Ron Hesketh

{{Short description|British Anglican priest and military chaplain}}

Ronald David Hesketh, {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|CB|QHC|FRGS|size=100%|sep=,}} (born 16 June 1947) is a British Anglican priest and retired military chaplain. From 2001 toService of Thanksgiving Battle of Britain. The Times (London, England), Monday, September 19, 2005; pg. 59; Issue 68496 2006, he served as Chaplain-in-Chief, and thereby head of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch, and Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force.'HESKETH, Ven. Ronald David', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U42760 accessed 20 May 2017]

Early life and education

Hesketh was born in Liverpool on 16 June 1947. He was educated at King David High School, a Jewish Orthodox state school in Liverpool that also accepts students of other faiths. He studied at Bede College, Durham, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1968.{{Crockford| surname = Hesketh | forenames = Ronald David | id = 28935 | accessed = 20 May 2017}} In 1969, he matriculated into Ridley Hall, Cambridge, an Evangelical Anglican theological college, to train for ordained ministry; He also studied at St. Michael's College, Llandaff, the Welsh Anglican theological college, from which he graduated with a Diploma in Pastoral Studies (DPS) in 1971. He later studied with the Open University, from which he completed a Diploma in Reformation Studies in 1977.

Ecclesiastical career

Ron Hesketh was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1971 and as a priest in 1972. His first post was a curacy at Holy Trinity Church, Southport in the Diocese of Liverpool. He was then Chaplain to the Mersey branch of the Mission to Seamen. He was a chaplain of the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1975 to 2006, serving as Chaplain-in-Chief and Archdeacon for the RAF from 2001 to 2006. He was a Canon and Prebendary at Lincoln Cathedral from 2001 to 2006; an Honorary Chaplain to the Queen from 2001 to 2006; and Vocational Officer for the Diocese of Worcester from 2006 to 2011. He has been Co-ordinating Chaplain to the West Mercia Police Force since 2009. In 2018, Ron Hesketh was appointed as the National Chaplain to the Order of St John Fellowship.{{cite web

|url=http://www.stjohnengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/LPA00565-Priory-News-0318-v5-BPM0631-WEB.pdf|title= A Chaplain for the Fellowship|website=stjohnengland.org.uk|access-date=10 February 2024|page=2|date=April 2018}}