The Rt Rev Percival William Stephenson was the 6th Anglican bishop of Nelson"Who was Who" 1897-2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 whose episcopate spanned a 14-year period in the mid-20th century.
Family The son of Arthur Henry Stephenson (1867-1955),Deaths: Stephenson, The Argus, (Saturday, 18 June 1955), p.13. and Annie Amelia Vevers Stephenson (1865-1903), née Brailey,Marriages: Stephenson—Brailey, The Age, (Saturday, 2 July 1887), p.5. Percival William Stephenson was born at Malmsbury, Victoria on 5 May 1888.
He married Grace Ermyntrude Lavender (1885-1974) on 9 October 1913.Births: Lavender, The Australasian, (Saturday, 16 May 1885), p.3.Stephenson—Lavender, The Argus, (Saturday, 29 November 1913), p.11. They three children, Millicent Lavender Stephenson (1914-),Birth: Stephenson, The Bendigonian, (Tuesday, 25 August 1914), p.7. Arthur Lavender Stephenson (1917-2001),Births: Stephenson, The Bendigo Advertiser, (Tuesday, 20 November 1917), p.4. and Noel Lavender Stephenson (1920-). Percival Stephenson died in 1962.
Education He was educated at Caulfield Grammar School, Melbourne,Webber (1981), p.316. where he was an outstanding footballer in the school's First XVIII,Wilkinson (1997), p.39. the University of Melbourne, the Australian College of Theology, and the University of London. 1912: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) — University of Melbourne. 1913: Licentiate of Theology (L.Th.) — Australian College of Theology. 1915: Bachelor of Arts (M.A.) — University of Melbourne. 1917: Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) — University of London.
Cleric He was ordained in 1914.Crockford's Clerical Directory1940-41 Oxford, OUP,1941
Academic He moved to India to teach at CMS Edwards College in Peshawar, where he was initially a teacher and then principal (1921–1924). From 1924 to 1928 he was professor of exegetical theology at St John's College, Winnipeg.
On his return to Australia he became federal secretary of the Church Missionary Society of Australia and Tasmania and headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, Sydney (1935–37) School web site and then commonwealth secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society until his elevation to the episcopate in 1940.
Death He died on 29 May 1962.News of death
See also
List of Caulfield Grammar School people
Notes
References Cole, Keith, Sincerity My Guide: A Biography of the Right Reverend P.W. Stephenson (1888-1962), Church Missionary Historical Publications Trust, (Melbourne), 1970.