Portsmouth: The Priest and his Soldiers’ Sanctuary

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In 1915, a Portsmouth priest, ‘Tubby’ Clayton, arrived as an army chaplain on the Western Front. In the town of Poperinge in Belgium he set up the famous soldiers’ club; Talbot House, where half a million men found solace during the war. Following the Armistice, Talbot House spawned the Christian movement Toc H, which led to the creation of the Samaritans. Philip ‘Tubby’ Clayton began his clerical career in Portsmouth in 1910. He took an interest in the moral character of boys and young men, overseeing military-style ‘companies’ for bible study and recreation. His experience in Portsea made him the ideal candidate to set up a church establishment in Poperinge in 1915. Talbot House was a refuge from the horrors of war, where thousands of soldiers came to relax in comfortable surroundings, to talk freely regardless of rank and to worship in a converted loft. In 1918, Tubby launched ‘Toc H’, which became a worldwide Christian movement. A former Toc H padre, Chad Varah, went on to found the Samaritans. Location: Portsmouth PO1 5PA Image: (Left) Tubby Clayton pictured in 1915, (right) and pictured in 1919, courtesy of Talbot House, Poperinge, Belgium