Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch

Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch
Active	1 April 1918 – Present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Military chaplaincy
Motto	Ministrare Non Ministrari (Latin for To serve, not to be served[1])

The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides military chaplains for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.

Mission

See footnote^[2]

Training

RAF chaplains and candidates receive training at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, which is located at Amport House.^[3]

Endorsing authorities

To serve in the Chaplains Branch, chaplains and candidates must be endorsed by a religious body.^[4] RAF commissioned chaplains are accepted from the various Christian denominations. The British military forces are also served by "tri-service chaplains" from other world faiths, including Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh.^[5] The RAF also has an honorary Jewish chaplain, Rabbi Malcolm Weisman, who holds the position of Senior Jewish Chaplain to HM Forces.^[6][7]

Noncombatant status

See: Military chaplain#Non-combatant status

Chaplain-in-Chief

The RAF Chaplains Branch is led by a Chaplain-in-Chief.^[8] Harry Viener was the first Chaplain-in-Chief. When the Chaplain-in-Chief is an Anglican, he or she is also the Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force – otherwise, the most senior Anglican chaplain takes that title along with that of Principal Anglican Chaplain.

• 11 October 1918 – 1926: Harry Viener^[9]
• 25 October 1926 – 1930: Robert Hanson^[10]
• 11 December 1930 – 11 December 1933: Sidney Clarke^[11][12]
• 11 December 1933 – 10 April 1936: James Walkey^[12][13]
• 10 April 1940 – 1944: Maurice Edwards^[13]
• 1944–1949: John Jagoe
• 31 March 1949 – 1953: Leslie Wright^[14]
• 17 April 1953 – 1959: Alan Giles^[15]
• 19 March 1959 – 1965: Francis Cocks (first Archdeacon for the RAF)^[16]
• 13 March 1965 – 1969 Wilfred Payton^[17]
• 14 March 1969 – 1973: Leonard Ashton^[18]
• 3 June 1973 – 1980: Hewitt Wilson^[19]
• 28 June 1980 – 1983 Herbert Stuart^[20]
• 1983–1988: Glyndwr Renowden
• 30 June 1988 – 1991: Brian Halfpenny^[21]
• 26 July 1991 – 1995: Brian Lucas^[22]
• 26 August 1995 – 1998: Robin Turner^[23]
• 1998–2001: Peter Bishop
• 21 September 2001 – 2006: Ron Hesketh^[24]
• 2006–2009: Peter Mills (Church of Scotland)
  • Archdeacons for the Royal Air Force:
    • 2006 onwards: Ray Pentland^[8][25][26]
• 1 October 2009–July 2014 (ret.): Ray Pentland^[8][25][26]
• July 2014–present: Jonathan Chaffey^[27]

Senior Jewish Chaplain to HM Forces

• 1892 - 1904: Francis Lyon Cohen^[28]
• 1923 - 1926: Michael Adler^[29]
• 1926 - 1942: Dayan Gollop^[30][31]
• 16 July 1956 – present: Malcolm Weisman^[6][32]

Central church

The central church of the Chaplains Branch is St Clement Danes Church in the City of Westminster, London.^[33][34]

See also

RAF Chapel Category:Royal Air Force chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department Bishop to the Forces (Anglican) Bishopric of the Forces (Roman Catholic) Military chaplain#United Kingdom Religion in the United Kingdom

Chaplain Minister Imam Priest Rabbi

Footnotes

1. Mark 10-45
2. See: About Us: Welcome webpage. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
3. Who we are: Amport House. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
4. Endorsing Authorities. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
5. World Faiths. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
6. . RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
7. . Military Chaplaincy: Christian and Jewish Perspectives. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
8. About Us: Welcome webpage. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
9. The London Gazette: 7 January no. 31112. p. 370 7 January. 1919. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
10. The London Gazette: 26 October no. 33215. p. 6824 26 October. 1926. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
11. The London Gazette: 19 December no. 33671. p. 8158 19 December. 1930. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
12. The London Gazette: 12 December no. 34004. p. 8052 12 December. 1933. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
13. The London Gazette: 16 April no. 34831. p. 2248 16 April. 1940. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
14. The London Gazette: 29 March (Supplement) no. 38573. p. 1590 29 March. 1949. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
15. The London Gazette: 5 May (Supplement) no. 39843. p. 2493 5 May. 1953. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
16. The London Gazette: 24 March (Supplement) no. 41664. p. 1981 24 March. 1959. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
17. The London Gazette: 16 March (Supplement) no. 43599. p. 2629 16 March. 1965. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
18. The London Gazette: 27 August (Supplement) no. 44661. p. 9354 27 August. 1968. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
19. The London Gazette: 9 January (Supplement) no. 45873. p. 375 9 January. 197. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
20. The London Gazette: 2 September (Supplement) no. 48294. p. 12378 2 September. 1980. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
21. The London Gazette: 27 June (Supplement) no. 51393. p. 7429 27 June. 1988. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
22. The London Gazette: 30 July (Supplement) no. 52615. p. 11601 30 July. 1991. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
23. The London Gazette: 29 August (Supplement) no. 54140. p. 11767 29 August. 1995. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
24. The London Gazette: 25 September (Supplement) no. 56340. p. 11210 25 September. 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
25. Who's Who 2012 – PENTLAND, Raymond Jackson
26. RAF Chaplains – Ven Ray Pentland (Retrieved 7 June 2012)
27. "Chaplain-in-Chief (Designate)". RAF Chaplains. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
28. Francis Lyon Cohen. Geoffrey L. Shisler - Biographies. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
29. Senior British Chaplain Resigns. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 1, 1926. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
30. Snape, Michael Francis (2008). The Royal Army Chaplains' Department, 1796-1953: Clergy Under Fire, The Second World War, Boydell Press, 290. ISBN 1843833468 Retrieved on February 2, 2015.
31. Dayan Mark Gollop. Hampstead Synagogue official website. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
32. The London Gazette: 21 August (Supplement) no. 40859. p. 4797 21 August. 1956. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
33. St Clement Danes Church. RAF Chaplains Branch official website. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
34. Welcome to St Clement Danes. RAF St Clement Danes official website. Retrieved 2010-09-10.

External links

• RAF Chaplains official website
• Careers: Jobs: Chaplain. RAF Careers official website