{"id":503,"date":"2019-12-18T10:59:39","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T10:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/?page_id=503"},"modified":"2020-02-26T14:33:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T14:33:25","slug":"the-church-during-the-war-1939-45","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/building-history\/the-church-during-the-war-1939-45\/","title":{"rendered":"IV. The Church during the War: 1939-45"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box  gradient-container-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\"  style='background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;'><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row \"><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_1_1 fusion-builder-column-1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last gradient-column-1 1_1\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-widget-area fusion-widget-area-1 fusion-content-widget-area\"><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-widget-area-1 {padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;}.fusion-widget-area-1 .widget h4 {color:#333333;}.fusion-widget-area-1 .widget .heading h4 {color:#333333;}<\/style><div id=\"alg_back_button_wp_widget-2\" class=\"widget alg_back_button_wp_widget\"><a href=\"javascript:history.back()\" class=\"alg_back_button_simple \" style=\"\"><< Return to previous section<\/a><\/div><div class=\"fusion-additional-widget-content\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box  gradient-container-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\"  style='background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;'><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row \"><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_1_1 fusion-builder-column-2 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last gradient-column-2 1_1\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/st-hons-through-the-war.jpg\" width=\"1100\" height=\"350\" alt=\"\" title=\"st-hons-through-the-war\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-1592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/st-hons-through-the-war-200x64.jpg 200w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/st-hons-through-the-war-400x127.jpg 400w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/st-hons-through-the-war-600x191.jpg 600w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/st-hons-through-the-war-800x255.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/st-hons-through-the-war.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1100px\" \/><\/span><div class=\"fusion-text\"><p>The Church carried on its usual pattern of worship during the War, and although Fr Brittain\u2019s departure caused some surprise, his successor, Fr Clement Ullathorne, brought a new sense of vision.<\/p>\n<span style='display:inline;'><input type='hidden' bg_collapse_expand='69dc739b6706d3079929538' value='69dc739b6706d3079929538'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-more-text-69dc739b6706d3079929538' value='Show More'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-less-text-69dc739b6706d3079929538' value='Show Less'><a id='bg-showmore-action-69dc739b6706d3079929538' class='bg-showmore-plg-link  '  style=\" color:#4a4949;\" href='#'>Show More<\/a><span id='bg-showmore-hidden-69dc739b6706d3079929538' ><\/p>\n<p>War did not interrupt the regular pattern of worship at St John\u2019s, and between the 8.00 a.m. Mass and 11.00 a.m. Matins a simple Parish Mass was commenced each Sunday, aimed especially at younger people. Most of the other activities ceased in the early months of the war, and the Lathbury Institute was commandeered for use by the Army. When the Church obtained temporary use of the hall of St Michael\u2019s Church of England College for Girls in Northgate Street, a private school run by Anglican nuns, the Brownies and a youth club restarted. A newly-recruited assistant curate, Fr <a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/canon-julian-douglas-raymond-rudd\/\">Julian Rudd<\/a>, built up a Scout troop. The Sunday School and Youth Fellowship operated during the war.<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_888\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-888\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-888 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-200x267.jpg 200w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-400x533.jpg 400w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-800x1067.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-1200x1600.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050509-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-888\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Fr Brittain.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<p><strong>Resignation of Fr Brittain<\/strong><br \/>\nIn December 1941 Fr Brittain told the Church Council he had handed in his resignation with effect from early the following year. His resignation took effect from 31st January. His departure may not have been entirely amicable, as he accompanied his announcement with a comment about some financial problems in the Church being due to \u2018bad book keeping and folly.\u2019 At a meeting of the Council nine days later it was proposed that a letter of appreciation for the work Fr Brittain had done in the parish be sent to him but, \u2018after a lengthy discussion\u2019, it was agreed the letter \u2018be left on the table.\u2019 A proposal was then carried that the secretary write to the Vicar saying that, \u2018had he acquainted the Church officials when he found he was in difficulties they would have tried to help him out of his trouble.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>No information about Fr Brittain\u2019s apparent \u2018difficulties\u2019 is offered, but he was known to have endured shell-shock in the First World War. He may also have experienced what is now known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). He died aged 53, his death certificate suggesting he suffered from dangerously high blood pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Some gifts were presented to the Vicar upon his departure, including a glass bowl and illuminated address from the Young Communicants\u2019 Guild, and a gold cross and chain from the St John\u2019s branch of the Mothers\u2019 Union.<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_886\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-886\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-886 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-200x267.jpg 200w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-400x533.jpg 400w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-800x1067.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-1200x1600.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/P1050504.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-886\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Fr Ullathorne.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<p><strong>Father Ullathorne<\/strong><br \/>\nBrittain\u2019s successor was <a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/building-history\/church-people\/canon-william-archer-clement-ullathorne\/\">Fr W. A. Clement Ullathorne<\/a>. Ullathorne maintained the high church tradition of St John\u2019s, although some thought he brought in changes too hastily. He had a fondness for vestments, and encouraged the whole congregation to process around the church every Sunday. Shortly after his arrival he introduced a Daily Mass, and obtained a faculty for an aumbry so that the Blessed Sacrament, the bread and wine which had been consecrated at the Mass, could be perpetually reserved. An <a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/building-history\/features-of-the-church\/aumbry\/\">aumbry lamp<\/a> was given to the Church in memory of <a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/building-history\/church-people\/janet-phillips\/\">Janet Phillips<\/a> in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>Another of Fr Ullathorne\u2019s innovations was to transfer the patronal festival from 27 December (the Saint\u2019s day of St John the Evangelist) to 6 May (St John Ante Portam), presumably to save it from being overshadowed by the Christmas festivities. This practice survived until the 1970s.<\/p>\n<p>One of the Church\u2019s curates died in heroic circumstances while serving as an army chaplain during the war. A <a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/building-history\/features-of-the-church\/prayer-desk\/\">prayer desk<\/a> in the south aisle is inscribed \u2018John Arthur Newson, former assistant priest, who died in Normandy trying to save others, 20th July 1944\u2019. <a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/building-history\/church-people\/revd-john-arthur-newson\/\">Newson<\/a> is buried in the Bayeux War Cemetery and immortalised on the Little Waldingfield War Memorial.<\/p>\n<p>As the war drew to a close, some members of the Church welcomed Prisoners of War to their homes for tea on Sunday afternoons. This was part of the process of aiding the PoWs\u2019 rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":414,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/503"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1593,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/503\/revisions\/1593"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}