The Regional Studies Association was founded in 1965. Its objects are: (1) to promote education in the field of regional studies by the exchange of ideas and information; and, (2) to stimulate and aid studies and research into regional planning, development and functions and to disseminate the results of such research. Since 1967, the Association has published a quarterly journal, Regional Studies.
Born in 1873; nephew of C P Scott of the Manchester Guardian; studied at Balliol College, Oxford University, and founded the Oxford Branch of the Fabian Society; in 1907 began an interest in universal language which would last his whole life, including the active use of the German phonetic alphabet Sprechspur (developed in the 1940s) to teach children to read, the founding of the Phonetic Alphabet Association, and an active promotion of alphabet reform; enjoyed a varied career as a language teacher; first Headmaster, Junior Department, Bedales School; emigrated to the USA, 1912; Professor of French, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee; returned to the UK, 1920; worked as an examiner for the Oxford and London Examining Boards; active federalist, including membership of the Federal Union and the World Federation Movement; died 1961.
Possibly Charles William Smith of Liverpool, who published a series of books and articles on international trade, including Commercial gambling: the principal causes of depression in agriculture and trade (Sampson Low and Co, London, 1893), Original theories upon and remedies for depression in trade, land, agriculture and silver (Sampson Low and Co, London, 1893); International, commercial and financial gambling in Options and Futures' (PS King and Son, 1906), and The South African war and theBear' operator: a financial revolution (PS King and Son, London, 1912).
Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and Lord Treasurer, initiated a scheme for the funding of national debt through the South Sea Company, founded in 1711 to trade with Spanish America, on the assumption that the War of the Spanish Succession would end with a treaty permitting such trade. The Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, was less favourable than had been hoped, but confidence in the Company remained artificially high, eventually leading to the collapse of the stock market in 1720 (the South Sea Bubble) and the ruin of many investors. The Company, however, survived until 1853.
David Ricardo, 1772-1823, was born in London, the third son of a Portuguese Jewish family that had moved to London from Amsterdam. After attending school in London, Ricardo was sent to Amsterdam for two years, probably to continue his education at the Talmud Tora. On his return to London he was educated under private instruction until his father took him into his business on the Stock Exchange. He showed great talent on the Stock Exchange and when his marriage to Priscilla Wilkinson caused a rift with his family and a severance from the family business, many members of the Stock Exchange promised him their support. Ricardo became a very successful contractor, bidding on behalf of the Stock Exchange for the successive government loans issued to finance the Napoleonic War. This culminated in a final loan of £36 million four days before the battle of Waterloo. From 1814, Ricardo progressively retired from his business, and in 1819 he entered the House of Commons as a member for Portarlington. His first published writing on economics appeared in 1809, and consists of three letters to the Morning Chronicle on the price of gold. His first pamphlet, 'The High Price of Bullion', was published in 1810, and it was at this time that his correspondence with James Mill commenced. His correspondence with Malthus starts in 1811. Ricardo published a number of pamphlets between 1811 and 1816, and 'Principles of Political Economy' in 1817. He continued to write and publish pamphlets to the end of his life.
No information available at present.
John Thomson was a talented and influential photographer, who had spent ten years travelling in, and taking photographs of, the Far East. On his return to London he joined with Adolphe Smith, a socialist journalist, in a project to photograph the street life of the London poor. The volumes were published in monthly parts as Street Life in London, and were an early example of social and documentary photography.
No further information at present.
The Tariff Commission was an unofficial body set up in 1903 under the auspices of the Tariff Reform League. W A S Hewins (at that time Director of the London School of Economics) was Secretary and Sir Robert Herbert was Chairman, by invitation of Joseph Chamberlain. The aims of the Commission were to examine and report on Chamberlain's proposals for tariff reform and their probable effects on British trade and industries; to suggest the best ways to harmonise the various conflicting interests involved and to work out what import duties should be recommended. The Commission collected extensive data from British business through interviews and questionnaires. It was the intention of the Commission to publish reports on every industry that they investigated and bring these together into a final report that would lay out a full tariff scheme. Seven volumes were published, but lack of funds caused the eventual abandonment of publishing. The Commission was a pioneer in the use of indexing methodology in economic research, but intending users should note that the long interval between the winding up of the Commission's activities and the deposit of its papers has caused significant losses particularly to the indices.
