CPAS was founded in 1836 in the midst of the social upheaval of the Industrial Revolution to take ' ...
in 1904, the Vicar of St James, Bermondsey in 1908. In 1925, he was also appointed Rural Dean of Bermondsey. He remained there until his retirement in 1938, when he returned to Jersey to property inherited from his uncle. During the
German Occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
, he was honorary librarian at the
Société Jersiaise The Société Jersiaise is a learned society in Jersey which was founded in 1873, in the manner of similar county societies in the United Kingdom and Sociétés Savantes in France for the purposes of: *''"The Publication of Local History, * ...
, curate at
St Aubin on the Hill St Aubin on the Hill is an Anglican church located in the Parish of St Brelade, Jersey, and is dedicated to Saint Aubin of Angers. Building of the present church began on 4 June 1889, with the laying of the foundation stone by the Bishop of Guildfo ...
church, and Ministre Desservant at
St Brelade's Church St Brelade's Church is one of the twelve ancient parish churches in the island of Jersey; it is sited on the west side of the island in the parish of St Brelade, in the southwest corner of St Brelade's Bay. It is unique in the Channel Islands ...
on the death of his cousin, the Rev. J.A. Balleine, in 1942, in which position he remained for the duration of the war. He died in 1966. His ashes were interred in
St Brelade's Church St Brelade's Church is one of the twelve ancient parish churches in the island of Jersey; it is sited on the west side of the island in the parish of St Brelade, in the southwest corner of St Brelade's Bay. It is unique in the Channel Islands ...
yard.


Writings

Balleine's writings were extensive, and mirrored his interests in history, and the evangelical party of the Church of England.


Theological

Despite his evangelical roots, he was no fundamentalist, taking a very liberal position on the miracle stories of the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
. Writing (in ''Simon Whom he Surnamed Peter'') of the
feeding of the five thousand In Christianity, the feeding the multitude is two separate miracles of Jesus reported in the Gospels. The first miracle, the "Feeding of the 5,000", is the only miracle—aside from the resurrection—recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13 ...
that "where the bread came from, no one can say, but it seems unlikely that it was supernaturally multiplied", and of Jesus walking on the water, he takes it that the
Fourth Gospel The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
tells of Jesus walking by the sea, the story changing in the telling. * ''Simon Whom He Surnamed Peter'' * ''The Layman's History of the Church of England'' * ''A History of the Evangelical Party in the Church of England'' * ''Children of the Church'' * ''The Young Churchman'' * ''Sing with Understanding'' * ''Past Finding Out (The Story of Joanna Southcott)''


Jersey History

His knowledge of Jersey history, gleaned from his time as Honorary Librarian for the Société Jersiaise, was extensive. However, his reliance upon the documents available at the time have led to weaknesses in some areas. These are notably his 1939 article on
Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
in Jersey (ABSB), where he draws heavily upon the now discredited ideas of Margaret Murray in his selection and presentation, and on the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in Jersey, where historian Jason St. John Nicolle has criticised his position as oversimplifying the complexities of that period. Nevertheless, his work has provided a solid bedrock for later historians of the Island to build upon, and his ''Biographical Dictionary of Jersey'' remains unsurpassed for its depth of research. His writing is always readable, lucid and clear. * Articles in the ''Annual Bulletin of the Société Jersiaise'' (ABSJ) * Articles in ''The Pilot'' Magazine * ''A Biographical Dictionary of Jersey'' * ''The Bailiwick of Jersey'' * ''A History of Jersey'' * ''The Tragedy of Philippe d'Auvergne'' * ''All for the King: The Life Story of Sir George Carteret (1609–1680)''


Bibliography

* Victoria College Register, 1852 to 1929 * A Biographical Dictionary of Jersey, Volume 2, Francis Corbet * Reformation and Society in Guernsey, D.M. Ogier * International Politics and the Establishment of Presbyterianism in the Channel Islands: The Coutances Connection, C.S.L. Davies *Religion, History and G.R. Balleine: The Reformation in Jersey, by Revd. J. St. John Nicolle, The Pilot *The Reformation in Jersey: The Process of Change over Two centuries, Revd. J. St. John Nicolle *The Chroniques de Jersey in the light of contemporary documents, BSJ, AJ Eagleston


References


External links

*
Some Jersey Words and Titles by G.R. Balleine
* ttp://www.societe-jersiaise.org/whitsco/balleinenam.htm Channel Island Witchcraft, A Critical Survey of Balleine and Carey Curtis {{DEFAULTSORT:Balleine, George Reginald 1873 births 1966 deaths English historians Jersey clergy People educated at Victoria College, Jersey Jersey writers