FOR a book on the Allied chaplains who were killed in the Second World War, the Revd Dr Tom Wilson is seeking photographs of four British chaplains.
The first is the Revd Reginald Thomas Podmore, who was ordained in Ripon diocese in 1927 and served his title at All Saints’, Leeds. From there, he joined the Cowley Fathers (Society of St John the Evangelist) and served at their Mission House in Oxford. When he joined the Royal Army Chaplains Department in January 1940, he was posted to the 3rd Ammunition Park in France. He was killed on 23 May 1940.
The second is the Revd William Robert Copland, a minister in the Church of Scotland and brought up in Greenock. He joined the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department in August 1939, and died in the sinking of RMS Laconia in the mid-Atlantic on 16 September 1942.
The third is the Revd Henry Jeffery Leigh Taylor, who was ordained in Peterborough diocese in 1938 and served his title at Holy Cross, Daventry. Upon joining the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department, he served with with the 8th battalion of the Rifle Brigade. He was killed in action on 23 September 1944 in Holland.
The last is the Revd Ralph Whitrow, who was ordained in 1923 and served his title at St Luke’s, Battersea. He was the chaplain at the Guards’ Chapel, in London, where he was killed when the chapel was hit in the middle of a service by a V1 flying bomb on 18 June 1944.
Any photos found or suggestions can be sent to Dr Wilson via email at tomdwilson@gmail.com.