The Very Reverend James Henry Leslie Pennell

ID: PC_STAND_CATH_039 DESCRIPTION: Born in 1906 in Edinburgh, Leslie Pennell was educated at Edinburgh Academy, and Edinburgh University and Theological College. He was ordained in St Andrew's Cathedral, Inverness, in 1929, where he served as Precentor for three years. In 1932 he was appointed to St Mary's Scottish Episcopal Church, Dunblane, and was also Chaplain to the Queen Victoria School there. He joined the Territorial Army in 1935, attached to the Highland Division. At the outbreak of War he served with the British Expeditionary Force in France, before spending four years in India. At the close of the War, he was Deputy Assistant Chaplain General to the 14th Army. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration with Bar in 1950. Pennell returned to Inverness as Provost of St Andrew's Cathedral in 1949, and he also served as Chaplain to the Cameron Barracks at Raigmore and the local Burma Star Association. He instituted the daily celebration of the Eucharist in the Cathedral, and oversaw major repairs to the fabric in the early 1960s. His interest in drama led to the creation of the Cathedral Players, and the performance of Nativity plays. Although he remained an Honorary Canon of St Andrew's Cathedral, on leaving Inverness in late 1965 he became a Rector in Essex. He served here until his retirement in 1972. A short move took him to Suffolk, where he died in 1996, a day before his 90th birthday. He took a great interest in the Boy Scout Movement (as it was then known), serving as a Scoutmaster both in Dunblane and with the Cathedral Troop in Inverness. For a time he was also a Scout District Commissioner in Perthshire. PLACENAME: N/A SOURCE: St Andrew's Cathedral, Inverness COLLECTION: St Andrew's Cathedral, Inverness Asset ID: 30035 KEYWORDS:

• clergy
• clergymen
• portraits