From the Settlements to the Trenches: The First World War Chaplaincy of Maurice Peel

This article explores the wartime ministry of Maurice Peel (1873–1917), grandson of Sir Robert Peel, prime minister 1834–5 and 1841–6, and son of Arthur Peel, Speaker of the House of Commons 1884–95. Educated at Winchester and Oxford, Peel spent time at Oxford House, East London, followed by a long curacy at St Simon Zelotes in Bethnal Green. Appointed to St Paul’s Beckenham in 1909, he volunteered in 1914 as an army chaplain, writing a series of letters to his parishioners which form the substance of this article. He gained an MC in early 1915 and, after being wounded in battle, became vicar of St Editha’s Church, Tamworth. Returning to the front in 1917, he was awarded a bar to his MC. He died in battle while rescuing a wounded man. He was singled out by Siegfried Sassoon as a ‘byword for bravery’ and as the only chaplain who had been able ‘to come near to’ the ordinary soldier.