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Thomas Drury (bishop)

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Thomas Wortley Drury
Bishop of Sodor and Man
Installed1907
Term ended1911
PredecessorNorman Dumenil John Straton
SuccessorJames Denton Thompson
Personal details
Born(1847-09-12)12 September 1847
Died2 December 1926(1926-12-02) (aged 79)
SpouseCatherine Beatrice Drury
Alma materKing William's College
Christ's College, Cambridge

Thomas Wortley Drury (12 September 1847 – 12 February 1926) was a British Anglican bishop[1] who served as Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge from 1920.[2]

Life to 1914

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He was born on the Isle of Man the son of the Rev. William Drury, Vicar of Braddan.[3] He was educated at King William's College and Christ's College, Cambridge.[4]

Ordained deacon in 1871,[5] by Bishop Horatio Powys of Sodor and Man, Drury's first post was as a curate at Braddan. Priested at St Thomas the Apostle, Douglas, Isle of Man in 1872, he served as Chaplain to the Insane Asylum 1872 to 1874, after which he was mathematical master of King William's College.[3] Following this he was rector of Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield[6] from 1876 to 1882, then Principal of the Church Missionary College in Islington from 1882 to 1899.[7]

Drury was an Examining Chaplain to Bishop Ryle of Liverpool from 1892 onwards. Between 1899 and 1907 he was Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Ordained in 1907 to the episcopate as the Bishop of Sodor and Man,[8] he held the post for four years. In 1911 he was translated to become the Bishop of Ripon.[9]

World War I

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Drury was a strong supporter of British entry to the Great War. Although his wife died on 29 July 1914, Drury prepared an article for the monthly diocesan gazette published in September, 1914. He wrote that it was the duty of the nation to respond to the national call for a much increased army. ‘This rests not only on those of the age required, but in great measure on parents and friends who may largely help or hinder the loyal response which should be far more widely given and be given without delay’.[10] This appeal to the families and friends of young men not to stand in the way of voluntary recruitment was used by other bishops and clergymen.[11]

Pressure for volunteers to join the army continued for over two years before conscription was introduced. Criticism of the clergy for encouraging recruitment when clerics were under orders not to volunteer themselves as combatants brought the following response from Drury ‘The call for more men is still most urgent. It is hard to press this point when one cannot fight oneself, but many of us have readily given our sons to the cause, and we must not fail to press home the call where it has fallen on deaf ears.’[12] Both of Drury’s sons were engaged in the War, Edward as a Lt-Commander in the Royal Navy on HMS EURYALUS and Braddan in the Indian Police. Criticism of clergy resulted in a Roll of Honour being created in the diocese on which names of clergy and their families serving in the British forces were listed. They included those who were killed and wounded.[13]

One of Drury’s main occupations centred on providing for the army camps in the Ripon, Richmond and Catterick areas. Tens of thousands of men were trained in these camps, and the diocese, with the support of Wakefield diocese, provided huts, leisure activities, clergy and other volunteers to support the many young men far from home.[14]

Death

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A Sub-Prelate of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, he died at the Master's Lodge at St Catharine's.[15]

Styles of
Thomas Drury
Reference styleThe Right Reverend
Spoken styleMy Lord
Religious styleBishop

Family

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Drury married in 1872 Catherine Beatrice (died 1914), daughter of Captain Edward Dumergue of the Madras Army, and his wife Elizabeth Anne Perry. They had two sons and five daughters.[2][16] Their daughter, Isabel Wortley Drury, was the wife of Charles Lisle Carr, later Bishop of Coventry and then of Hertford.

He was the father-in-law of the Rev. Arthur Tait, Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, whose daughter Margaret married the university administrator Bertrand Hallward.

Publications

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References

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  1. ^ National Archives
  2. ^ a b "Drury, Rt Rev. Thomas Wortley". Who's Who. A & C Black. Retrieved 2 January 2022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b A History of the Manx Church 1698-1911 by John Gelling, Douglas IOM 1998 p. 214
  4. ^ "Drury, Thomas Wortley (DRRY866TW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  5. ^ "The Clergy List, Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory" London, John Phillips, 1900
  6. ^ Church website
  7. ^ Malden Richard (ed) (1920). Crockford's Clerical Directory for 1920 (51st edn). London: The Field Press. p. 434.
  8. ^ Principal Manx Events of 1907
  9. ^ New Bishop Of Ripon. Translation Of The Bishop Of Sodor And Man The Times Tuesday, Nov 14, 1911; pg. 6; Issue 39742; col G
  10. ^ Rip on Diocesan Gazette, September, 1914
  11. ^ See for example York Diocesan magazine
  12. ^ Rip on Diocesan Gazette, December, 1914
  13. ^ Ripon Diocesan Gazette, October, 1915
  14. ^ Ripon Diocesan Gazette has monthly references to wartime activities in the diocese.
  15. ^ Obituary Dr. T. W. Drury. Bishop And Cambridge Head The Times Saturday, Feb 13, 1926; pg. 7; Issue 44195; col F
  16. ^ "Married". Morning Post. 27 October 1852. p. 8.
Church of England titles
Preceded by Bishop of Sodor and Man
1907 – 1911
Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Ripon
1911 – 1920
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
1920–1926
Succeeded by