Victor de Waal

The Very Reverend

Victor de Waal
Dean of Canterbury
ChurchChurch of England
Installed1976
Term ended1986
PredecessorIan White-Thomson
SuccessorJohn Simpson
Personal details
Born
Victor Alexander de Waal

(1929-02-02) 2 February 1929 (age 95)
DenominationAnglicanism
ParentsHendrik de Waal
Elisabeth von Ephrussi
SpouseEsther Aline Lowndes-Moir
ChildrenAlex de Waal
Edmund de Waal
Thomas de Waal
EducationTonbridge School
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge

Victor Alexander de Waal (born 2 February 1929)[1] is a British Anglican priest. He was the Dean of Canterbury from 1976 to 1986.

Early life

Victor de Waal was born in Amsterdam, the son of Hendrik de Waal, a Dutch businessman, and Elisabeth of the Ephrussi family. His mother was born to a well-known Jewish family at the Ephrussi Palace in Vienna. Although she converted to Christianity this did not protect her from the racial policy of Nazi Germany.[2] Before the outbreak of World War II, the family moved to Britain and stayed there after the war, though retaining for many years their Dutch citizenship.[3]

The family came to live in Tunbridge Wells when he was a boy and he was educated at Tonbridge School and Pembroke College, Cambridge. His second cousin once removed was the Right Revd Hugo de Waal, Bishop of Thetford.[4]

Career

He served as chaplain of King's College, Cambridge from 1959 to 1963 and the University of Nottingham from 1963 to 1969,[5] and chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral.

From 1976 to 1986, he served as the Dean of Canterbury.[6][7]

He helped with the research into his family history by his son, Edmund de Waal, which culminated in the book The Hare with Amber Eyes.[8]

De Waal is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Birmingham.[9]

Personal life

He married Esther Aline Lowndes-Moir, author (as Esther de Waal) of books on spirituality, especially Celtic. Among their sons are John de Waal, a barrister; Alex de Waal (born 1963), a writer on Africa; Edmund de Waal (born 1964), a ceramic artist; and Thomas de Waal (born 1966), a writer. He later separated from his wife.[10]

Works

  • What is the Church, 1969, SCM Press.
  • The Politics of Reconciliation - Zimbabwe's first decade, 1990

References

  1. ^ "FindArticles.com - CBSi". Findarticles.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  2. ^ "The artist whose secret family history became the surprise book of the". Evening Standard. London. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  3. ^ Himes, Mavis (2016). The Power of Names: Uncovering the Mystery of What We Are Called. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 96. ISBN 9781442259799.
  4. ^ "The Right Rev Hugo de Waal". The Independent. 8 January 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  5. ^ What is the Church, SCM Press, 1969
  6. ^ Allchin (The Rev. Canon), A.M. (27 April 1980). The Living Church | Enthronement at Canterbury. Morehouse-Gorham Company. p. 50. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. ^ Vogel, Carol (29 August 2013). "Edmund de Waal Prepares for an Exhibition". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  8. ^ Moore, Charles (21 January 2012). "The Spectator's Notes | The Spectator". The Spectator. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  9. ^ Richardson, Alan; Bowden, John (1983). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780664227487. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  10. ^ Wullschlager, Jackie (28 March 2014). "Lunch with the FT: Edmund de Waal". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 October 2017.