Canon Jack Madden was born in Dublin in 1939 and lived there for three years before moving to the town of Ballaghadereen in Co. Roscommon where he grew up and attended the de la Salle Brothers Primary school. His secondary education was at St. Nathy’s College in Ballaghadereen. Jack had his seminary formation in All Hallows College, Dublin. He was ordained in the summer of 1963, and has ministered in the Southwark Archdiocese ever since. His first appointment was as assistant priest in Holy Cross Parish, Catford and, after numerous other appointments he came to St. Edmund’s in 1988, having served as Parish Priest of St. Joseph's Shooters Hill for 7 years. He was appointed a Canon of the Church in 2001 and is a member of the Diocesan College of Consultors. Canon Jack’s pastoral experience, in the course of over 46 years of ministry, includes parish apostolate, hospital ministry, school apostolate (pastoral and governance) and the travelling mission (Kent Area). He loves his sport, and is a keen golfer.

Father Ashley Beck was born in 1958 in Southampton and brought up in the Anglican parish of Michael’s, Bassett (near Southampton University). In 1977 he went to Oriel College, Oxford, to read Classics. In 1982, having worked as a pastoral assistant in St Clement’s, Notting Dale he returned to St Stephen’s House, Oxford, an Anglican theological college, to study Theology. In 1985 he was ordained in the Church of England and served as a curate in St John’s, Walham Green (Fulham). In 1990 he was appointed priest in charge of St Mattthew’s, Camberwell and a year later he married Caroline Wallis. In 1994 he resigned from the Church of England and joined the Catholic Church. With the necessary dispensation from Pope John Paul II he was ordained a Catholic priest in July 1996 and in October that year was appointed Assistant Priest here at St Edmund’s. He is chaplain of St Mary’s School. He has two daughters, Martha and Iris. In 1999 he was appointed Dean of Studies of the Permanent Diaconate Formation Programme for nine dioceses in southern England and Wales and he is Chair of the national Conference of Diaconate Directors and Deacon Delegates. He is co-editor of the New Diaconal Review and is also a visiting lecturer and researcher at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham. He has also published numerous articles and reviews and has written a number of booklets for the Catholic Truth Society.

Father Victor Unimndebeshi Akongwale, a priest of Ogoja Diocese Nigeria, has ministered in the Archdiocese of Southwark since February of 2002. He was admitted into the Spiritual Year programme, (class of 1990/1991), of the Missionary Society of St Paul on the 25th October 1990. From 1991 to 1999 he studied at the Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, southeast of Nigeria. He, alongside 5 other deacons, were ordained in the summer of 1999 in St Benedict’s Cathedral Ogoja, by the erstwhile Ordinary of Ogoja; now Archbishop Joseph Ukpo of Calabar Archdiocese.

A few weeks after ordination, Fr Victor was sent to Pope John Paul II Seminary Okpoma, to carry out the twin jobs of Bursar and Classroom teacher. Whilst working/teaching in the Seminary; Fr Victor also doubled as a weekend/holidays Curate at St Patrick’s parish Kakwagom; and lecturer at the Novitiate of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus (HHCJ) also in Kakwagom.

In August of 2000, Fr Victor moved to a fulltime post in Holy Spirit Parish, Abouchiche, as a Curate, and concurrently served as a part-time teacher at the Annunciation Girls Juniorate, Ogoja until December 2001. In January of 2001, he was sent to take over the reins of a month old parish from her pioneer Parish-Priest who was proceeding on study leave. Fr Victor remained the Parish Priest of Ss Peter and Paul Parish Ukpah, until he left for St Edmund’s Beckenham in February of 2002.

Deacon Rob Higgs has lived in the parish for twenty two years and was ordained in 2007. Before moving to Beckenham he spent most of his life in Orpington and was educated at St Olave's Grammar School. He is a chartered quantity surveyor by profession and an enthusiastic motorcyclist and sings with a local choral society. Married to Ann, who is deputy musical director of the St Edmund Chorale, he is part of the marriage and family life team at St Edmund's.

Deacon Seán Murphy has lived in the Parish for over thirty years, during most of which time he worked in the Civil Service, in turn in the areas of international and domestic statistics of trade and industry, finance and personnel management. In 2006, shortly before he retired from the Civil Service, he was ordained as a Permanent Deacon and has particular responsibilities at Saint Edmund’s in respect of the Confirmation programme, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, as co-chaplain at Bishop Challoner School, and with SVP. Away from Beckenham, he has extensive adoptive family connections in Ghana, in West Africa, and some years ago he was made Nkosuohene (Chief for Welfare and Development) for the poor coastal village of Nankesido (Lower Saltpond) in Ghana’s Central Region, a task in which he has been generously supported by Saint Edmund's parishioners on a number of educational, school-building and other charitable projects.

Rev. Deacon Dennis Alan Barratt was Ordained as a Permanent Deacon on 1st August 1992 at St. Edmunds. He is married to Mary, and they have four children, and between the four children they have eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. Dennis is responsible for the Baptism Programme in the Parish. He is still working part-time at Archbishop's House as Assistant to the Archbishop's Private Secretary. In that capacity he has assisted Mgr Richard Moth (now Bishop to the Forces), Mgr. William Saunders, and currently Fr. Philip Glandfield. A lot of his time is spent on the preparation of the Diocesan Directory and the organisation of important Diocesan events such as the Chrism Mass.

Canon Jack Madden