Richard Henry Tawney, 1880-1962, was born in Calcutta and educated at Rugby and Balliol College, Oxford. After leaving Oxford, he became an assistant at Glasgow University, 1906-1908, before returning to Oxford to become a member of the Teacher for Tutorial Classes Committee, 1908-1914. He became Director of the Ratan Tata Foundation at the University of London, 1913-1914 and Professor of Economic History at the University of London, 1931-1949. After 1949, he was Professor Emeritus. Tawney was also a member of numerous committees relating to trade and education. He was a member of the executive of the Workers Educational Association, 1905-1947 and President, 1928-1944, and also a member of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education, 1912-1931. He was a member of the University Grants Committee 1943-1948. In 1919, he joined the Coal Industry Commission, and he was also a member of the Chain Trade Board, 1919 - 1922, and the Cotton Trade Conciliation Commission, 1936-1939.
The United Nations Association came into being in 1948 with the help of money from the League of Nations Union, which continued as a parallel organisation. After the demise of the League of Nations Union, the UNA took over many of its functions and staff. The UNA describes itself as a "critical fan club of the United Nations" and has always reflected the concerns of the United Nations. Initially, it focussed on the issues of world peace and the danger of war through hunger, and whilst these have remained central issues, the agenda has expanded to include human rights, third world development and the environment as issues of major importance. The range of activities that the UNA undertake has also changed. Initially, it concentrated mainly on lobbying government and meeting civil servants and ministers. However it gradually expanded into campaigning in its own right and educating the public about issues of concern.
Education has become an increasingly significant part of the work of the UNA. It strives to educate the public about the role and activities of the United Nations and how the UNA is involved in these. It also publishes leaflets on various key issues.
The UNA itself is divided into various branches, which are largely independent of the centre, with co-ordinating regional officers who are in touch with both the centre and the branches, committees relating to single issues such as human rights, and a general council which meets once a year to debate issues raised by the branches. Information from the central organisation is sent out to the branches via the Branch Letter and campaign packs are sent out for the annual nationwide UNA campaign. The UNA Trust is the funding arm of the UNA. This body gives grants to projects that conform to the ideals of the UNA and the UN. It is a registered charity. UNA Youth is an organisation that is part of the UNA but has its own constitution and its own structure, which mirrors that of UNA. The UNA is also a members of other organisations that conform to its ideals, such as the National Peace Council.
Possibly the Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, owned and run by Bill Butler, a US beat poet and occultist.
Graham Wallas, 1858-1932, was born in Sunderland and educated at Shrewsbury School and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he obtained a second class in Literae Humaniores in 1881. After leaving Oxford, he became a schoolmaster, 1881 - 1890, University Extension Lecturer, 1890, Lecturer at the London School of Economics, 1895-1923, London University Professor of Political Science, 1914-1923 and Professor Emeritus, 1923. He combined an interest in education with politics and was a member of the Fabian Society, 1886-1904, the London School Board, 1894-1904, Chairman of the School Management Committee, 1897-1904, a member of the Technical Education Board of the London County Council, 1898-1904, and a member of the Education Committee of the London County Council, 1908-1910. He was also a member of London County Council 1904-1907.
