Albert Basil was a Roman Catholic priest in England, and a former British Commando. When Colonel William O. Darby, founder of the U.S. Army Rangers, and his men were being trained for combat by British Commandos at Achnacarry, Scotland, they had no chaplain of their own. Colonel Darby asked Father Basil to serve as chaplain to his men during their training, and when the training was complete and the 1st Ranger Battalion deployed to the North Africa Theater of Operations, he requested that Father Basil, who had gone through the training with the Americans, accompany the battalion. Father Basil continued to service with the U.S. Army Rangers in North Africa, “on loan” from the British Army, for eight months, earning an award of the U.S. Army’s Silver Star. After the war he returned to Saint EtheldredaÕs Church in Holborn, England, and stayed there until 1948. He then spent some years preaching missions and retreats around the country and was appointed chaplain to the Loughborough College of Technology. When the school was established as a university, Basil became its first Roman Catholic chaplain. He retired in 1976 and then joined the staff of Ratcliffe University. He was appointed a senior member of the Rosminian Order in 1982.