William J. Gaffney Papers

Papers of Fr William J. Gaffney, including: papers relating to his role as an army chaplain during the Second World War; draft manuscripts for his book Elizabethan Students; correspondence; personal papers including photographs and other items; and printed material.

William J. Gaffney was born in Eton, Buckinghamshire, in 1909. He undertook seminary training at the English College of Valladolid, Spain, in the early 1930s, becoming the parish priest of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Marlow following hisordination. During the Second World War, he served as a chaplain for the British army in Africa, ministering to the local indigenous tribes of Basutoland (now Lesotho) and other places. Gaffney retained a close connection with the English College ofValladolid throughout his life, undertaking research into its history and pubishing (privately) a monograph entitled Elizabethan Students : the story of the founding of the English College of St Alban, Valladolid, Spain in 1979. He also helped to set up a book agency in England for the college. He died in 1985.

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Donated by Charles Smith, 10 November 2020, Acc No Misc.2020/21:15.

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