lit a candle 2h agoOnly heard of James Harkness through a documentary clip about army chaplains a couple years back, the part about him being the first non-Anglican Chaplain-General stuck with me. 90 years old, still in the same town he was born in. That's a rare kind of life.
Their story
The Very Rev Dr James Harkness, KCVO, CB, OBE, was a Scottish Presbyterian minister whose career joined parish roots in Dumfries and Galloway with the highest offices of military and national church life. Born in Thornhill on 20 October 1935, the son of James Harkness and Jane McMorn, he was…
The Very Rev Dr James Harkness, KCVO, CB, OBE, was a Scottish Presbyterian minister whose career joined parish roots in Dumfries and Galloway with the highest offices of military and national church life. Born in Thornhill on 20 October 1935, the son of James Harkness and Jane McMorn, he was educated at Morton and Dumfries Academy before studying at the University of Edinburgh. He was ordained a minister of the Church of Scotland on 21 June 1961 after assistant work at North Morningside and earlier student ministry at St George's, Edinburgh.
Almost at once he entered the Royal Army Chaplains' Department. He served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers and the Queen's Own Highlanders, spent time in Singapore, and later held senior chaplain posts in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, with the 4th Division, and with the British Army of the Rhine. In 1985 he became deputy chaplain general, and from 1987 to 1995 he was Chaplain-General to the British Armed Forces, the first non-Anglican to hold that appointment and a break with more than two centuries of Anglican predominance in the role. Colleagues remembered him as a pastor without pretension, willing to speak for chaplains' distinctive Christian identity, including the right to wear the cross on uniform under the Geneva Convention during the First Gulf War.
On leaving the army in 1995 he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 1995 to 1996. The following year he became Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland, serving for a decade, and he was an Honorary Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland. He was also closely involved with the Order of St John, serving as dean and officer before being appointed a Knight of the Venerable Order of St John in 2012. Honours included Companion of the Order of the Bath, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, and later Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
He married Elizabeth Anne Tolmie in 1960. They had two children and made their home again in Thornhill, the village of his birth. After a lengthy illness, his final months were spent in hospital in Dumfries. He died there on 20 August 2026, aged 90. The Church of Scotland and military chaplains paid tribute to a man with "a pastor's heart" for every rank, and a thanksgiving service was held at Durisdeer Church on 9 September 2026.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); Church of Scotland tribute (21 Aug 2026); The Herald obituary by Alasdair Steven; The Scotsman death notice.
In their own words
“Jim Harkness was a wonderful Army Chaplain, with a pastor's heart for all ranks throughout the Army from private soldiers in the ranks to senior generals in their offices.”
“Jim insisted that chaplains wore their crosses to preserve evidence of their Christian duties and in accordance with the Geneva Convention.”
“Jim was a wonderful army chaplain, and a man of much independent mind. ... He had time to listen and help all. Jim was Jim to everyone.”
Photos
3The Very Rev Dr James Harkness
by People Forever
Portrait of the Very Rev Dr James Harkness
by People Forever
Very Rev Dr James Harkness at Buckingham Palace after being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath
by People Forever
Thornhill's a small place, he never really left it.