Born 1886; educated Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby and King's College, Cambridge; Professor of Modern History, Liverpool University, 1914-1922; served World War One as a Subaltern in the Royal Army Service Corps, 1915-1917 and on the General Staff of the War Office, 1917-1918; Secretary, Military Section, British Delegation to the Conference of Paris, 1918-1919; Wilson Professor of International Politics, University of Wales, 1922-1932; Ausserordentlich Professor, University of Vienna, 1926; Nobel Lecturer, Oslo, 1926; Reader, University of Calcutta, India, 1927; Professor of History, Harvard University, USA, 1928-1932; Stevenson Professor of International History, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1932-1953; Foreign Research and Press Service, 1939-1941; Director, British School of Information, New York, 1941-1942; Foreign Office, 1943-1946; Member of British Delegation, Dumbarton Oaks and San Francisco Conferences, 1944-1945; Member, Preparatory Commission and General Assembly, United Nations, 1945-1946; Ford Lecturer, Oxford University, 1948; President, 1950-1954, and Foreign Secretary, 1955-1958, British Academy; retired 1953; died 1961. Publications: The European alliance, 1815-1825 (University of Calcutta, 1929); The Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815 (Foreign Office Historical Section, London, 1919); editor of Britain and the independence of Latin America, 1812-1830 (Ibero-American Institute of Great Britain, London, 1938); The art and practice of diplomacy (LSE, London, 1952); British Diplomacy, 1813-1815 (G Bell and Sons, London, 1921); British Foreign Policy since the Second World War; The Congress of Vienna, 1814-15, and the Conference of Paris, 1919 (London, 1923); The foreign policy of Castlereagh, 1815-1822 (G Bell and Sons, London, 1925); The foreign policy of Palmerston, 1830-1841 (G Bell and Sons, London, 1951); The founder of the national home (Weizmann Science Press of Israel, 1955); The League of Nations in theory and practice (Allen and Unwin, London, 1933); The pacification of Europe, 1813-1815 (1922); Palmerston, Metternich and the European system, 1830-1841 (Humphrey Milford, London, 1934); Sanctions: the use of force in an international organisation (London, 1956); Some problems of international organisation (University of Leeds, 1943); What the world owes to President Wilson (League of Nations Union, London, 1930); The strategic air offensive against Germany, 1939-1945 (London, 1961); editor of British diplomatic representatives, 1789-1852 (London, 1934); editor of Some letters of the Duke of Wellington to his brother, William Wellesley-Pole (London, 1948).
George Wigg was born in 1900 and after an early career in the Army entered Parliament as Labour MP for Dudley in 1945. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Emanuel Shinwell between 1945 and 1951 and on the election of Harold Wilson's first government in 1964 was appointed Paymaster General with a special interest in defence and security. Wigg retained the post of Paymaster General until 1967 when he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Wigg of the Borough of Dudley. Throughout his career, Wigg maintained a close interest in defence, security, African and Middle Eastern politics. Lord Wigg had a lifelong interest in horseracing reflected in his involvement in the organisation of the sport. Career Chronology: born 1900; served in the regular army, 1919-1937 and Royal Army Education Corps, 1940-1946; MP for Dudley, 1945-1967; Parliamentary Private Secretary to Emanuel Shinwell, MP as Minister of Fuel and Power, Secretary of State for War and Minister of Defence, 1945-1951; Opposition Whip, 1951-1954; Member of the Racecourse Betting Control Board, 1957-1961; Member of the Totalisator Board, 1961-1964; Paymaster General, 1964-1967; Chairman, Horserace Betting Levy Board, 1967-1972; President, Betting Office Licensees Association, 1973-1983. Throughout his career Wigg maintained a close interest in defence and security issues.
No information available at present.
No further information available at present.
Born, 1889; served the China Inland Mission, 1910s-1940s; teacher at Chefoo Girls' School; unmarried; died after 1974.
The origins of the London Missionary Society (LMS) lie in the late 18th century revival of Protestant Evangelism. A meeting of Independent Church leaders, Anglican and Presbyterian clergy and laymen, held in London in November 1794, established the aims of the Missionary Society - 'to spread the knowledge of Christ among heathen and other unenlightened nations'. The Missionary Society was formally established in September 1795 with a plan and constitution. This governed the establishment of a Board of Directors and the conduct of business, outline the powers of the Directors and the conduct of business, established an annual meeting of Members to be held in May, and defined the role of trustees. The Missionary Society was renamed the London Missionary Society in 1818. Although broadly interdenominational in scope, the Society was very much Congregationalist in both outlook and membership.
