Richard Acland

Who was Richard Acland?

Richard Dyke Acland was a British soldier and, later, an Anglican bishop.

He was the son of the Reverend Henry Dyke Acland, grandson of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet, and his wife Adelaide Clementina Hart Davis, daughter of Richard Vaughan Davis. Dyke Acland was educated in Keble College, Oxford and graduated with a Master of Arts. He served in the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry and reached the rank of captain.

In 1905, Acland was appointed curate of St Mary, Slough and held this post until 1911. He became a missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in the following year in Ahmednagar, India. He was the society's secretary between 1925 and 1929, and served as Bishop of Bombay until 1947. In the latter year, he was decorated with the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal. In 1948, he returned to England and was then assistant to the Bishop of Bath and Wells until his death in 1954.