Eric Milner - White Eric Milner Milner - White CBE DSO OGS ( 23 April 1884 – 15 June 1963 ) was a Dean of York in the Church of England ; holding this post between 1941 and his death in 1963 . Early life and education . Milner - White was the son of Henry Milner - White ( a barrister and company chairman ) and his wife Kathleen Lucy ( née Meeres ) , later Sir Henry and Lady Milner - White . He was educated at Harrow School before going to King ' s College , Cambridge in 1903 . He won a scholarship to Cambridge to read history and graduated in 1906 with a double - first and as the recipient of the Lightfoot Scholarship . Dean of King ' s College , Cambridge . After theological training at Cuddesdon College in 1907 , Milner - White was ordained deacon in 1908 and priest in 1909 ( at Southwark Cathedral ) . He served a curacy at St Paul ' s Church , Newington ( 1908 – 09 ) and St Mary Magdalen Woolwich ( 1909 – 12 ) before returning to King ' s College as chaplain in 1912 . He was also appointed a lecturer in history at Corpus Christi College , Cambridge at the same time . He then served as an army chaplain during the First World War on both the Western Front and in the Italian Campaign . He was appointed senior chaplain to 7th Infantry Division on 15 February 1917 ( with temporary promotion to Chaplain to the Forces , 3rd Class ) For his service during this period he was Mentioned in Despatches on 24 December 1917 and awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) in the 1918 New Year Honours . He resigned his commission on 5 January 1918 and returned to Cambridge . Upon returning he was made the Dean and a Fellow of King ' s College . He was a founder of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd and also the order ' s superior from 1923 to 1938 . He was re - appointed as an honorary chaplain to the armed forces , 3rd class , on 1 September 1921 . During his time at King ' s College , Milner - White introduced the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols . This was first broadcast in 1928 and has now become a major part of the BBC ' s Christmas schedule . Dean of York . Milner - White remained at King ' s until 1941 , when he was appointed Dean of York . During his time as Dean , he directed the replacement of many of York Minster ' s windows and undertook a great deal of writing on liturgical matters , for example " My God My Glory " ( 1954 ) . He served on various national committees and served on the Advisory Council of the Victoria and Albert Museum from 1944 to 1959 due to his interest in stained - glass windows . He also became provost of the northern section of the Woodard Corporation , a charity which runs a number of private schools with a strong Christian ethos and , from 1948 to 1962 , was amongst those who produced the New English Bible . A variety of Milner - White ' s written papers are held at the King ' s College Archive Centre at the University of Cambridge , having been presented to the university in 1982 by Milner - White ' s " literary executor " , the Revd P . N . Pare . Other items have since been added to the collection . He was an avid collector of ceramics . Milner - White was made an honorary freeman of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers in 1948 . appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) in the 1952 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , The same year he was also awarded a Lambeth Doctorate of Divinity . He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters ( DLitt ) in 1962 by the University of Leeds . Milner - White died of cancer in the deanery of York Minster on 15 June 1963 . Since his death , a court of student accommodation at the University of York ' s Vanbrugh college have been named after him .