The Right Reverend

John Taylor-Smith

KCB CVO
Chaplain-General to the Forces
ChurchChurch of England
In office1901 to 1925
PredecessorCox Edghill
SuccessorAlfred Jarvis
Other post(s)Sub-Prelate of the Venerable Order of Saint John (1916–1938)
Bishop of Sierra Leone (1897–1901)
Orders
Ordination1885 (deacon)
1886 (priest)
Consecration1897
Personal details
Born20 April 1860[1]
Kendal, Westmorland, England
Died28 March 1938(1938-03-28) (aged 77)
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglicanism

John Taylor-Smith KCB CVO QHC (20 April 1860 – 28 March 1938) was an Anglican bishop and military chaplain. He was the Anglican Bishop of Sierra Leone by the end of the 19th century and the Chaplain-General to the Forces from the year 1901 to[2] 1925.

Early life and education

John Taylor-Smith was born in 1860 in Kendal, Westmorland, England. He is the son of John Smith.[1][3]

Ordained ministry

Taylor-Smith was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1885 and as a priest in 1886.[4][5] From 1885 to 1890, he served his curacy at St Paul's Church, Penge in the Diocese of Rochester.[6] He then moved to colonial Sierra Leone, and served as Sub-Dean of St. George's Cathedral, Freetown, and Diocesan Missioner from 1890 to 1897.[4] In 1897, he was consecrated to the episcopate as Bishop of Sierra Leone.[4] He was also an Honorary Chaplain to the Queen (QHC) from 1896 to 1901.[4]

On 1 November 1901, John Taylor-Smith was appointed Chaplain-General to the Forces, and therefore head of the Army Chaplains' Department.[7] His tenure included the First World War, and he oversaw the expansion of the Army Chaplains' Department from around 120 chaplains in 1914 to almost 3,500 in 1918.[8] He retired in 1925.[4]

Having been appointed a Sub-Prelate of the Venerable Order of Saint John in 1916, Taylor-Smith continued in that role in retirement.[4] He died on 28 March 1938.[9]

Honours

Taylor-Smith was appointed as the Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 1906, and a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1921.[3] He created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1925.[3] As a clergyman, traditionally he would not have received the 'accolade' and thus was not entitled to style himself 'Sir'. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree in 1897.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Burke, Sir Bernard, ed. (1914). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (76th ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 2532.
  2. ↑ Malden Richard (ed) (1920). Crockford's Clerical Directory for 1920 (51st edn). London: The Field Press. p. 1395.
  3. 1 2 3 Rootsweb
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "SMITH, Rt Rev. John Taylor". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  5. ↑ The Clergy List, Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory. London, Hamilton & Co, 1889
  6. ↑ Who was Who 1897-1990 London, A & C Black, 1991 ISBN 0-7136-3457-X.
  7. ↑ "No. 27379". The London Gazette. 22 November 1901. p. 7653.
  8. ↑ The Royal Army Chaplains Department – Clergy Under Fire, by Michael Snape. Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 2008
  9. ↑ Deaths The Times Wednesday, Apr 06, 1938; pg. 17; Issue 47962; col E
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