Transcription of obituary published in the Minutes of Conference
WILLIAM GEORGE CRIPPS: born at Abertillery, Monmouthshire, on 14th September 1893, into a Methodist home. Of Welsh and Yorkshire mining stock he left the pit at God’s call to train at Hartley College for the ministry. He then served in the following circuits: Kidderminster, Cradley Heath, Stratford, Clay Cross, Presteigne, Oakengates, Knighton (Bridge St.), Weston-super-Mare, Newport (Stow Hill), Cheddar Valley and Clevedon.
In 1921 he married Edith Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Joseph Pearce, beginning a notable partnership of more than fifty-five years. In 1959 he retired to Congresbury in the Cheddar Circuit and, after his wife’s death, lived at Stow-on-the- Wold.
His was a varied and effective ministry in both town and country, though his circuits in the scattered farming communities of the Welsh borders were especially dear in his memory. A particular interest too was religious drama: he wrote three plays himself, all subsequently published and performed. A capacity for friendship, and a lively mind and impish sense of humour, made him an excellent colleague and companion. His love of people and deep commitment to his Lord showed in all his work as preacher and pastor. He faced old age and feebleness with dignity and faith, and died peacefully on 27th November 1980 in the eighty-eight year of his life and the sixty-fourth year of his ministry.
Family
William was born on 14 September 1893 at Abertillery, Monmouthshire, to parents George Giles Cripps, a coal miner, and Emma Cook.
Before entering the ministry William worked as a coal miner (1911)
He married Edith Elizabeth Pearce (1888-1976) in the summer of 1921 at Walsall, Staffordshire. Birth Records identify one child.
- Jose Anne (b1924) – married Derek J Beddis in 1948
William died on 27 November 1980 at Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire.
Circuits
- Hartley
- 1917 Kidderminster
- 1919 Cradley Heath
- 1920 Stratford
- 1921 Clay Cross
- 1924 Presteign
- 1929 Oakengates
- 1931 Knighton
- 1937 Weston super Mare
- 1943 Newport, Stow H
- 1948 Cheddar Valley
- 1956 Clevedon
- 1959 Cheddar Valley (Sup)
References
Methodist Minutes 1981/67
W Leary, Directory of Primitive Methodist Ministers and their Circuits, 1990
Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers
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