PERRY, STANLEY HOWARD HEDLEY (1911-1995), professor of theology

Born 1911 in Newport. He was educated at Newport Technical College, and then after deciding to enter the ministry of the Calvinistic Methodists he went to Trevecka College to pursue a preparatory course before going to UC Cardiff, where he graduated with honours in Hebrew in 1935 and then with honours in Greek in 1936. From there he entered Westminster College, Cambridge, enrolling in Fitzwilliam House in order to pursue Part II of the Tripos in the Old Testament. He gained a degree with first-class honours in 1938 and was awarded the Hebrew Prize of the University.

He followed a course of preparation for the ministry at Bala College in 1939-40, and he was ordained a minister after receiving a call to the English church in Montgomery. He remained there until 1945 when he went to teach English at Blackpool Grammar School. He was appointed to the chair of Old Testament at the United Theological College in Aberystwyth in 1947, where he remained until 1961. He was the Dean of the Theological Faculty of the University of Wales 1958-61. In 1961 he was elected to be the first holder of the chair of Religious Studies at Nsukka University, Nigeria, which had just been founded. However, his stay there was very brief as the extreme heat affected his eyesight badly and after a year he was forced to return to Britain. He was appointed to a lectureship at a teachers' training college in Edinburgh, and then in 1963 he was appointed lecturer in Religious Education at the Normal College, Bangor, and Warden of the George Hostel. On his retirement he returned to live in his old home in Newport.

He was an exceptional linguist, expert in a number of modern languages as well as ancient ones, and his mastery of the Welsh language was especially good. His main field of research concerned the works of the first Syrian church father, Aphrahat, but he did not publish any of the results of his research. Indeed, he published very little, only a few sermons and reviews in journals.

He married Mary Elizabeth Jones, Blaenplwyf, near Aberystwyth, but her death on 22 March 1953 at a young age weighed heavily upon him the rest of his days. He himself died 30 November 1995, in Newport and his ashes were interred in his wife's grave in Aberystwyth town cemetery.

Author

• John Tudno Williams

Sources

• Personal knowledge
• Blwyddiadur y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd, 1997

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20734407

Published date: 2009-07-28

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/