Meaford Memorial Windows (from left): Green Circle - The piece of glass that was originally part of St. Paul's Cathedral; Red Shield - The piece of glass that was originally part of Bath Abbey; Held hands - The piece of glass that was originally part of St. Giles' Church, Cripplegate;
THIS PAST JULY, the Rev. Brendon Bedford, rector of Christ Church, Meaford, travelled to England bearing unusual gifts for three churches there: an incredible story and pieces of plain glass sourced from the original ‘placeholder’ windows of Christ Church, Meaford – simple panes installed when the church was built, before stained glass was added.
During his visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral (London, UK), St. Giles’ Church, Cripplegate (London), and Bath Abbey, Bedford shared the story of Meaford’s WWII Memorial Windows with these churches and presented the glass as a symbol of Christ Church’s connection to these ancient Christian churches.
The Meaford congregation hoped the gift would serve as a tangible sign of shared faith and history given that Christ Church, Meaford holds a piece of each of these churches in their unique WWII Memorial Windows, installed in Meaford almost 80 years ago.
The Memorial Windows – six panels made from hundreds of shards of stained glass – contain pieces blown out of over 100 churches in the UK and Europe during Nazi bombings. Some fragments are upwards of 700 years old, making them among the oldest examples of stained glass in Canada.
“The Memorial Windows in Christ Church honour the ultimate sacrifice made by so many during the Second World War, which we must especially remember in these present days. But they also speak powerfully to the hope we find in God’s ability to bring about new life and beauty, even out of the worst situations,” said Bedford.
The idea for memorial windows made of broken glass was conceived of by the late Rev. Harold Appleyard, the former rector of Christ Church, Meaford (1938-1949) and later a suffragan bishop of Huron. While serving in England during the Second World War as a Canadian Army chaplain, he collected and was gifted with pieces of stained glass for this memorial project from scores of churches that had been damaged or destroyed in the conflict. They were crafted into windows in England for free, in gratitude for the service offered by Canadians during the war, and sent to Canada to be installed in the Meaford church in 1946.
“It was humbling to visit these places of prayer where Christ has been continuously worshiped for centuries, to walk where my predecessor, Rev. Harold Appleyard, had been 80 years ago during the war, and to offer to these communities a tangible point of connection with our parish in Meaford, Ontario,” said Bedford.
“In our World War II Memorial Windows, we had a piece of them, and we thought it only right that they should have a piece of us. So, we offered a piece of what was original to our own Christ Church building.”
At Bath Abbey (left to right): Rev. Canon Nigel Rawlinson (Associate Minister of Bath Abbey), Rev. Canon Guy Bridgewater (Rector of Bath Abbey), Rev. Brendon Bedford, Ashley Bedford
Bath Abbey had become aware of the connection in glass between the two churches a few years ago and had since included the story of the Canadian Army Chaplain from Meaford and his memorial windows in Canada in their daily tours offered to visitors to the Abbey. They were thrilled to receive a representative of Christ Church, Meaford, excited to learn which piece of the windows had been sourced from the abbey and gain a deeper understanding of Appleyard’s story.
Bedford was also invited to preach and participate in a baptism at St. Giles’, Cripplegate, where, along with the glass, he gifted a chalice to the church, on behalf of Christ Church, Meaford.
“We wanted to affirm the connection between our parishes, not only in glass, but also in the one Body of Christ and the worldwide Communion, even when we’re an ocean apart.”
Visitors are warmly invited to view the WWII Memorial Windows in person. For more information or to book a free tour, please contact Christ Church, Meaford or visit: christchurchanglican.ca.
The Story of Christ Church, Meaford’s
WWII Memorial WindowsSigning up as a military chaplain in 1941, the Rev. Harold Appleyard, then rector of Christ Church, Meaford, found himself posted to an embattled southern England. The destruction appalled him – homes, factories, schools – and so many churches.
According to his diaries, within months of arriving in England, he had the idea for memorial windows back in Canada to honour the sacrifices being made by so many and began to collect shards of stained glass from the shattered windows of damaged and destroyed churches.
One night Appleyard was on volunteer fire duty in the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. There he met Mr. G. S. Sherrin, an architect appointed by the Crown with responsibility for the ancient churches of London. Telling him about the idea for memorial windows made of broken glass, Sherrin became very enthusiastic about the young chaplain’s idea and gifted him with small pieces of glass from churches under his authority, including one piece from St. Paul’s Cathedral, as well as pieces from other churches built by Sir Christopher Wren.
Sherrin also referred Captain Appleyard to Cox and Barnard Ltd. a stained-glass company in Hove, England, to have the windows made. To Appleyard’s great joy, Mr. Cox offered to design and re-lead the glass to fit Christ Church, Meaford, and he would do it free of charge in gratitude to the Canadians for their many war efforts.
As long as he was in England, Appleyard, with permission, collected and was gifted with bits of seemingly unusable glass from scores of cathedrals and churches, large and small, carefully labelling each one with its origin. Then, when his regiment moved to the continent in 1944, in the wake of the D-Day invasion, he collected a few more pieces from churches in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands as the Canadians advanced to liberate the Netherlands from Nazi occupation.
After the war, Appleyard returned to Meaford to take up his ministry in the parish once again. On August 11, 1946, the memorial windows were unveiled at Christ Church, Meaford by Mabel Randle and Winnie Hackett, two mothers in the parish who had lost sons in the war. The church was packed, and the service was broadcast live on CBC Radio and later in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Rev. Brendon Bedford (Christ Church, Meaford) and Rev. Lucy Newman Cleeve, Assistant Curate at St. Giles', Cripplegate.
Texts: Rev. Brendon Bredford, Ted Appleyard, David Appleyard, and Nancy (Appleyard) Frase
Photos: Pat Rawlinson, Ashley Bedford