The Reverend William Henry Webster (1 October 1850 – 1931) was born at Upton Hall, Cheshire. After a brief career in the navy, during which he saw service in Asia, Webster studied to become a priest and followed this vocation to his retirement. Rev. Webster married Mary Stubbs, the niece of the late Dr. Stubbs, Bishop of Oxford, in August 1875. They had a family of five children. Webster died in 1931, at Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire, England. While posted in New Zealand he became interested in sea-shells and established a reputation as a Malacologist (the study of molluscs) and conchologist (the study of sea-shells). Several New Zealand molluscs are named after him and a collection of his shells can be found in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.