Peter Coombs (1968-1975)

Peter Coombs (1968-1975)

Peter Bertram Coombs (b 1928) arrived, with his wife Catherine and children Ian and Alison, to become the seventh Vicar of Christ Church in 1968.

The photo below shows Peter Coombs greeting people leaving church (at the door on the south side of the narthex no longer used) in 1975.

Another shows the Vicar’s family in the vicarage garden.

It was during his time that Peter Coombs successfully persuaded congregation members to begin addressing one another by their Christian names rather than using Mr, Mrs and Miss!

After seven years as Vicar of Christ Church, Peter Coombs moved to become Archdeacon of Wandsworth (the Archdeaconry including Christ Church) and later Archdeacon of Reigate. Photos from 1996 show Peter and Catherine returning for the 50th anniversary of Women’s Own.

In 2010 Peter and Catherine returned to Christ Church, Peter beginning his sermon by saying that if, as the Scriptures say, a thousand years are as one day to the Lord, he had only been away for about twenty minutes!  You can listen to the sermon he gave below:

Catherine sadly died a few months before our 150th Anniversary in 2016, but we were delighted to be able to welcome back Peter for our celebration.

Peter died in September 2020, and a bench dedicated in his memory was placed outside the new halls.

	Llewellyn Roberts	Building CCNM 1968-75	John Short