Bill Westwood

Bill Westwood is the name used on the radio by William John Westwood (born December 28, 1925 in Saul , Gloucestershire , † September 15, 1999 , Cottingham , East Riding of Yorkshire ). William Westwood was a British , Anglican theologian and Bishop of Peterborough .

Bill Westwood grew up in Wrexham and attended Wrexham Grammar School there. Westwood did his military service after the end of the Second World War in South-East Asia and then studied at Emmanuel College at Cambridge University . He then received his training as a priest at Westcott House in Cambridge. He took up his first priesthood in Hull. After that he had a pastoral position in Lowestoft and then in Norwich . In Norwich, the headquarters of Anglia TV , he came into contact with the media for the first time in his role as a priest through regional television and radio programs. Westwood had already attracted attention in his congregations because he knew how to organize church services in such a way that the number of worshipers increased, since the services addressed the entire family and the content of his sermons was highly praised.

In 1975 Bill Westwood took over the position of Bishop of Edmonton in the Diocese of London , which covers much of north London . While in London, he became known nationwide as Bill Westwood as a regular on a morning radio show presented by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2 under the title Pause For Thought . Westwood, not only knew how to address the radio listeners in the short reports as the man of the people, he was also a good conversationalist for Wogan , who was known for his irony and sarcasm .

In 1984 Westwood took over the position of Bishop of Peterborough . In political as well as theological questions Westwood was conservative and thus the only bishop who supported Margaret Thatcher's policies , as he himself noted. With the assumption of his office in Peterborough, however, one linked the hope that he would modernize the structures of the diocese, which he succeeded in doing. Despite his conservative attitude, he campaigned for the very controversial priesthood for women in the church. As Bishop of Peterborough, he was a member of the House of Lords from 1989 until his retirement in 1995 . With the move to Peterborough, Westwood's presence in the media also changed. Westwood began making contributions to the BBC Radio 4 program Thought For The Day . Here he was presented as William Westwood and his short broadcasts were shaped by a priestly dignity and deeper thoughts, in which, however, his love for poetry was also recognizable. Westwood's contributions were very popular with listeners and he continued to work for BBC Radio 4 even after he retired. His last post was broadcast 14 days before his death.

Bill Westwood was married with a son, hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood, and a daughter.

Trivia

In 1996 a church tribunal ruled that a church in Oundle , Northamptonshire should mount a gargoyle with Bill Westwood's face on it.

swell

• The Rt Rev Bill Westwood - Conservative cleric whose down-to-earth approach to God enlivened the airwaves in: The Guardian , September 17, 1999, accessed September 16, 2013
• Obituary: The Right Rev William Westwood In: The Independent , September 17, 1999, accessed September 16, 2013
• BBC rap DJ's father put this on: BBC News , September 15, 1999, accessed September 16, 2013

predecessor	Office	successor
Alan Rogers	Bishop of Edmonton 1975–1984	Brian Masters
Douglas Feaver	Bishop of Peterborough 1984–1996	Ian Cundy