The Very Reverend William Stuart MacPherson was an eminent Anglican priest in the second half of the 20th century. He was born on 30 September 1901 and educated at Sedbergh

Sedbergh School

Sedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...

 and Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...

. Ordained in 1932 he began his career with 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 Richmond, Yorkshire after which he was a Minor Canon at Ripon Cathedral

Ripon Cathedral

Ripon Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and the mother church of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, situated in the small North Yorkshire city of Ripon, England.-Background:...

. When 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...

 came he was a Chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 in the RNVR. Later he was Rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 then Archdeacon of Richmond

Archdeacon of Richmond

The Archdeacon of Richmond is an archdiaconal post in the Church of England. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Chester.-History:It was created around the year 1088, and was endowed by Thomas, Archbishop of York. It had the valuable impropriations of Easingwold, Bolton, Clapham, and...

. In 1954 he was appointed Dean of Lichfield, a post he held for 15 years. He died on 7 July 1978.