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| Justin Welby's father kept first marriage and sister secret from family | Justin Welby's father kept first marriage and sister secret from family |
| (10 days later) | |
| The father of Justin Welby, the next archbishop of Canterbury, was a Walter Mitty character who never told his son that he had been previously married, had a sister whom he never mentioned and might well have had more children. | The father of Justin Welby, the next archbishop of Canterbury, was a Walter Mitty character who never told his son that he had been previously married, had a sister whom he never mentioned and might well have had more children. |
| Welby's father, Gavin Welby, raised his son alone from the age of three. But by the time the boy was a teenager at Eton, it was he who was caring for his alcoholic father. | Welby's father, Gavin Welby, raised his son alone from the age of three. But by the time the boy was a teenager at Eton, it was he who was caring for his alcoholic father. |
| In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the bishop of Durham told how his struggle to nurse his father through his dependency on alcohol shaped his faith. | In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the bishop of Durham told how his struggle to nurse his father through his dependency on alcohol shaped his faith. |
| "It wasn't an easy upbringing. Living with someone who's got an alcohol dependency is complicated, to put it at its mildest," said Welby. "He was very affectionate, brilliant intellectually but quite demanding." | "It wasn't an easy upbringing. Living with someone who's got an alcohol dependency is complicated, to put it at its mildest," said Welby. "He was very affectionate, brilliant intellectually but quite demanding." |
| But the Sunday Telegraph also discovered a side to Welby's father of which the next leader of the Anglican church said he was unaware but which he described as "a fantastic story". | But the Sunday Telegraph also discovered a side to Welby's father of which the next leader of the Anglican church said he was unaware but which he described as "a fantastic story". |
| Born Bernard Gavin Weiler, the son of a Jewish immigrant from Germany – although he never told his son he had any Jewish ancestry – Welby's father reinvented himself many times. | Born Bernard Gavin Weiler, the son of a Jewish immigrant from Germany – although he never told his son he had any Jewish ancestry – Welby's father reinvented himself many times. |
| The paper claimed that he moved from Britain to the US, dropping his real name. He first made money bootlegging whiskey alongside the Italian mafia in America during the prohibition years. | The paper claimed that he moved from Britain to the US, dropping his real name. He first made money bootlegging whiskey alongside the Italian mafia in America during the prohibition years. |
| After the era was over, Welby ran the New York concession for a drinks firm supplying leading Manhattan hotels. | After the era was over, Welby ran the New York concession for a drinks firm supplying leading Manhattan hotels. |
| He organised debutante balls and married – a secret he kept all his life – but had an affair with John F Kennedy's sister and, later, a relationship with the actor Vanessa Redgrave. | He organised debutante balls and married – a secret he kept all his life – but had an affair with John F Kennedy's sister and, later, a relationship with the actor Vanessa Redgrave. |
| Returning to Britain, he stood for parliament as a Conservative candidate but was sued for libel by his Labour opponent, Richard Crossman. His sister, Peggy – born a year before him but whose identity he never disclosed – married a Labour MP who had been a Communist. | Returning to Britain, he stood for parliament as a Conservative candidate but was sued for libel by his Labour opponent, Richard Crossman. His sister, Peggy – born a year before him but whose identity he never disclosed – married a Labour MP who had been a Communist. |
| "I think it is quite a remarkable story," said Welby. "I would have thought 'wow, that's a fantastic story' if he had told me about it as a child." | "I think it is quite a remarkable story," said Welby. "I would have thought 'wow, that's a fantastic story' if he had told me about it as a child." |
| The bishop was 21, studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, when his father died of a heart attack in 1977. The Sunday Telegraph said the name and date of birth given at his father's death were both wrong. | The bishop was 21, studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, when his father died of a heart attack in 1977. The Sunday Telegraph said the name and date of birth given at his father's death were both wrong. |
| "I lived with him but I didn't know him very well," said Welby. "He told lots of stories but one was never really sure what was true and what wasn't. He drank quite heavily and, you know, he would say things sometimes when he had been drinking and you did not know what was true or not." | "I lived with him but I didn't know him very well," said Welby. "He told lots of stories but one was never really sure what was true and what wasn't. He drank quite heavily and, you know, he would say things sometimes when he had been drinking and you did not know what was true or not." |
| He said he and his family had been trying to piece the story together for years, without great success. He is desperate to know whether, unbeknown to him, he may have a half-sister or half-brother. | He said he and his family had been trying to piece the story together for years, without great success. He is desperate to know whether, unbeknown to him, he may have a half-sister or half-brother. |
| The bishop's mother was Jane Portal, a former personal secretary of Winston Churchill, but his father had been previously married in America to Doris Sturzenegger, a factory owner's daughter. | The bishop's mother was Jane Portal, a former personal secretary of Winston Churchill, but his father had been previously married in America to Doris Sturzenegger, a factory owner's daughter. |
| Welby said: "I feel wistful. It is the sort of thing that one would have loved to have known. To have heard from him. | Welby said: "I feel wistful. It is the sort of thing that one would have loved to have known. To have heard from him. |
| "There is no hiding the fact that he was a complicated man. He was really, really brilliant. But there were, probably from his background, complications in his life that hindered that brilliance really being deployed fully." | "There is no hiding the fact that he was a complicated man. He was really, really brilliant. But there were, probably from his background, complications in his life that hindered that brilliance really being deployed fully." |
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