Henry McGowan

Henry McGowan (1891 – 8 September 1948) was an eminent Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century.[1]

He was born in 1891,[2] educated at Bristol Grammar School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge and ordained in 1914.

After a period as a Curate in Cheltenham he was a Chaplain to the British Armed Forces during World War I. He was appointed in July 1918 when he was only 27 and a bachelor. He could ride,speak French and preach extempore. He was sent to France in July,1918,as a chaplain to the 4th Division and to Italy 2 months later,and a report on him dated 5 February,1919,described him as ‘satisfactory’[3]. He then served another curacy at St Michael's, Bournemouth.[4] He was then Vicar at St Mark, Birmingham and Emmanuel, Southport[5] before becoming Rural Dean and then, in 1938, Archdeacon of Aston.[6] In November 1945 he was appointed Bishop of Wakefield[7] and consecrated in February 1946[8] The file on his appointment to Wakefield describes McGowan as ‘a thoroughly sound,sensible,practical,straightforward man’ who ‘really runs Birmingham’[9] Alan Webster,a future Dean of St Paul’s,remembered McGowan as ‘an over=energetic parish priest...He was known for his industry;a deep strain of nervousness was leavened by a developed sense of humour and the gifts of a raconteur. Integrity,absence of malice and an integrated ‘all of a piece’ personality which were hallmarks of his ministry Somehow he whirlwinded his way from one idea to another making a strain on his heart’[10]

He died in office on 8 September 1948.[11] His son was later Headmaster at Haberdasher's Aske's.[12] He had become a Doctor of Divinity (DD).

References
  1. National Archives
  2. “Who was Who” 1897–2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7
  3. Index Card Museum of Army Chaplaincy
  4. Church Web Site
  5. Bishops of Wakefield
  6. Crockford's Clerical Directory1940-41 Oxford, OUP,1941
  7. The Times, Saturday, 3 November 1945; p. 6; Issue 50290; col D Ecclesiastical News New Bishop Of Wakefield.
  8. The Times, Monday, 4 February 1946; p. 6; Issue 50367; col D Ecclesiastical News
  9. TNA PREM5/345
  10. University of Bradford Special Collections Peart-Binns Papers (Roger Wilson file)
  11. Obituary The Bishop Of Wakefield The Times Friday, 10 September 1948; p. 4; Issue 51173; col E
  12. Times on-line
Church of England titles
Preceded by
Campbell Hone		 Bishop of Wakefield
1946–1948		 Succeeded by
Roger Wilson



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.