Russell Berridge White was the inaugural Bishop of Tonbridge

Bishop of Tonbridge

The Bishop of Tonbridge is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester, in the Province of Canterbury, England...

 from 1959 to 1968. Born on 13 December 1896 he was educated at the City of Oxford School and (after wartime

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...

 service with the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars

Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars

The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars was the designated name of a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army between 1888 and 1922. In response a call by the government for troops of volunteers to be formed in the shires, meeting of “Nobility, Gentry, Freeholders and Yeomanry” was called at the Star Inn...

) St Edmund Hall, Oxford

St Edmund Hall, Oxford

St Edmund Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Better known within the University by its nickname, "Teddy Hall", the college has a claim to being "the oldest academical society for the education of undergraduates in any university"...

. After this he studied for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located on the Banbury Road in central North Oxford, between Norham Gardens and Norham Road.-Overview:...

 followed by a curacy

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 at St Philemon, Toxteth. Between 1929 and 1933 he was Vicar

Vicar

In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...

  of St Chrysostom, Everton  and then until 1937 he was Chaplain to the Mercers' Company and Secretary of the Evangelical Churchmens Ordination Council, with an office in St Mary Woolnoth

St Mary Woolnoth

St. Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near the Bank of England.- Early history :...

 in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. From 1937 to 1945 he was Vicar of St Stephens, East Twickenham. From 1945 until his retirement in 1968 he served as firstly Vicar and Rural Dean

Rural Dean

In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a Rural Dean presides over a Rural Deanery .-Origins and usage:...

 and then Bishop of Tonbridge

Bishop of Tonbridge

The Bishop of Tonbridge is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester, in the Province of Canterbury, England...

. From 1968 until his death in 1978 he was Assistant Bishop in the Guildford Diocese. Described by The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

as “one of the most trusted of his generation of evangelical leaders” he died on 12 December 1979, the day before his 83rd birthday.