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Dictionary of Miramichi Biography

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BRITTON, REGINALD ERNEST JAMES (1887-1981)

BRITTON, REGINALD ERNEST JAMES, Anglican missionary, Ludlow and Blissfield, 1920-24. and rector of Hardwicke, 1951-58; b. Alcester, Warwickshire, England, 4 Jun 1887, s/o John James Britton and Maud May Coward; m. 1919, Ada Gabriella Clements, of Douglas, York Co., N.B.; d. Saint John, 23 Jan 1981.

Reginald ("R. E. J.") Britton was educated at Osborne Naval College on the Isle of Wight and subsequently served for six years in the Royal Navy. One of his duties at the college was to offer instruction in seamanship to naval cadets, among whom were the future King Edward VIII and his brother, the future King George VI.

Britton arrived in Canada in 1912 and enrolled the next year in King's College, Windsor, to prepare for the ministry. His studies were interrupted by World War I, in which he served overseas with the Canadian forces until wounded at Ypres. Discharged in 1917, he finished the program at Windsor and was ordained an Anglican priest in 1919. He was stationed in Victoria County, N.B., until 1920 and was then missionary of Ludlow and Blissfield for four years, with his residence at Doaktown. He was later rector of Kingston, N.B., for four years, and of Petersville and Greenwich for twenty-three years. He returned to the Miramichi in 1951 as rector of Hardwicke, with his residence at Bay du Vin, and remained until his retirement from pastoral duties in 1958. Afterwards, he and his family lived in Fredericton.

In 1929 Britton founded the Welsford branch of the Canadian Legion, and he was chaplain for many years of the Legion's New Brunswick command. He was also active in the Boy Scout movement. He was the recipient of a number of honors, including the Mons Star and other military medals, the King's Silver Jubilee Medal (1935), and the Coronation Medal (1937). In 1954 he was appointed an honorary canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton. He and his wife, Ada G. Clements, had a son and two daughters.

Sources

[b] Francis research (official records) [m/d] Britton family data / Commercial World 23 Aug 1951, 18 Feb 1954, 23 Oct 1958; Hist. Bay du Vin; PPNB


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