Max Warren

A small gravestone in the south cloister of Westminster Abbey covers the ashes of leading evangelical Reverend Max Alexander Cunningham Warren. His wife was buried with him in 1988. The stone, with white lettering, cut by Arthur Ayres, reads:

Max Warren 1904-1977 Vicar of Holy Trinity Cambridge 1936-42 General Secretary of The Chuch Missionary Society 1942-63 Canon & Sub Dean of Westminster 1963-73. 'Into all the world'

He was born on 13th August 1904 at Dun Laoghaire in Ireland where his father, the Reverend John Warren, was a Church of Ireland clergyman. His mother was Mary (East) and soon after his birth Max was taken to India where his parents were missionaries for CMS. His brothers were Lionel, killed in the First World War, and Jack, who was also ordained, and his sister was Theodosia, Returning to England in 1912 he was educated at Marlborough college and Cambridge. He went to Nigeria briefly as a missionary but had to return due to ill health. In 1932 he married Mary Collett and they had two daughters Patricia, who married Roger Hooker, and Rosemary who married Gregory Warner. During his time at CMS he was in great demand as a speaker and was a leading evangelical, writing several books. After resigning as CMS General Secretary he came to Westminster Abbey and took a major part in the 900th anniversary celebrations of the founding of Edward the Confessor's church. He died in retirement on 23rd August 1977.

Further Reading

"Crowded Canvas. Some experiences of a life-time" by Max Warren, 1974

"Into all the world. A biography of Max Warren" by F.W. Dillistone, 1980

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004