John W C Wand
Encyclopedia
John William Charles Wand KCVO
PC (25 January 1885 – 16 August 1977) was an English
Anglican bishop
. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia
before returning to England to become the Bishop of Bath and Wells before becoming the Bishop of London.
, Lincolnshire, the son of Arthur James Henry Wand, a butcher, and his wife Elizabeth Ann Ovelin, née Turner. Despite Wand's father being a staunch Calvinist, his mother brought him up in the Church of England
. Educated at The King's School, Grantham
and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he took first-class honours in theology (BA, 1907; MA, 1911), he prepared for ordination at Bishop Jacob Hostel, Newcastle upon Tyne
and was ordained a deacon in 1908 and a priest in 1909. He served curacies at Benwell and Lancaster. On 11 October 1911 he married Amy Agnes Wiggins (d.1966) at St Leonard's parish church in Watlington, Oxfordshire.
in 1914. On the outbreak World War I
he enlisted as a military chaplain and reached Gallipoli
in July 1915. He was a chaplain to the 2nd Australian Hospital and, after being invalided home with paratyphoid fever, served in France.
Demobilised in March 1919, Wand was made perpetual curate of St Mark's Salisbury, where St Clair Donaldson
was bishop. In 1925 Wand became a fellow and the dean of Oriel College, Oxford and university lecturer in church history. Eight years later Bishop Francis Batty
procured his nomination to the see of Brisbane as archbishop
. Wand was consecrated in St Paul's Cathedral
, London, on 1 May 1934 and enthroned in St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
on 5 September.
Wand's arrival in Queensland was almost immediately clouded by the accidental death in Switzerland of his only son, Paul. Furthermore, those who had wanted a local dignitary as their new bishop united to oppose Wand. His attempts to eradicate slackness made him appear authoritarian to his clergy. Sturdy in appearance, shy and gracious, Wand was often seen as being aloof and something of an intellectual snob. The decision to move St Francis's Theological College from Nundah
to the Bishopsbourne property proved unpopular, although Wand's relations with its students won him their respect and affection. His establishment of a property and finance board to handle the economic problems of the diocese did not meet with general favour.
As a member of the University of Queensland
senate, Wand worked to promote biblical studies. During his episcopate he wrote a weekly article for the Courier Mail, translated the New Testament epistles and gave the Moorhouse lectures in Melbourne in 1936.
Wand made a lecture tour of the United States of America in 1940. He argued in support of a new constitution for the Church, but thought that the proposed appellate tribunal should have a majority of bishops, rather than legal laymen, to determine points of doctrine. With his friend Bishop Batty, he supported the early ecumenical movement.
During World War II
, when Brisbane resembled a garrison town, Wand and his wife worked for the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Help Society. His 1942 address to the Royal Society of St George
defended the British war effort and was published as the pamphlet, "Has Britain Let Us Down?" It prompted questions in the Federal parliament and attracted the attention of such British politicians as Viscount Brendan Bracken and Winston Churchill
. Early in 1943 Wand was surprised to be offered the see of Bath and Wells. He left Brisbane in July. Two years later he was translated to the diocese of London
.
;Despite being a knight, the tradition in Britain (where he was resident) that no cleric bears the title of "Sir" prevented him from using his title as such. in 1946-57 he was prelate
of the Order of the British Empire
. After resigning his see in 1956, he officiated as canon and treasurer of St Paul's Cathedral
, London, until 1969 and edited The Church Quarterly Review
. A wide-ranging and facile historian, he wrote forty books, among them a History of the Modern Church (1930), History of the Early Church (1937), White of Carpentaria (1949), Anglicanism in History and Today (1961) and an autobiography, The Changeful Page (1965). Survived by a daughter, Wand died on 16 August 1977 at the College of St Barnabas, Lingfield, Surrey, and was cremated. An obituary in the Church Times
paid tribute to his scholarship, administrative genius and unsentimental piety.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
PC (25 January 1885 – 16 August 1977) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Anglican bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before returning to England to become the Bishop of Bath and Wells before becoming the Bishop of London.
Early life
William Wand was born in GranthamGrantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, Lincolnshire, the son of Arthur James Henry Wand, a butcher, and his wife Elizabeth Ann Ovelin, née Turner. Despite Wand's father being a staunch Calvinist, his mother brought him up in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Educated at The King's School, Grantham
The King's School, Grantham
The King's School is a British grammar school located in the market town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England, and one of the oldest schools in the UK.-History:...
and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he took first-class honours in theology (BA, 1907; MA, 1911), he prepared for ordination at Bishop Jacob Hostel, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and was ordained a deacon in 1908 and a priest in 1909. He served curacies at Benwell and Lancaster. On 11 October 1911 he married Amy Agnes Wiggins (d.1966) at St Leonard's parish church in Watlington, Oxfordshire.
