15 Facts About Frank Thewlis

Frank Thewlis was a frequent guest on "Pause for thought", a religious segment heard on the long-running BBC Radio 2 programme, The Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

Frank Thewlis was born on 13 September 1917, in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.

Whilst a probationer minister before ordination, Frank Thewlis served as an army chaplain during the Second World War; he received a commission in the Royal Army Chaplains' Department in May 1943.

In 1955, Frank Thewlis was named superintendent in Huddersfield and then served at the Methodist church in Bradford, which had the largest Methodist congregation in the north of England at the time.

In 1967, Frank Thewlis became minister of Dorset Gardens Methodist Church in Brighton and superintendent of the Brighton Dome Mission Circuit on the East Sussex coast.

In 1968, Frank Thewlis participated with other clergy in the 72nd anniversary of the Whitechapel Mission and the start of a fundraising campaign for the construction of its new facilities.

Frank Thewlis wrote the book Think Again, a 1978 compendium of his frequent talks on "Pause for thought", a religious segment heard by millions on the long-running BBC Radio 2 programme, The Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

Frank Thewlis was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II a member of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1977.

Frank Thewlis spoke with a Yorkshire accent and peppered his sermons with humorous anecdotes, much to the delight of American audiences.

Frank Thewlis spoke at a conference in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1954 and was invited back for a return engagement twelve years later in 1966, the event organizers recalling "the lasting impression that grew out of his stirring Christian message" resulting from his previous visit.

Frank Thewlis tailored his sermons to address the needs of people, applying the truths of God, reported a local newspaper covering a series of Ocean Grove meetings in 1972.

Frank Thewlis was related to Harold Wilson, who was the Labour Party's Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976.

Frank Thewlis was a strong supporter of the Labour Party, greeting Wilson personally on a first name basis whenever the Labour Party's annual conference was held in Brighton and its Conference Service was held as part of the Sunday morning service at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church.

Frank Thewlis often wore a red pocket square in the chest pocket of his suit jacket when preaching, subtly indicating his Labour Party support.

Frank Thewlis died at home on 31 August 1990, aged 72.