Agnew Walter Giles Giffard (1869 - 1947)

Born 28 Apr 1869 in St Pierre Port, Guernsey, Channel islands

Ancestors

Husband of Ethel Denbow (Gullick) Giffard — married 14 Oct 1896 in Hampton, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 15 Apr 1947 at age 77 in Castel, Guernsey, Channel Islands

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Gerald Wells [send private message]

Biography

Agnew was born on 28 April 1869 at St Pierre Port, Guernsey. He was the third son of Agnew Giffard and Henrietta Godfray who had married in 1866. His father was a civil engineer.

Agnew's father tragically drowned at sea in October 1868, before Agnew was born.

Agnew's mother remarried in 1876, marrying George Allez (aged about 53).

Agnew appears in the 1881 census at the family home at Grande Lande Buttes, St Saviour, Guernsey. Details are - stepfather George Allez (58, magistrate and farmer of 15 acres employing one labourer, born St Saviour, Guernsey), mother Henrietta D Godfray (39), half-sister Elizabeth A G Allez (2, born St Saviour), brother Gerald G Giffard (14), brother Cecil L Giffard (13) and Agnew W G Giffard (11, scholar, born St Peter Port, Guernsey). Two servants are also noted.

Cecil's stepfather died in 1889.

On 7 May 1889 Agnew matriculated at Queen's College, Oxford University.

At the 1891 census Agnew is with his mother at Buttes Head, St Saviour, Guernsey. Present are his mother Henrietta D Allez (widow, 48, living on her own means) and his half-sister Elizabeth A G Allez (12). Agnew W G Giffard (21) is noted to be an undergraduate at Oxford. Two servants are listed - domestic and coachman, the latter born in Birmingham and so likely to be travelling with Agnew from Oxford.

In 1891, while at Oxford University, Agnew became a member of the Apollo University (Freemason) Lodge.

Agnew was ordained deacon in 1894, and priest in 1895. He was curate at Aylesford, Kent from 1894 to 1896 and then appointed rector at Manton, Lincolnshire.^[1]

While at Aylesford, in 1894, Agnew was initiated into the Malling Abbey (Freemason) Lodge at West Malling, Kent.

On 14 October 1896 Agnew Walter Giles Giffard (27, bachelor, clerk in holy orders, rector of Manton, Lincolnshire) married Ethel Denbow Gullick (24, spinster) at St Mary's church, Hampton, Middlesex. In the church register Agnew's address is given as Manton, Lincolnshire, while Ethel's is Hampton. Ethel's father is named as Joseph William Gullick, Superintendent of the .... audit office. The marriage was registered at Kingston in the fourth quarter of 1896.

The wedding was reported in The Star on 22 October 1896 as follows - MARRIAGE OF MISS GULLICK. On Wednesday, October 14, at the Parish Church, the Rev. Agnew W. G. Giffard, rector of Manton, Lincolnshire, was married to Miss Ethel Denbow Gullick, elder daughter of Mr. J. W. Gullick, of L'Hyvreusc, Hampton-on-Thames. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. R. T. Milner, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, assisted by the Rev. Digby Ram, vicar and rural dean, and the Rev. H. H. Mogg, vicar of Chittoe, cousin of the bride. The church was decorated with great taste, many of the decorations for the harvest festival on the previous Sunday being left, and supplemented by a beautiful display of autumn flowers and foliage. There were seven bridesmaids, Miss Kitty Gullick, Miss Bessie Allez, Miss Edith Mogg, Miss Gertrude Wells (Gertrude Ada Wells (1876-1972)), Miss Hilda Holberton, Miss Violet Isdell and Miss Helen Lewis. They wore white dresses, rimmed with satin and chiffon and' white picture hats. Each carried a shower bouquet of golden brown chrysanthemums, and wore a gold bangle, both being the gifts of the bride-groom. Mr. Walter Giffard (Walter John Frederick Giffard (1870-1932)) was best man, and there were six groomsmen, Mr. Kinnersley, Mr. Hugh Phelips, Mr. C. J. Higgins, Mr. Fortescue Barratt, Dr Lambert, and Mr. Isdell. Later in the afternoon the Rev. Agnew and Mrs. Giffard left for London en route to Paris. The Vicar thanked Miss Gullick for the work done by her in the school and in the parish as a district visitor, and wished her and Mr. Giffard every happiness in their wedded life. ^[2]

Agnew was rector of Manton from 1896 to 1900.^[3]

From 1900 to 1918 he was the parish priest of Manton wirh East Butterwick, Lincolnshire.^[4]

In the 1901 census Agnew is resident at The Cottage, Messingham, Lincolnshire. Present are - Rev A G Giffard (31, priest of the church of England), his wife Ethel D Giffard (28, born London), and son Henry A Giffard (1, born Manton, Lincolnshire). The first child of the marriage is absent on the census date - he is with his maternal grandparents at Sunbury, Middlesex. Two servants are also recorded.

Kelly's 1905 and 1909 Directory of Lincolnshire places Rev Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, M.A. at The Vicarage, Messingham.

