Julian Bickersteth

Kenneth Julian Faithfull Bickersteth, (5 July 1885 – 16 October 1962) was an English Anglican priest, military chaplain, and headmaster from the prominent Bickersteth family. He served as Archdeacon of Maidstone from 1942 to 1958. In 1953, he was appointed Honorary Chaplain to the Queen.

Early life and education Bickersteth was born in 1885 in Ripon, Yorkshire, England, into a prominent ecclesiastical family. He was one of six sons born to The Rev. Canon Samuel Bickersteth (1857–1937) and Ella Chlora Faithfull Monier-Williams (1858–1954). On 1 January 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) "for distinguished service in the Field". Though he was immediately given the ribbon to wear on his uniform, he had to wait till 1919 to receive the medal itself. That year, during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, he stood side by side with one of his brothers as they were both awarded the Military Cross by George V.

Post-war service Between the wars, Bickersteth returned to teaching. In 1919, he was offered the position of headmaster of The Collegiate School of St Peter in Adelaide, Australia, which he accepted without ever attending an interview. Following his arrival at the school in 1920, he increased pupil numbers from 550 to 720, and "built a war memorial hall, science laboratories, and several boarding-houses". On 3 November 1953, Bickersteth was appointed an Honorary Chaplain to the Queen (QHC).

He died at Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 1962.