Anthony Bird

Anthony Peter Bird (1931 – 2016) was a British Anglican priest, physician, and academic. From 1974 to 1979, he was Principal of Queen's College, Birmingham, an ecumenical theological college.^[1][2]

Bird was born in 1931 in Wolverhampton, England.^[1][2] His father Harry was a parish priest, and his mother Noel (née Oakley) was a teacher.^[1] He was brought up in his father's vicarage in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.^[3] He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead, a private school in Leatherhead, Surrey.^[1]

Bird studied classics at St John's College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1954;^[1][2] as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 1957.^[2] He remained at St John's to study theology and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree in 1955.^[2] He trained for ordination at Cuddesdon College, an Anglican theological college in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, between 1955 and 1957.^[1][2]

Bird was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1957 and as a priest in 1958.^[2] He served his curacy at St Mary's Church, Stafford in the Diocese of Lichfield between 1957 and 1960.^[2] In 1960, he returned to his alma mater and was chaplain at Cuddesdon College for the next year.^[1][2] From 1961 to 1964, he was Vice-Principal of the theological college.^[2]

From 1964 to 1968, while studying medicine at the University of Birmingham, he was a curate at St Wulstan's Church, Bournbrook.^[1][2] From 1968 to 1979, he held permission to officiate in the Diocese of Birmingham in addition to his work as a GP and then as an academic.^[2] From 1974 to 1979, he was Principal of Queen's College, Birmingham, an ecumenical theological college.^[1][2] At Queen's College, he led seminars in ethics, in addition to training priests and ministers for a range of Christian denominations.^[1]

Bird studied medicine at the University of Birmingham, and graduated with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degrees in 1970.^[2] He trained as a general practitioner (GP) and worked in the King's Norton area of Birmingham until he returned to academia in 1974.^[1] He once again became a full-time GP in 1979, and ran an "experimental medical practice" in Balsall Heath, Birmingham until he retired in 1996.^[1]

From retirement until his death, Bird held permission to officiate in the Diocese of Birmingham.^[2] He died on 16 May 2016, aged 85 years, from pancreatic cancer.^[3][4] His funeral was held on 3 June 2016 at St Paul's Church, Balsall Heath.^[4]

Bird was twice married. He had three children with his first wife; Markus, Stephanie and Dominic. After divorcing, he married his second wife, Andrea.^[1]