At the 1911 census Agnew is at The Vicarage, Messingham, Lincolnshire. The family is listed as Agnew Walter Giles Giffard (41, clergyman, vicar of Messingham), wife Ethel Denbow Giffard (38, born Bow East, London), son Denbow Godfray Cecil Giffard (13, born Manton, Lincolnshire), son Henry Agnew Giffard (11, born Manton) and adopted daughter Dorothy Sarah Barrowcliffe Giffard (5, born Messingham). One servant is also in the household. This census confirms Agnew has been married for 14 years and there have been two children born, both of whom are still living.

From 1918 to 1932 he was vicar of Sparsholt with Kingston Lisle, Berkshire.^[5]

In 1920 Agnew, his wife and two sons are all listed on the Electoral Register at The Vicarage, Sparsholt, near Wantage, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). In 1925 and 1930 only Agnew and his wife are listed at this address.

Extract from obituary in The Elizabethan (School on Guernsey)[1] ... In 1932 he was offered the Rectory of St Peter Port and the dignity of Dean of Guernsey. This twofold post was no light office for a man of 63 to enter upon, but he took up his new work with great zeal and courage and was very happy in his new ministerial sphere. He was proud to be the rector of the lovely parish church of St Peter Port and took a great interest in the work of the States. ... The occupation of the Island by the German Forces found him already a tired man, and he suffered great hardship, but kept on gallantly as leader and friend of the clergy. He showed great courage on the day of the bombardment of the Island, on June 30th 1940, and all through the occupation. As his failing strength permitted he carried on his duties both as Dean and Rector of St Peter Port. ...

The 1939 England and Wales Register lists Agnew at 54 Bath Road, Reading, Berkshire. This appears to be a hotel. This Register confirms his full date of birth and notes he is a clergyman and an "official chaplain to the Forces". His wife is not with him, This must have been a temporary address.

During the German occupation of Guernsey Agnew was issued an identity card on 25 October 1940.^[6] As well as The Deanery, St Peter Port, Guernsey, this also gives an address of 8 Sausmarez Street, his son and daughter-in-law's address, as at 17 April 1942, this being within a month of being widowed. The photograph from his identity card is the primary photo of this profile.

Agnew was widowed on 17 March 1942 when his wife died on Guernsey.

"GIFFARD, the Reverend Agnew Walter Giles of The Close, Doyle Road, Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, died 15 April 1947 at the Emergency Hospital, Castel Parish, Guernsey. Probate ... to Denbow Godfray Giffard, stipendary lay reader, and Edmund Bourgaize, registrar of the Ecclesastical Court, Guernsey". (National Probate Calendar 1947)

Agnew was buried at Candie Cemetery, Guernsey, on 17 April 1947. His last abode is given as Close Lodge, Doyle Road, St Peter Port.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ UK, Clergy List, 1897 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, Clergy List 1897 (Ancestry.com)
2. ↑ The Star, St Peter Port, 22 October 1896
3. ↑ The Elizabethan, July 1947
4. ↑ The Elizabethan, July 1947
5. ↑ The Elizabethan, July 1947
6. ↑ Occupation Registration card, Guernsey Archives
7. ↑ Parish of St Peter Port burial records, Guernsey Archives

• Agnew Walter Giles Giffard in the Channel Islands, Select Births and Baptisms, 1820-1907 (Ancestry.com)

• 1881 Channel Islands Census for Agnew W.T. Giffard, Guernsey, St Saviour, District 4

• England, Oxford Men and Their Colleges, 1880-1892, Oxford Men and Their Colleges, 1880-1892, 2 Volumes

• 1891 Channel Islands Census for Agnew W G Giffard, Guernsey, St Saviour, District 4

• England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, United Grand Lodge of England, 1887-1909, Membership Registers: Country E 298-353 to Country F 355-426

• England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, United Grand Lodge of England, 1887-1909, Membership Registers: Country M 1016-1099 to Country N 1101-1206

• London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, Richmond upon Thames, St Mary, Hampton, 1837-1903 (Ancestry.com)

• England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 for Agnew Walter G Giffard, 1896, Q4-Oct-Nov-Dec

• UK, Clergy List, 1897 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, Clergy List 1897 (Ancestry.com). Original data: The Clergy List, with which is Incorporated the Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory, 1897. Digitized book. London, England: Kelly and Co., Limited, 1897.

• 1901 England Census for Rev A G Giffard, Lincolnshire, Messingham, District 24

• UK, City and County Directories, 1766 - 1946 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, England, Lincolnshire, 1905, 1909 Kelly´s Directory of Lincolnshire

• 1911 England Census for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, Lincolnshire, Messingham, 24

• Berkshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1840-1965 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, Abingdon, 1920 (Spring), 1925 and 1930.

• 1939 England and Wales Register for Agnew W G Giffard, Berkshire, Reading CB, DSAU

• England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Agnew Walter Giles Giffard, 1947

• The Elizabethan, July 1947 https://elizabethcollege-heritage.daisy.websds.net/Filename.ashx?tableName=ta_elizabethan&columnName=filename&recordId=309