“St. Timothy” Window, 1971 (Hills Memorial)
This charming single-light window was given by Mrs. Dora Hills in memory of her husband, Frank, who died on 26th April 1969. The window was dedicated on 6th June 1971.
The choice of subject is a good one for the “Church of St. Paul”, because Timothy was one of Paul`s closest companions in his travels. While still a young man, he became the first Bishop of the Church at Ephesus, and Paul wrote two Epistles to him there. In fact, Timothy`s name is mentioned in no less than twelve books of the New Testament, far more than any other Christian except St. Paul himself. The window shows him as a youthful figure, staff in hand, presumably engaged on some missionary journey. The inscriptions say simply ‘Timothy’, and ‘Frank Hills 1891-1969’.
In the two small tracery lights above, there are symbols of the activities for which Frank Hills is remembered: he was a member of our Choir for some 40 years, which explains the page of music, and the words ‘O Sing unto the Lord’; he was at one point Churchwarden here and was also involved in the Scout Movement – hence the Churchwarden`s staff and the Scout emblem. But the words ‘Honour thy God’ have a double significance: as well as being appropriate to Frank Hills’ life, they are also a play on the name ‘Timothy’, which is derived from two Greek words meaning ‘honour’ and ‘God’.
It is a lovely bright window with vivid colours. The brightness is achieved by the use of hand-made ‘Norman slab’ glass, which retains its lustre even in dull conditions. The designer was Alfred Fisher and the window was made at Whitefriars Studio, Wealdstone – the White Friar and the initials ‘AF’ are in the corner.