The College has recently welcomed a film crew from BBC 2, who are working on a television history documentary to be broadcast later this year called ‘The Battle for Britain’s Soul’.

An event the programme editor is keen to cover is a meeting known as the Malvern Conference held at the College in January 1941. There was little known of it at the time and relatively few know of it to this day. Yet it was to have major significance in Britain in the years following, for it was at this Conference that Archbishop William Temple outlined his vision for the ‘welfare state’.

William Temple played an important role in the Twentieth century in terms of both the foundation of the Welfare State and the Butler Education Act of 1944.

In October 1940, the headmaster of the College, H.C.A. Gaunt, was invited by the Industrial Christian Fellowship to attend a Conference to be held in London. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss the Church of England’s attitude towards the social and economic problems of the day and how to deal with them after the War. Due to heavy bombing in London, Gaunt agreed for the Conference to be moved to Malvern and the historic event took place from January 10th to 13th.

Dr. Temple, then Archbishop of York, was in the chair and there were present many of the Bishops and clergy of the Church of England. Also present were a number of interested laymen including T.S. Eliot. The Conference took place in Big School and the attendees were provided with accommodation and food in four of the current boarding houses. It is said that the Conference report created considerable interest in America and proved to be influential in political thought in Britain.

The BBC programme is being run in two series covering the history of religion in Britain. The first series, broadcast in 2004, covered the period from Roman times up to the 18th century. The second series, in which the Malvern College Conference features, brings the story up to the present day.

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