Henry McGowan

[1] He was born in 1891,[2] educated at Bristol Grammar School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge and ordained in 1914.

[4] He was then vicar at St Mark, Birmingham and Emmanuel, Southport[5] before becoming rural dean and then, in 1938, Archdeacon of Aston.

[8] The file on his appointment to Wakefield describes McGowan as 'a thoroughly sound, sensible, practical, straightforward man' who 'really runs Birmingham'.

[9] Alan Webster, a future Dean of St Paul's, remembered McGowan as 'an over-energetic parish priest...

He was known for his industry; a deep strain of nervousness was leavened by a developed sense of humour and the gifts of a raconteur.