Jarge's Jottings
in Loving Memory of
The Revd Canon George Rayner.
A collection of over 100 Jottings he penned between August 2018 and December 2021.
George Charles Rayner, who as a child was affectionately called Jargie by his Grandmother, was born in Ryde in 1926. After working for four years in Durham as a coalminer under the Bevin Boys scheme, he attended Bishops' College, an Anglian theological College in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, from 1949 to 1952. During his College vacations he conducted occasional services as a Licensed Reader at All Saints, Newchurch and St John the Baptist, Yaverland.
George was ordained in Wells Cathedral, to the Diaconate in December 1952 prior to commencing a Curacy at St Andrew's, Taunton, and to the Priesthood in December 1953. In 1956 he was appointed Vicar of Holy Trinity, Taunton where he remained until 1963, when he returned to the Island as Vicar of St John's, Sandown.
After six years at Sandown, George was appointed Rector of Wootton in 1969 where he served for 20 years. He retired in 1989 and moved back to Somerset where he cared for a group of rural parishes known as "The Six Pilgrims" (Alford, Babcary, Hornblotton, Lovington, North Barrow and South Barrow) for 10 years.
George came back to the Island in 2002, working in several parishes until stepping down in December 2013 after a three year sojourn as Honary Assistant Priest at St Michael's and All Angels, Swanmore.
George passed away on 6 September 2023 aged 97 years.
George married Hazel Irene Russell, who was also a native of the Isle of Wight, in 1952. They raised two sons. Hazel passed away in 2009.
A more extensive "Potted Biography" of the Revd Canon George Rayner can be found in the Order of Service for his Funeral that was held at St Mary's, Brading on 5 October 2023.