Cockfield's new minister found God 'on battlefields of Bosnia, Iraq and Kuwait'

Revd Brian Whitley worked in some of the most unforgiving war zones of the late 20th century. He spoke to reporter Alex Metcalfe about meeting God and his move to the dale 

COCKFIELD is a world away from war-torn Bosnia but new Revd Brian Whitley has seen both.
The 59-year-old moved up to Teesdale from Lancashire last month to take over from Revd Claire Gibbs and held his first service at St John the Evangelist, Lynesack, on September 3.
Mr Whitley said: “I have been thinking about coming here for a while – when I was in the military I used to recruit from the North East so I’ve always known the area but I never thought I would come here.
“The Bishop of Jarrow said there was a job coming up. When I arrived people were very welcoming and
open – they are quite a rare breed.
“They run their own church services and they are proud of their church.”
The father-of-two began his working life in the army after attending a Quaker School in Lancaster before training as a registered general nurse and mental nurse in Blackpool and Preston.
The last ten years have seen him complete his curacy down south and establish himself in the church after a career in the army.
He said: “I left the army in 2007, trained in Salisbury and was ordained in the Oxford Diocese.
“I was ordained by a bishop from up here, John Pritchard – it was a great learning opportunity in mission and evangelism and a great position for reaching out to families, children and all ages of the ministry.”
It was Mr Whitley’s spell as a nursing officer with the Royal Army Nursing Corps which shaped the recent chapters of his life.
Work took him overseas to Iraq, Kuwait and Germany and he was also posted to Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
But it was his time in Bosnia amid the harrowing ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav War which changed his life.
“That was the point of my calling,” he said.
“I was working in a Muslim mountain village which had been drastically ethnically cleansed.
“It was a touching time working with families who’d suffered under the Serbians.
“Working with children there were some very heart wrenching times as well as heart warming moments – that really changed me.”
“I enrolled in an Alpha course and that was me on the way.
“I often say I met God on the battlefield. I’ve had similar events in places like the Gulf where I felt God pulling me towards ministry.”
Mr Whitley spent a lot of time at Sandhurst training those working in the military academy, developing officer candidates and running the medical centre.
He was the first male matron Sandhurst ever had.
“I have met a variety of people throughout my life and people often say changing from the military to the priesthood is so different but I say no,” he added.
“It’s still all about caring for people, being that parental person, listening to the problems, their joys and being there during the hard times.
“It’s being a help to them through this – when you do that we grow together as a community.”
Mr Whitley has already been busy in the Gaunless Valley – covering a number of services and a Christening in the past couple of weeks.
He said his two-year-old labrador George had proven handy in getting to know his fellow villagers.
“I have said his dog collar is worth more than mine – I’ve met lots of people just from having my dog, walking and talking,” he added.
“Its just nice to join people’s lives and hear their stories.
“When strangers come together and share stories they aren’t strangers any more and we can grow together.”
After a five-year spell at his former parish of St Anne Woodplumpton, near Preston, Mr Whitley took a break from ministry and served as a padre to the 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
Despite the move over the Pennines, Mr Whitley is still keeping in touch with his roots in the Armed Forces and hopes to join up with the County Durham Cadets branch soon.
When it came to his services, he revealed he liked to keep congregations on their toes with the odd magic trick.
He added: “I have some I do to entertain the kids – I have an eight-foot wooden pole I pull out of a sandwich bag.
“It’s just to tell the gospel story through the illusion as it makes them remember the story.”
The odd joke and laugh has proven handy throughout his working life – an idea sewn during his school years.
“I always remembered the lessons where there was a joke,” said Mr Whitley.
“I feel that’s helped me a lot in nursing, the army and in a priestly way to tell the story of God’s love in new and exuberant ways – that’s the calling of the priest of
today.”
He was also keen to bring together the dale’s diverse denominations and had plans for events in the coming months.
Mr Whitley said: “We’ll be doing a lot of recitals in the local area and we’re planning some really good activities with music and outreach events.
“We are looking at a music festival and a ‘last night at the proms’.”