William Havard

William Thomas Havard (born October 23, 1889 in Neuadd Defynnog , † August 17, 1956 ) was a British clergyman. He was an Anglican Bishop of St Asaph from 1934 to 1950 and then Bishop of St Davids until his death .

Origin and studies

William Havard was the third son of his father William Havard and his wife Gwen . His father was a deacon of the Tabernacl Chapel of Defynnog in Brecknockshire , a congregational free church . Havard attended Brecon County School and then studied at the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth , where he received a bachelor's degree in history in 1912 . During his studies in Aberystwyth he was a member of Baker Street Church from 1908 before converting to Church in Wales after graduating from University College . He then studied at St. Michael's College in Llandaff .

Activity as a clergyman

In 1913 Havard was ordained a deacon by John Owen , Bishop of St Davids, and a priest in 1914, after which he was curate of Llanelli until 1915 . During the First World War he served as a military chaplain until 1919, when he was mentioned in dispatches in 1916 and in 1917 he received the Military Cross . From 1919 to 1921 he was chaplain of Jesus College in Oxford, where he also completed his master's degree (MA) in 1921 . From 1921 to 1922 he was Curate of Brecon , then Vicar of St Paul-at-Hook until 1924, and then Vicar of St Luke's Church in Battersea until 1928 . In 1928 he became vicar of the church St Mary's in Swansea , in addition he was in 1930 canon at the cathedral of Brecon . In September 1934 he was ordained bishop of the Welsh diocese of St Asaph . Havard was particularly committed to religious education in school. He was chairman of the Education Council of the Church in Wales and Visitor of St David's College , of Llandovery College , of Trinity College in Carmarthen and St. John's College in Ystrad Meurig . To this end, he promoted cooperation between the Church in Wales and the non-conformist churches . Harvard was seen as a linguistically powerful preacher who could preach in both English and Welsh . Several times he was allowed to give a sermon on the radio in front of the Eisteddfod . In 1943 he was allowed to preach at St. Andrews University and in 1946 in Canterbury . In 1951 he was a visiting professor and preacher at Yale University in the United States . In 1950 he changed diocese and became bishop of the diocese of Saint David’s . After his death he was buried in Brecon.

Activity as a rugby player

As a young man, Havard was famous as a rugby player while studying in Aberystwyth . In 1919 he played in a game for the Welsh national team against New Zealand, and was also an active rugby player during his further studies at Oxford.

Family and offspring

Havard had married Florence Aimée Holmes in 1922 , a daughter of Joseph Holmes from Pen-y-fái near Llanelli. With her he had two sons and two daughters.

Web links

• Mary Gwendoline Ellis: HAVARD, WILLIAM THOMAS (1889-1956) , (Dictionary of Welsh Biography, National Library of Wales)

predecessor	Office	successor
Alfred George Edwards	Bishop of St Asaph 1934–1950	David Bartlett
David Lewis Prosser	Bishop of St. Davids 1950–1956	John Richards Richards