Derrick Greenslade Childs (14 January 1918 – 18 March 1987 [1]) was the Anglican Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales.
Derrick Childs | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Wales | |
| Church | Church in Wales |
| Appointed | 1983 |
| In office | 1983–1986 |
| Predecessor | Gwilym Williams |
| Successor | George Noakes |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 1970 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 14, 1918 |
| Died | March 18, 1987 (aged 69) |
| Previous post(s) | Bishop of Monmouth (1970-1986) |
Childs grew up in Laugharne.[2] He was educated at Whitland Grammar School, before reading history at University College, Cardiff.[2] He studied theology at Salisbury Theological College, before being ordained in 1942.[3] He was a curate in Milford Haven and then Laugharne. In 1947 he became editor of Cymry'r Groes, a magazine to serve the official youth organization of the Church of Wales.[2] It was renamed Province in 1949; Childs remained its editor until 1967.[2]
Childs married Cicely Davies in 1951; they were to have a son and a daughter.[4] Also in 1951 Childs became Warden of Llandaff House, Penarth in 1951; this was a university hall of residence provided by the diocese.[2] Four years later he became secretary of the provincial council for education and then, in 1956, secretary and treasurer of the Historical Society of the Church in Wales.[2] In 1961 he left Llandaff House to become first director of the Church in Wales Publications.[2] In 1965 he became chancellor of Llandaff Cathedral and then principal of Trinity College, Carmarthen.[2][5] At that time church colleges were fighting for their survival; Childs had an important role in ensuring that Trinity College both survived and embarked on a period of imaginative development.[2] In 1972, he was elected bishop of Monmouth and in 1983 became Primate of the Church in Wales.[6] Childs was a sub-prelate of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.
Childs retired in 1986.[4] He died shortly afterwards as the result of a motor accident.[4]