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Peter Allsopp |
Dear Kevin, I don't know if this will interest you, but here goes. When the news of the Affray disaster hit the headlines, I was a few days short of my 18th birthday which was on 25th April 1951. I had been a church goer for many years and as I said my prayers that night I thought of the loss of life on that sub. Somehow I was blessed with a vision of Christ standing on a bridge. So I asked him if he could do something for all those sailors and their families. Jesus turned to me and said "you can." I took this to be a call to offer myself for training to work in some way for the Church. I left my course in optics which would have exempted me from National Service and decided that I will accept call up and contact the Army chaplains Dept. whilst in the army. During the two Easters that I was in R.E.M.E. I attended courses at the Army Chaplains H.Q. then at Bagshot Park, and during the second course it was arranged for me to attend a C.A.C.T.M. Selection Board and to visit Kelham Theological college. So in 1953 I went to Kelham and 5 years later sat the General Ordination Exam. In December 1958 I was ordained Deacon at Chelmsford Cathedral and Priest the following year on 20th December. So here I am this year celebrating the 50th Anniversary of my ordination to the Priesthood in the Church of England.
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