AN UNFROCKED "CURATE."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19798, 19 November 1927, Page 2 (Supplement)

AN UNFROCKED "CURATE."

ROGUE BLUFFS A PARISH. A DRAMATIC EXPOSURE. USE OF FORGED PAPERS. MOST IMPUDENT MASQUERADE. In tho drawing room of a North London vicarage a few weeks ago a man in clerical garb, whoso vivid rhetoric had thrilled tho parish, suffered the galling humiliation of being exposed as an impostor, l'or months his perfervid oratory bad filled tho church given into his charge; his credentials were seemingly without blemish, and although the topics of Ins discourses were a trifle too worldly, his vigorous utterances commanded attention and respect. Two detectives confronted the man; damning facts of a sinister blemish in his past, uttered in quiet, conversat unal tones, stung him like the lash of a whip, and in an instant his masquerade was laid bare, revealing him as a forger, a convict, and one whose misdeeds had merited excommunication from holy orders. There was no other course open to him but to return to the shadows whence he came. Ho vanished, leaving behind at. least a score of perturbed parishioners who had been joined in holy matrimony by this bogus priest.

To furnish the explanation for the dramatic scene which culminated in the complete exposure of the extraordinary man who deceived a Lcfndon parish, says the News of the World, it is necessary to go back five years, and reconstruct the drama which was enacted in the courthouse at Regina, Canada. In the dock appeared a nervous and dejected figure in clerical clothes, the Rev. Gwilym Elwyn, Williams, formerly a minister of the Gospel at Abersychan, Monmouthshire, and, at the time of his arrest, curate of an Anglican church at Oxbow, Saskatchewan. An undersized man, then 40 years of age, lie faced charges of sending a false cablegram to his wife in Monmouthshire, informing her of his death, and of forging a letter, purporting to be signed by an official of his church, giving his wife details of his death and funeral.

Plot to Deceive a Wife. The story that came to light revealed nn amazingly cunning plot to deceive an unwanted wife—a plot which only failed by the unforseen steps which an anxious and bereaved woman-took to safeguard the future of- herself and her three children. Some months before the forged intimation of death came like a bombshell to the household in the Old' Country, Mrs. Williams, who resided with her parents at Oakville House, Pentwyn., Abersychan, began to receive messages from Canada notifying her that her husband had been taken ill suddenly, and preparing her to hear the worst at any moment. Then came the cablegram :

" Your husband passed away last night; heart, Jqultire.—Rev. E. Pickering." The letter which followed—a long one—contained the following sentences:—

" I may say 1 officiated at his burial, and everything was done decently and in order. His illness and funeral cost over £BOO, which I collected from friends."

In due course Mrs. Williams also received some of her 'husband's belongings, including a watch, which sho was informed he had bequeathed to an Abersyehan minister, and his "death certificate." Believing that she was entitled to a pension, the " widow" applied to the Government, and the resultant investigation laid bare* the clever, but futile, scheme.

Williams' Early History. The Canadian, police delved into Williams' early history, and ascertained that as a youth he had worked in tho mines of his native country, and at the age of 23, as the result of threats by his dying father, contracted a marriage which was distasteful to him. Joining the staff of an insurance company, he eventually became superintendent, first at Abersychan, and then at Tredegar. At tho latter place ho gave serious attention to studying for the ministry. At length he was appointed curate of an Anglican church at Macclesfield, but, after holding that position for only a short time, he sold up his home and renewed his studies at a London college.

Jn 1920, on the pretexjt that he was joining the Royal Air Force and going abroad, Williams left his wife in Monmouthshire and went to Canada with a woman, with whom he lived until her death a few mor:.ths before he fell into the clutches of the law. Apparently he first met her while acting as assistant chaplain to a hospital in Wales. After his arrival in Canada, Williams resumed his ministerial studies at St. Chad's College, and finally was appointed curate at Oxbow, where ho had oversight of four churches. Despite an impassioned plea for leniency, Williams was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment with hard labour, and was so stunned by the punishment that lie collapsed in court.

Po3t as a Curate. For the next two years Wijliams' career is wrapped in mystery. Then he made his appearance in London under the name of the Rev. Gwyndyr Williams and obtained a curacy at, St. Mark's Church, Dalston.. For a long time he officiated there successfully, and won the confidence of the vicar and the congregation, but suddenly he announced that he had decided to go to South America on a mission. Apparently he sailed to that •country, and, at all events, nothing was heard of him until the present year. 'Then, in the early spring, the vicar of St. Matthew's Church, Can.onbury Road, North Auckland, fell ill, and it became necessary to engage a curate to carry on the parochial duties, and among tho candidates for the post was the Rev. Gwyndyr [Williams.

Williams presnnted a letter of ordination from the Bishop of Minnesota and ether documents, all of which appeared fto be perfectly in order. It was decided, while confirmation of his credentials were being obtained, to allow Williams to carry on. The necessity of communicating .with America occupied a period of three months, and, meanwhile, Williams worked jealously and preached eloquently, marrying, in the course of his duties, about a dozen people, and christening several infants. On the surface he was an excellent priest, and while tho subjects of his ••raons were more worldly than spiritual, kit eloquence and fire covered up the *hortcomings of his text#.

Meanwhile the Bishop of Stepney began to receive anonymous letters casting doubts on the bona fides of the supposed immaculate curate. These were handed to the bishop's solicitor, and in due course the letter of ordination was photographed and forwarded to the Bishop of Minnesota. Soon came dramatic revelations. It was found that Williams' papers were nothing but brazen forgeries. The ordination letter was faultlessly copied, rid bore an exact replica of the bishop's seal, but the. only thing it lacked was a small private mark which the bishop makes on all documents.

Ignorant of what was in store for him, Williams carried on his curacy without complaint, Indeed, his congregations increased in numbers, and he made use of his position to win the confidence of a very good-looking and sensible Clapton girl. 110 progressed in his courtship so rapidly that she accepted his proposal of marriage, and they became engaged. When the blow ieli, Williams was staying with the Rev. C. W. Cooper, vicar of a neighbouring parish. Then one day two detectives from Scotland Yard presented themselves, they asked for an interview with the " curate," and they met him in the vicarage drawing room. Apparently there was no question of prosecution, but the impostor quickly realised that his masquerado had come to an end. The brief but dramatic conversation, with the officers, and their direct and pointed questions, left him a stunned man, with his pretences shattered to atoms.

Before they left, the detectives informed ; Mr. Cooper of the startling state of affairs,

i and the- latter, too, taxed Williams with his damning past. " You have come here with forged papers," exclaimed the vicar. " Moreover, you are a married man, and yet you are courting a girl in North London f Can you deny it?" The wretched man broke down completely and admitted the truth oi the accusations. For a day or two he remained at the vicarage, and then vanished. Those who were married by this impudent adventurer were wondering whether the ceremonies were legal, but on that point they were reassured that they need have no qualms as to the validity of their weddings. " There has, of course, been an irregularity, but this does not make the marriages invalid," declared an official of the Archbishop of Canterbury's staff at Lambeth Palace. " The couples have been married and th«y stay married. We have not had any inquirPes from them yet, but if any arise we shall tell them they ar3 all right. "Similar positions have arisen frequently in the past, and it iias always been held that as the parties thought they were contracting a bona fide wedding, it should be considered valid in order to protect innocent people who acted in good faith. This is the established principle, and applies in this case. Were any question oi' legality to arise, the authorities would take all the necessary steps to put tho matter right, but I do not think there will be any need."