William Louis AndersonDSC (11 February 1892 – 5 March 1972) was theChurch of EnglandBishop of Portsmouth and then theBishop of Salisbury. He also held what is believed to be the unique distinction of being the only bishop to have served in all three of the armed services.[1]
Anderson was born atTezpur,Assam, India, on 11 February 1892, the younger son ofJames Drummond Anderson, a member of theIndian Civil Service who later became a lecturer in Bengali at theUniversity of Cambridge. His elder brother,Sir James Drummond Anderson, also had a distinguished colonial career. He was educated as a scholar atSt Paul's School and graduatedBA fromGonville and Caius College, Cambridge in 1914 andMA in 1920. He was appointed an honorary fellow in 1950.[2]
He served throughout theFirst World War, initially in the1st King Edward's Horse, then theRoyal Naval Air Service, and finally in the newly formedRoyal Air Force, ending the war with the rank ofcaptain (laterflight lieutenant from 1918 to 1919). He fought in France as a sergeant-major in King Edward's Horse, and flew American Flying Boats with the Royal Naval Air Service from Felixstowe and then theIsles of Scilly.[3] He was awarded theDistinguished Service Cross after sinking an enemy submarine in aflying boat attack while serving in the Isles of Scilly.[2]
Ondemobilisation, he studied for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He wasordaineddeacon in 1920 andpriest in 1921. He married Gwendoline Jones and they had two sons.[4] He rejoined theRoyal Navy as achaplain and served in a succession of naval establishments. His last posting was as chaplain to theBritannia Royal Naval College.
In 1928, he was appointedvicar ofSparkhill,Birmingham, taking on the additional responsibility ofrural dean ofBordesley. In 1932, he moved toEastbourne. By 1937, he wasBishop of Croydon[5] and in late 1941 he was appointed Bishop of Portsmouth to succeed the recently deceasedFrank Partridge.[6] Given his association with the Royal Navy, it is unsurprising that Anderson had responded to the offer of the post with "there is no Diocese in the Country to which I would more gladly be sent"[7] However, in 1949, he transferred to the more seniorsee of Salisbury,[8] a position he was to hold until his retirement in 1962. His wife died in 1957, and he then married Jessie Hearn in 1963.[4] He died on 5 March 1972 aged 90.
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Bishop of Croydon 1937–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Portsmouth 1942–1949 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Salisbury 1949–1963 | Succeeded by |