Slemsman Index: P-R

Benjamin Pollard

c.1911-1914 (Hall Tutor)

BSc. Chemistry

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Benjamin Pollard was born in Bath in 1890, second child and eldest son of Benjamin & Cecilia Pollard. Within a few years of his birth, Benjamins’ parents had moved to Manchester where his younger siblings Donald and Pedr were born. As a young boy, Benjamin attended Manchester Grammar School. On leaving he became a student at the University of Manchester, where his older sister Phyllis also studied. Initially living at home, Benjamin moved to St Anslem’s Hostel in 1911, becoming probably the first hall tutor.

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Ordained in 1914, Benjamin was initially appointed a deacon to St. Luke’s, Weaste (Salford), but his chemistry skills quickly led to him being recruited into Lord Moulton’s explosives department (subsequently the Ministry of Munitions), developing improved explosives for use in the 1st World War.  Following this, Benjamin served for three years as chaplain to the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and after the armistice provided relief work in Armenia.

 On returning to England, Benjamin was a senior curate at Sheffield Cathedral.

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Other appointments followed, including Bradford, Yorkshire, and St Chrysostom's, Victoria Park, Manchester. On leaving St Chrysostom’s in 1928, Benjamin was made first Bishop of Lancaster, at the same time becoming the first University of Manchester graduate (and the first student from the Victorian universities) to sit on the bishop’s bench in the House of Lords. In 1953, his work earned him a prestigious Lambeth degree and in 1954 he was made Bishop of Sodor and Man, a post he held until his retirement in 1966. Benjamin died in April 1967, at the age of seventy-six.

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You can find out more about Benjamin’s story here

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