Person DS/UK/1039 Compton Britt-; Peter (1919-2015); Jesuit Priest Compton Britt- Peter 1919-2015 Jesuit Priest Male Born 10 January 1919, Winchester. Entered the British Province of the Society of Jesus 7 September 1936. Ordained as a Roman Catholic priest 9 September 1950. Final vows in the Society of Jesus 8 September 1983. Died 19 July 2015, Guyana.

Peter Britt-Compton was born 10 January 1919 in Winchester to Charles and Joan Britt-Compton. He was educated at Stonyhurst and entered the Society straight from school, beginning his noviceship at Roehampton, 7 September 1936. After first vows he remained at Roehampton for his Juniorate, but the outbreak of the Second World War cut his studies short, and he was asked to go to Beaumont to take over the classes of a Jesuit who had been called up to serve as a military chaplain. In 1940, after a couple of terms at Beaumont, he progressed to philosophy at Heythrop in Oxfordshire. In September 1943 he resumed teaching, joining the staff of St Francis Xavier College in Liverpool. With many Jesuits away serving as chaplains in the forces, the scholastics were needed to keep the colleges going. He served on the staff at there for five years. In 1947 he moved to Stonyhurst for a sixth year of regency before finally returning to Heythrop in 1948 to begin theology. He was ordained 9 September 1950 by Archbishop Roberts (SJ/13), completed his fourth year of theology and then moved straight to St Beuno's for his tertianship. Following this, Britt-Compton was assigned to British Guiana (now Guyana). In preparation for his departure he was moved to Stamford Hill. Tickets on a French liner due to sail in July 1953 were secured, but the departure was delayed at the advice of the Colonial Office due to the election of the People's Progressive Party in April that year. It therefore wasn't until October 1953 that he set off for Guyana, where he was sent to Sacred Heart and was appointed chaplain to the Public Hospital under the care of Fr James Goodwin. The staff consisted of Frs Fenn, Mather, and Chadwick. Fr Chadwick had inherited the hospital chaplaincy work from Fr De Caires and now had the task of handing it on to Britt-Compton. After less than a year at Sacred Heart he was moved to Kitty to replace Fr Thomas Pearson who had been transferred to Barbados. In addition to pastoral ministry he was the manager of St Winifred's Primary School in which role he was responsible for organizing staff for the school and overseeing a building project to extend the premises. In 1958 he replaced Fr Robert Bulbeck at Plaisance, but due to the unrest of the early 1960s, he moved back to Sacred Heart and resumed his duties as Hospital Chaplain. In 1963 he was missioned for the first time to the interior of Guyana, being sent to join Brian O'Reilly in the North West Mission, where he spent alternate weeks in the settlement at Mabaruma and the Amerindian community at Hosororo. After a year he moved to Moruca. January 1969 saw the Rupununi uprising, which resulted in all Jesuits being expelled from the Rupununi, so Britt-Compton moved back to the North West Mission in May 1969. Towards the end of 1973, he was transferred to Charity on the Pomeroon to replace Fr John King. In February 1982, the government having granted him the necessary permission to reside and work in the Interior, he arrived at St Ignatius, where he assumed responsibility for the Wapishana villages of the South Rupununi, going on extended tours of all the villages starting out from and returning to St Ignatius. In the early 2000s more Jesuits began to arrive from India and Britt-Compton was able to move from St Ignatius to Aishalton and take up residence there. However it became clear in 2011 that the community there didn't have the capacity to offer him the care and assistance he needed, and he was transferred to the newly established Arrupe House community. For the next four years, he continued to be an important part of the community as his strength slowly declined. He died 19 July 2015, at the age of 96, completing almost 62 years of service to the Guyana Mission. His ashes were taken to be buried in Aishalton. Member of the British Province of the Society of Jesus. Obituary in Letters and Notices Vol 102 pp 197-212; Catalogue of the Provinces of the Society of Jesus in North West Europe 2015 International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes MAllen 01/11/2018 CURIA\mallen 11/01/2022 43809bb6-0f88-4a4d-bbc0-c3615786109d