John Taylor-Smith | |
---|---|
Chaplain-General to the Forces | |
Church | Church of England |
In office | 1901 to 1925 |
Predecessor | Cox Edghill |
Successor | Alfred Jarvis |
Other post(s) | Sub-Prelate of the Venerable Order of Saint John (1916–1938) Bishop of Sierra Leone (1897–1901) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1885 (deacon) 1886 (priest) |
Consecration | 1897 |
Personal details | |
Born | 20 April 1860[1] Kendal, Westmorland, England |
Died | 28 March 1938 | (aged 77)
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglicanism |
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.
John Taylor-Smith was born in 1860 in Kendal, Westmorland, England. He is the son of John Smith.[1][3]
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]
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]