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John Papworth
John Papworth (12 December 1921 – 4 July 2020) was an English clergyman, writer and activist. Throughout his life, he campaigned for the causes of antimilitarism, localism and ecologism. He founded Resurgence magazine and wrote in numerous other journals.
In 1997, his controversial views on shoplifting in supermarkets attracted international attention.
Born in Shoreditch on 12 December 1921, John Papworth was the natural son of Jane Amelia Papworth, a housemaid. Unable to support him, she left John to an orphanage in Hornchurch, Essex. She later married and had three other children, but he hadn't much contact with them. He never knew his father.
He described his living conditions in the orphanage as "very miserable". At age 14, he left to work as a baker's boy, but was depressed and attempted suicide three times. Then, he lived in the streets until being picked up by the police, who took him to a Salvation Army shelter. After that, he became a school chef and later joined the Home Guard during World War II. Too deaf to become a pilot, he served seven years as a military cook for the Royal Air Force.
After the war, Papworth started studies at the London School of Economics. Although he didn't pursue them, he had time to become the friend and disciple of R. H. Tawney, who inspired his decentralist ideas and introduced him to a circle of radical thinkers.
After a brief time in the Communist Party and then the Labour Party, he got disillusioned with large organisations and bureaucracy. He subsequently focused on activism in favor of various causes, and editorial work about localism.
In 1969, he emigrated to Zambia on the request of Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of the country, to be his personal advisor. The two previously met in London through the Movement for Colonial Freedom.
First describing himself as "if not an atheist, then an agnostic", he later changed his views and stated that "modern attempt to live without God had failed". He subsequently trained to be a vicar and, at age 55, became an ordained minister of the Church of England, serving in a number of parishes. Starting in the diocese of Lusaka, Zambia (1976–1981), he then joined the diocese of London (1981–1997) until his controversial statement on shoplifting, after which he got debarred.
John Papworth
John Papworth (12 December 1921 – 4 July 2020) was an English clergyman, writer and activist. Throughout his life, he campaigned for the causes of antimilitarism, localism and ecologism. He founded Resurgence magazine and wrote in numerous other journals.
In 1997, his controversial views on shoplifting in supermarkets attracted international attention.
Born in Shoreditch on 12 December 1921, John Papworth was the natural son of Jane Amelia Papworth, a housemaid. Unable to support him, she left John to an orphanage in Hornchurch, Essex. She later married and had three other children, but he hadn't much contact with them. He never knew his father.
He described his living conditions in the orphanage as "very miserable". At age 14, he left to work as a baker's boy, but was depressed and attempted suicide three times. Then, he lived in the streets until being picked up by the police, who took him to a Salvation Army shelter. After that, he became a school chef and later joined the Home Guard during World War II. Too deaf to become a pilot, he served seven years as a military cook for the Royal Air Force.
After the war, Papworth started studies at the London School of Economics. Although he didn't pursue them, he had time to become the friend and disciple of R. H. Tawney, who inspired his decentralist ideas and introduced him to a circle of radical thinkers.
After a brief time in the Communist Party and then the Labour Party, he got disillusioned with large organisations and bureaucracy. He subsequently focused on activism in favor of various causes, and editorial work about localism.
In 1969, he emigrated to Zambia on the request of Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of the country, to be his personal advisor. The two previously met in London through the Movement for Colonial Freedom.
First describing himself as "if not an atheist, then an agnostic", he later changed his views and stated that "modern attempt to live without God had failed". He subsequently trained to be a vicar and, at age 55, became an ordained minister of the Church of England, serving in a number of parishes. Starting in the diocese of Lusaka, Zambia (1976–1981), he then joined the diocese of London (1981–1997) until his controversial statement on shoplifting, after which he got debarred.
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