Ralph Creed Meredith, M.A., (7 October 1887 – 10 January 1970) was an Anglican cleric who succeeded

Edward Keble Talbot Edward Keble Talbot (31 December 1877 – 21 October 1949) was an English Anglican priest, who was the Superior of the Community of the Resurrection, a religious community for men in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. Early life and family Talbot w ...

as Chaplain to His Majesty, King George VI and afterwards Her Majesty Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

he was president of the New Zealand

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

Association and the New Zealand

Croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the W ...

Association. The son of

Sir James Creed Meredith Sir James Creed Meredith (17 September 1842 – 23 January 1912) was Deputy Grand Master and Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Ireland; Chancellor of the Diocese of Limerick; Secretary to the Royal University of Ireland and the National Unive ...

, and a brother of Judge

James Creed Meredith James Creed Meredith, KC (28 November 1875 – 14 August 1942) was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1937 to 1942 and a Judge of the High Court from 1924 to 1937. He was best known as a nationalist of the early ...

, Meredith was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was educated at Rhos College in

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

and afterwards at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, receiving his B.A. in

Ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

and

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

with Honors after the

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, ...

Term in 1909. Meredith earned his M.A. at Trinity in 1912. He married Sylvia Aynsley (1894–1987) on 21 April 1915, daughter of Joseph Aynsley o
Blythe House
near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. According to the 1932 Crockford's Clerical Directory, in succession became a curate at Caverswall,

Meir, Staffordshire Meir is a suburb in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire situated between Lightwood and Longton. Meir Park estate extends from Meir uphill to the Meir Heath and Rough Close village hall, located in Meir Heath. Meir Aerodrome Meir Aerodrome closed i ...

(1912–1914), curate at St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley,

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 ...

(1914–1917), served the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

(1917–1918), was curate of

St. Peter's Church, Harborne Saint Peter's is the ancient parish church of Harborne, Birmingham, England. Background There has been a church on the site since Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times and St Chad is even thought to have preached there. The base of an early preaching cross ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

(1919–1920), and eventually took charge of the Conventional District of Bournville, a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

south of Birmingham

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

from 1920 to 1924. His successes at Bournville led the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

to appoint Meredith

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 pre ...

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

in 1924, where he remained until 1932. He eventually became Archdeacon of Waitotara (1925–1932) as well, despite using addresses in both New Zealand and Hertfordshire,

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 ...

during that time. Meredith was a Freemason and an athlete of some note. After arriving in New Zealand in 1924, he was the winner of several New Zealand National Badminton Championships in 1927 and 1928, and was a world class

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the W ...

player, having performed for the New Zealand team competing for the 1930

MacRobertson International Croquet Shield The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier croquet team event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia, England, New Zealand and the United States. It is known affectionately as the ''MacRob'' or just the ''Mac' ...

, which fell to Australia, 3–0. Meredith also competed in numerous croquet tournaments in southern England and Ireland after relocating from The Vicarage in Windsor to

Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, Dorset. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone - "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in local parlance - is so-called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of t ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. Meredith had a club foot and wore a surgical boot during competition, as well as his clerical "dog collar." Meredith is credited with being the "prime mover" in the 1927 formation of

Badminton New Zealand Badminton New Zealand is the badminton organisation in New Zealand which was established in 1927 under the stewardship of Archdeacon Ralph Creed Meredith of Whanganui, one of its first champions, and became a founding member of Badminton World ...

(then known as the New Zealand Badminton Association), of which he was president for two years. He was also president of the New Zealand Croquet Association and the Manawatu Association. Meredith required surgery in April 1931 and had travelled to England for the procedure. On his return voyage, emergency surgery was required during a stopover in Port Said,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. Subsequently, in poor health, he accepted an offer from the

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly th ...

to take over the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

, in Hertfordshire in 1932. According to Kelly's 1933 and 1937 Directories of Hertfordshire, Meredith served as Vicar at St. Mary the Virgin and was

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. Location The town lies on the north–south A10 road which is partly shared with the east–west A414 (fo ...

, residing at The Vicarage, Churchgate. He also served as Vicar of St John the Baptist Church, Windsor, 1940–1958. In 1946, Meredith was appointed Chaplain to His Majesty, King George VI and retained a place in the College of Chaplains of the

Ecclesiastical Household The Ecclesiastical Household is a part of the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Reflecting the different constitutions of the churches of England and Scotland, there are separate households in each nation. England The Church ...

on 5 August 1952. Meredith died in Poole,

, England, where he had served as

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

since 1962.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Creed Meredith, Ralph 1887 births 1970 deaths New Zealand male badminton players Archdeacons New Zealand croquet players Irish Anglicans