Christopher Tanner

{{short description|English rugby union player}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Infobox military person

| name= Christopher Champain Tanner

| image= File:Christopher_Champain_Tanner.jpg

| image_size=

| alt=

| caption= Chaplain Christopher Tanner

| nickname= Kit

| birth_date= {{birth date|1908|06|24|df=yes}}

| birth_place= Cheltenham, England

| death_date= {{death date and age|1941|05|22|1908|06|24|df=yes}}

| death_place= {{HMS|Kandahar|F28|6}}, Mediterranean Sea off Crete

| placeofburial=

| allegiance= {{flag|United Kingdom}}

| branch= Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

| serviceyears=

| rank= Chaplain

| servicenumber=

| unit=

| commands=

| battles= Second World War

• Battle of Greece
• Battle of Crete
• Sinking of HMS Fiji {{DOW}}

| awards= Albert Medal

| relations=

| laterwork=

}}

Christopher Champain Tanner, AM (24 June 1908[http://en.espn.co.uk/england/rugby/player/3779.html ESPN] – 22 May 1941Deaths. The Times (London, England), Thursday, 3 Jul 1941; pg. 1; Issue 48968) was a Gloucester,[http://www.gloucesterrugbyheritage.org.uk/page_id__516.aspx?path=0p3p60p Gloucester Rugby Heritage] BarbariansRugby Library Database 1851586342 and England Rugby Union international,[http://therugbyhistorysociety.co.uk/tanner.html The Rugby History Society] winning five caps between 1930 and 1932.Centenary History of the Rugby Football Union:McWhirter,R/Titley,U.A: London, RFU,1970 {{ISBN|0-14-327370-1}} He was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for the rescue of around 30 sailors{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/94/a2082494.shtml |date= 26 November 2003 |title= Kit Tanner: A Hero of the Battle of Crete |publisher= BBC History}} in the Second World War.{{cite news |url= https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35538/supplement/1849 |title= Admiralty |work= London Gazette |date= 24 April 1942 |issue= 35538 |page= 1849 |access-date= 22 March 2023}}

Tanner was educated at Cheltenham College[http://arcadia.education/arcadia/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Cheltenham-College-Chapel-Brochure-.pdf Cheltenham College Chapel Brochure] and Pembroke College, Cambridge.Crockfords, 1938 p1134 He was ordained in 1935; served curacies in Farnham, Surrey and Gloucester; and was Priest in charge of St Christopher, Haslemere.{{cite web |last= Eyre |first= Basher |date= 13 January 2015 |title= Inside St Christopher, Wey Hill (F) |url= https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4309195 |publisher= Geograph |access-date= 22 March 2023 }} In 1937 he married Eleanor Rutherford:Marriages

The Times (London, England), Monday, 20 Sep 1937; pg. 15; Issue 47794 they had one daughter born after his death in 1941. In 2003 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of St Christopher Haslemere, this daughter and her two sons (Tanner's grandsons) were invited to the service > "The History of St Christopher's Church" p7 2014

In June 1940 he became a Chaplain{{cite web |title= Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Temporary Chaplains |url= https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92786830?&mode=transcription |publisher= National Library of Scotland |access-date= 22 March 2023 }} with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve;[http://www.theygavetheirtoday.com/rn-chaplains---rev-david-youngson.html TGTT] and was awarded the Albert Medal for his work in attempting to save fellow shipmates"A Handbook of Chaplaincy Studies: Understanding Spiritual Care in Public Places"

Swift,C; Cobb,M; Tod,A (Eds) p206: London, Routledge, 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-4724-3406-7}} when {{HMS|Fiji|58|6}} was sunk during the Battle of Crete in May 1941.{{cite web |title= Padre C. C. Tanner |url= https://www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/hmsfijiheroes.html |publisher= HMS Fiji heroes}} He succumbed to his exhaustion and died, aged 32, as soon as he was about to board {{HMS|Kandahar|F28|6}}. He is commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Plymouth Naval Memorial.{{cite web |url= https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2497837/the-rev-christopher-champain-tanner/ |title= Chaplain The Reverend Christopher Champain Tanner |publisher= Commonwealth War Graves |access-date= 22 March 2023 }} The rood cross at St Christopher, Haslemere is dedicated to his memory.{{NHLE|num=1244472|desc=Church of St Christopher|grade=II|fewer-links=yes}}