World War I
Wand was appointed vicar-choral of the Diocese of SalisburyDiocese of Salisbury
The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England. The diocese covers Dorset and most of Wiltshire and is a constituent diocese of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Salisbury and the diocesan synod...
in 1914. On the outbreak World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he enlisted as a military chaplain and reached Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
in July 1915. He was a chaplain to the 2nd Australian Hospital and, after being invalided home with paratyphoid fever, served in France.
Demobilised in March 1919, Wand was made perpetual curate of St Mark's Salisbury, where St Clair Donaldson
St Clair Donaldson
St Clair George Alfred Donaldson was the first Anglican archbishop of Brisbane, Australia.-Early life:Donaldson was the third son of Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson and his wife Amelia née Cowper and was born in London. He was educated at Eton, where he rowed in the eight, and at Trinity College,...
was bishop. In 1925 Wand became a fellow and the dean of Oriel College, Oxford and university lecturer in church history. Eight years later Bishop Francis Batty
Francis de Witt Batty
Francis de Witt Batty was the Anglican Bishop of Newcastle, New South Wales from 1931 until his retirement in 1958....
procured his nomination to the see of Brisbane as archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
. Wand was consecrated in St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, London, on 1 May 1934 and enthroned in St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
St John's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia...
on 5 September.
Wand's arrival in Queensland was almost immediately clouded by the accidental death in Switzerland of his only son, Paul. Furthermore, those who had wanted a local dignitary as their new bishop united to oppose Wand. His attempts to eradicate slackness made him appear authoritarian to his clergy. Sturdy in appearance, shy and gracious, Wand was often seen as being aloof and something of an intellectual snob. The decision to move St Francis's Theological College from Nundah
Nundah, Queensland
Nundah is an inner suburb in the city of Brisbane, Australia, located approximately 8 kilometers north-east of the Brisbane central business district, in the local government area of the City of Brisbane....
to the Bishopsbourne property proved unpopular, although Wand's relations with its students won him their respect and affection. His establishment of a property and finance board to handle the economic problems of the diocese did not meet with general favour.
As a member of the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
senate, Wand worked to promote biblical studies. During his episcopate he wrote a weekly article for the Courier Mail, translated the New Testament epistles and gave the Moorhouse lectures in Melbourne in 1936.
World War II
He consecrated the cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, Dogura, New Guinea on 29 October 1939. The date was continually altered due to the start of World War II. Dogura is in Milne Bay province.Wand made a lecture tour of the United States of America in 1940. He argued in support of a new constitution for the Church, but thought that the proposed appellate tribunal should have a majority of bishops, rather than legal laymen, to determine points of doctrine. With his friend Bishop Batty, he supported the early ecumenical movement.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when Brisbane resembled a garrison town, Wand and his wife worked for the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Help Society. His 1942 address to the Royal Society of St George
Royal Society of St George
The Royal Society of St George is an English patriotic society established in 1894 to encourage interest in the English way of life, and English customs and traditions. It operates from offices in Folkestone, Kent.-History:In 1415 St...
defended the British war effort and was published as the pamphlet, "Has Britain Let Us Down?" It prompted questions in the Federal parliament and attracted the attention of such British politicians as Viscount Brendan Bracken and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. Early in 1943 Wand was surprised to be offered the see of Bath and Wells. He left Brisbane in July. Two years later he was translated to the diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
.
Post-war
In London post-war difficulties, including the rebuilding of shattered city churches, challenged and revealed Wand's administrative gifts. As bishop, Wand was a privy counsellor; in 1955 he was appointed KCVORoyal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
;Despite being a knight, the tradition in Britain (where he was resident) that no cleric bears the title of "Sir" prevented him from using his title as such. in 1946-57 he was prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. After resigning his see in 1956, he officiated as canon and treasurer of St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, London, until 1969 and edited The Church Quarterly Review
The Church Quarterly Review
The Church Quarterly Review is an English journal published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. It existed independently from 1875 until 1968; in that year it merged with the London Quarterly and Holborn Review, a Methodist journal and became known as The Church Quarterly, which was...
. A wide-ranging and facile historian, he wrote forty books, among them a History of the Modern Church (1930), History of the Early Church (1937), White of Carpentaria (1949), Anglicanism in History and Today (1961) and an autobiography, The Changeful Page (1965). Survived by a daughter, Wand died on 16 August 1977 at the College of St Barnabas, Lingfield, Surrey, and was cremated. An obituary in the Church Times
Church Times
The Church Times is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper. It is published in the United Kingdom on Fridays.The Church Times was founded in 1863 to campaign for Anglo-Catholic principles and has always been independent of the Church of England hierarchy. It was a family concern The Church Times...
paid tribute to his scholarship, administrative genius and unsentimental piety.
Selected works
- A History of the Modern Church from 1500 to the Present Day, 1930.
- A History of the Early Church to A.D. 500, Methuen 1937.
- Seven Steps to Heaven, Longman, Green & Co. Ltd, 1956.
- The Church Today: A brief description of the Christian Church in its external variety and its inner unity, Penguin, 1968.