Frank Thewlis

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

Ministry Whilst a probationer minister before ordination, Thewlis served as an army chaplain during the Second World War; Following the end of the war and his ordination by the Methodist Church of Great Britain in 1945, he became minister of St George's Central Hall at Stepney, in the East End of London, and later at Great Barr in Birmingham, where crowds were so large that two services on Sunday nights became necessary to accommodate the throngs. He continued there until August 1975.

In 1968, 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. His final pastorate before retirement was at Victoria Hall, Sheffield. In response to criticism of Freemasonry as unchristian, Thewlis urged his fellow Masons, "Try not to feel hurt, don't give way to those who seem determined to turn Methodism into an exclusive minor sect". As a prominent religious leader in Great Britain, he was often asked to comment on current events and issues. In 1979, he urged closer liaison between social workers and lawyers in child-care cases in Sheffield. In the midst of the rioting in English cities in 1981, Thewlis feared that the unrest in Huddersfield might become a race war, saying, "I would make an appeal from the pulpit — but what's the use? It would fall on wrong ears". Thewlis was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II a member of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (MStJ) in 1977.

International preaching

Thewlis' gifts as a preacher and evangelist gained him an international reputation as an effective speaker and resulted in frequent guest-speaking engagements throughout Great Britain and beyond, including numerous appearances in the United States between the 1950s and the 1980s. He spoke with a Yorkshire accent and peppered his sermons with humorous anecdotes, much to the delight of American audiences. 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. He 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.

Personal life 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. Wilson's paternal grandmother was a Thewlis. Wilson and Thewlis were both born in Huddersfield, 15 months apart. 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. Thewlis often wore a red pocket square (also called a pocket handkerchief) in the chest pocket of his suit jacket when preaching, subtly indicating his Labour Party support.

Thewlis and his wife, Edna (née Jukes), had been teenage sweethearts and married in Southport in 1943. He died at home on 31 August 1990, aged 72.