Fr Terence died at Ampleforth on 18th November in the fifty-fourth year of his age.
He came to Ampleforth as a small boy in 1912, the youngest of five brothers who all passed through the school, sons of Alfred and Sarah Wright of Butterley in Derbyshire.
Terence's interests were never academic and he did not shine at his studies. In those days the end of term order used to be read out by the Headmaster, Fr Edmund Matthews, from the Master's desk in the Study and not a little of the interest in this proceeding centered round the fate of Wright T. and Wright B. in their contest for the ultimate and penultimate place in their form. This was not due to a lack of brains in Terence; his interests lay elsewhere, in the field of sport. He was a good rugger player and an outstanding captain of the famous team of 1921 and to the end of his life retained his love of and interest in the game. In later years, when ill health prevented him from getting out to watch a school match, he would listen to a commentary broadcast by one of the brethren with a walkie-talkie set.
After leaving school he entered the world of business, but after three carefree and gay years he decided that this was not the life for him and that he would try to become a monk. In the spring of 1925 he went to Rome in a party, which included the present Abbot, Fr Ignatius, Fr Augustine and others, for the Holy Year and visited, among other places, Subiaco.
In the September of that year he returned to Ampleforth and was clothed in the habit of St Benedict by Prior Bede Turner who was also Procurator. Twenty-three years later Fr Terence was to take over the same position. He did not find it too difficult to adapt himself to the life of a monk under the guidance of his Novicemaster, Fr Bernard Hayes, though they were hard years because he had to apply himself to study in a way he had never done before. He followed the normal course of Philosophy and Theology and was ordained Priest in 1932.
In the school, he taught Geography and was an officer in the O.T.C., about this time, also, he became Gamesmaster. His strong manly character could not and did not fail to impress all who came in contact with him, and his outstanding powers of organizing had full scope. He was forthright and direct and full of energy and a firm believer in physical hardiness and toughness. Those who had a less robust outlook on life must have found him a little exacting. Perhaps his most lasting contribution to Ampleforth sport was his establishing of Athletics on a firm basis. He remodelled the old rather carefree 'Sports' and produced a system of training and of organization which has stood the test of time with little alteration. He derived immense satisfaction from seeing an athletic meeting running smoothly and on time. His enthusiasm and commanding personality persuaded many of the brethren to appear as coaches on the track and thus began that unique system of training which is such a feature of Ampleforth athletics.
To these activities and the work of teaching was added the position of curate in the village under Fr Ignatius. This was work he enjoyed as it gave him scope for more directly priestly work. He was interested in people and their problems and he always looked back with pleasure to the years spent in this work.
The year 1938 brought greater responsibilities with his appointment as Housemaster of St Aidan's House in succession to Fr John Maddox. In many ways he was admirably suited to this position. He had a lot to learn in the early years, temperamentally he found it hard to understand and appreciate a boy whose interests inclined mainly to the intellectual or artistic side, yet provided they were genuine, they had his full support. He could not tolerate any pretentiousness or artificiality. His strong virile character, his firmness always tempered with fairness, his warm humanity, generosity and largemindedness were qualities all came to appreciate and they were qualities which he impressed on a generation of boys. From him they learnt hardiness, self-reliance and unselfishness. From him they also learnt a solid undemonstrative piety and a firm and simple Faith. It may be that the younger boys in the House found him a formidable figure at first, but all grew to appreciate the solid worth of the man for there was no mistaking his wholehearted interest in and devotion to his House and to every side of Ampleforth life. In the classroom, on the touch-line, sitting besides the sight screens, his favourite position at the far end of the cricket field, at Housemasters' meetings, everywhere he made his presence felt by his enthusiasm, his drive and his enormous interest in all that was going on. One might not always agree with Fr Terence, but one could never ignore him.
In 1948 Fr Abbot appointed him Procurator, an office which gave him charge of all the temporalities of the place. It was an exacting task yet one which gave scope to his powers of organizing and directing and to his natural shrewdness and business ability. His admirable gift for personal relations was a considerable asset.
During the last thirty years Ampleforth has about doubled in size. When Fr Terence took office the administrative side had not kept pace with this expansion. It fell to him to reorganize the whole of this department and to bring it into line with existing needs. This was a task he was well suited to do and one which he enjoyed doing. Like M. Poirot, he was all for order and method and he evolved an administrative system well suited to our needs and to the demands made on it. A new block of offices was built, accountants installed, a central store established and all manner of channels created for the transacting of the many and varied affairs of the establishment. One was not looked upon with favour if one used the wrong channel or filled in the wrong form, but there is no doubt that it all helped in the smooth running of the place.
His was a position which made heavy demands upon him for not only was he concerned with the manifold demands and activities of a large establishment, he had also to take thought for the smallest needs, of each of his brethren. In this he seldom failed. One did not always get what one wanted but one got a sympathetic hearing and a reason for a refusal.
In all his dealings he was straightforward and direct, at times blunt; one always knew where one was with him and though he might be exacting in his demands he was always just and considerate.
He succeeded Fr Ignatius on the Helmsley Rural District Council as representative for the village. This brought him into contact with the leading figures in the neighbourhood and they appreciated his sound common sense and wise counsel
For the last five or six years of his life Fr Terence suffered a progressive deterioration in health. Outwardly he looked strong and robust, yet steadily his disability grew upon him. In 1953 he wintered in South Africa but in 1954 a severe attack of pneumonia took heavy toll of his strength and forced him to gear down his life to a slower tempo. It was not easy for him to accept the life of physical disability to which he had to submit. While intellectually as alert as ever he was confined for long periods to his room and, for a man who had been so active and so interested in all that went on around him, this was a heavy trial. He schooled himself to accept it and grew in spiritual stature during the years of his illness. Not many of us are improved by ill health, Fr Terence, in the closing years of his life, certainly was.
There remains the most important aspect of Fr Terence's life, his life as a monk. It is not easy to write of the inner life of another but I think that Fr Terence was sustained by a very simple and direct Faith. Monastic Rule and Observance had moulded him and he had little use for frills or exterior pious customs. For him the old ways were best. He was a good community man and a staunch upholder of our Ampleforth way of life. In 1954 the Community elected him their Delegate to General Chapter; this gave him great satisfaction as being an indication of the confidence his brethren had in him. Despite his many gifts he was a humble man. While he had a just appreciation of his powers and abilities as an organizer and administrator, as a monk among his brethren and as a priest before his God he thought little of Fr Terence.
When it became apparent that the end was near he addressed himself to the business of dying in his usual forthright way, without fear or anxiety. A little before the end he said, 'what I am doing now, is the best thing we do at Ampleforth'. And so he stepped out into the rising waters of death and he never looked back, but he set his face to the farther shore and there we may confidently hope he saw his Saviour with face gentle and gay and welcoming words: 'Well done thou good servant'. And so he passed to eternal life, a good monk, a faithful priest and the best of companions. May God grant him speedily what mercy he may need.
TERENCE WRIGHT 18 November 1957
1904 30 Mar Born Butterley Derby
Educ Ampleforth
1925 23 Sep Habit
1926 24 Sep Simple Vows
1929 25 Sep Solemn Vows
1932 24 Jul Priest
1928 $$ Games master
1938 May Housemaster St Aidan's
1948 Sep Procurator till death
1957 18 Nov Died at Ampleforth
Buried at Ampleforth