Necrology: Fr William Ainsworth SDB, 97, Salesians of Don Bosco, https://www.salesians.org.uk/necrology/223, accessed 11 September 2026:

5th June 2005

Fr Ainsworth was born on 5th May, 1908, in Bolton. He came from a strong Catholic family. Before the First World War the family went to America in search of a new life, his mother died there and the family returned to England in 1913 on the Mauretania.

After working at a large engineering works in Gorton, he applied to join the Salesians. He began his novitiate, in Oxford, in 1931, and was professed in September 1932. His first responsibility was as assistant to the Aspirants in Cowley. In 1934, he was sent to teach in Malta. While he was on the boat to Malta his father died, he was greeted with this news as he arrived in Malta. In 1937 he returned to England to study Theology in Blasidon where he was ordained priest in 1941. He first worked in Battersea on the Salesian Press. In 1943 he was appointed Provincial Secretary, a responsibility which lasted 9 years. The provincial, Fr Couche relied very heavily on Fr Ainsworth and these were precious years, they gave him an valuable insight into the workings of religious life.

In 1952 he became rector of the theological students at Beckford, in Gloucestershire and oversaw the move to Melchet Court in 1954. In 1956 he was appointed Rector in Bolton. In 1957 he became Provincial Delegate in South Africa.

In 1966 Fr Ainsworth was sent to Australia to work with the students and to edit the Salesian Bulletin. Fr Ian Murdoch, who later became provincial in Australia, wrote as follows to Fr Ainsworth many years later: 'This is just to say thank you so much for your encouraging and positive words, and also for the wisdom and bedrock humanity you brought with you to Lysterfield when I was there in 1967 and 1968, precious qualities in any age, no matter how enlightened it considers itself to be, and in any form of living out the religious life, perhaps the most important lesson anyone has ever taught me.'

Fr Ainsworth returned to South Africa again, as Provincial Delegate, in 1969, where he worked until 1974. In 1974 he returned to Bolton and was editor of the Salesian Bulletin until 1983. Until a few years before he died Fr Ainsworth regularly said Sunday Mass at Mount St Joseph's Convent and treasured his links with the Sisters of the Cross and Passion. Fr Ainsworth's contribution to the life of the province is best expressed in the words of Fr Martin McPake, the Regional Superior, in a letter to Fr Ainsworth in 1991 on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee: 'I have a fair knowledge of the history of the province, and on that scene, I see you as a significant and happy and healthy influence for more than half of the province's lifetime. I'm glad I knew you, I have always been touched by your kindness, and I am proud to have benefited from your friendship.'

Fr Ainsworth's vocation was also that of a writer, in the best and truest sense of the word. He just had to write. He wrote every day. He kept his diary until his 97th birthday. His diary describes him, it charts his every day, his concerns, the things he loved, but above all the people he met, every visitor is recorded there and their kindness noted. Fr Ainsworth understood the power of the written word. His best-known book is St John Bosco, The Priest, the Man, the Times.

What kind of man was Fr Ainsworth? He was a man of great encouragement. His praise was never vague; he was always precise in attribution. This uncanny ability of encouragement meant that he made friends instantly and easily. Another virtue was his gift of wonder. In his last days he never ceased to marvel that so much should be done for him, a new bed, a constant stream of nurses, and visits from his community. Why do they bother with me? he would say, surely there are people younger than me who need attention. Fr Ainsworth's 97th birthday was on May 5th. He loved to celebrate and St Joseph's has such a wonderful tradition of celebration, he was in his element. He said the grace, he made a speech, he even invited Brother Chris, who was 96 at the time, to join him in a song. They gave a moving rendition of 'Pack up your troubles'.

The difficult decision to move Fr Ainsworth from St Joseph's to Nazareth House was only made possible by the knowledge that he would be in the best of hands, and so he was. On June 5th, after only a few weeks in Nazareth House, he peacefully died.

For those of us who were privileged to enjoy his friendship, let us be consoled by the words of St Francis de Sales:

Friendships begun in this world will be taken up again, never to be broken off.