Mission activity started in the South Seas, with the first overseas mission to Tahiti in 1796. Missionary work expanded into North America and South Africa. Early mission activities also centred in areas of eastern and southern Europe including Russia, Greece and Malta. There was also an LMS 'mission to Jews' in London. However, during the 19th century, the main fields of mission activity for the LMS were China, South East Asia, India, the Pacific, Madagascar, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Australia and the Caribbean (including British Guiana, now Guyana). The LMS was not always successful in gaining a hold in the overseas mission field. Western missionaries were refused entry to China until after 1843, and in Madagascar, early missionary success was countered by a period of repression and religious intolerance lasting from 1836 to 1861, and which included the deaths of many local converts.
In terms of organisational structure, the LMS was governed by a Board of Directors. The workings of the Board were reorganised in 1810 when separate committees were appointed to oversee particular aspects of mission work, including the important foreign committees. The administrative structure of the LMS relied upon the work of salaried officials such as the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary, together with the workings of the various committees, including the Examinations Committee, which appointed missionaries to the field. Directors themselves were unpaid. The constitution of the LMS was revised in May 1870, as a direct result of financial pressures and the expansion of overseas mission work; the work of the Investigation Committee (1866) in turn led to a new administrative policy and the emphasis on the development of the self-governing and self-financing indigenous church. In 1966 the LMS merged with the Commonwealth Missionary Society, to form the Congregational Council for World Mission (CCWM), which in turn was restructured to create the Council for World Mission in 1977.
Further information on the history of the London Missionary Society can be found in the official histories: Richard Lovett, The History of the London Missionary Society 1795-1895 (2 volumes, Oxford University Press, London, 1899); Norman Goodall, A history of the London Missionary Society, 1895-1945 (Oxford University Press, London, 1954); Gales of change: responding to a shifting missionary context: the story of the London Missionary Society, 1945-1977, ed Bernard Thorogood (WCC, Geneva, 1994).
Born in Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland, 1795; moved to England, 1813; under-gardener at High Leigh, near Liverpool; came under Methodist influence; moved to the employment of James Smith, a Scottish nonconformist, near Manchester, 1815; appointed London Missionary Society (LMS) missionary, ordained at Surrey Chapel, and sailed to South Africa, 1816; arrived at Cape Town, 1817; travelled in southern Africa, 1818; gained fame for his conversion of a bandit, Jager Afrikaner, on the northern frontier; visited Cape Town and married Mary Smith (1795-1871), sister of the missionary John Smith, 1819; they worked together among the Tswana; Moffat accompanied the deputation of the Rev John Campbell on his visit to the interior, 1820-1821; travelled in southern Africa, 1823-1825; settled at Kuruman (which was to become an important mission station), 1826; visited Mzilikazi (Moselekatse), chief of the Ndebele (Matabele), 1829; visited Cape Town to publish his version of St Luke's Gospel and elementary books in the Tswana (Sechuana/Bechuana) language, 1830; returned to Kuruman, 1831; proposed a mission among the Ndebele, 1835; visited towns on the Yellow and Kolong Rivers, 1836; attempts to print his Tswana version of the New Testament in Cape Town proved abortive and he sailed to England to publish it, 1839; a pioneering linguist, his Tswana translations - which also included Pilgrim's Progress and hymns - were important in the growth of Christianity in southern Africa; met David Livingstone in London, 1840; returned to Kuruman, 1843; made a long tour to the interior, 1854; completed the Tswana version of the Bible, published at Kuruman, 1857; visited the Ndebele to arrange a mission, 1857; returned to Kuruman, 1858; travelled to Cape Town to meet new missionaries appointed to the interior and returned with them to Kuruman, 1858; accompanied the missionaries to Inyati in Matabeleland, 1859; the trip resulted in the establishment of an LMS mission near Bulawayo; returned to Kuruman, 1860; undertook no further long treks; with his wife, returned to England for health reasons, 1870; Doctor of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, 1872; received a testimonial, 1873; attended Livingstone's funeral, 1874; remained active in promoting foreign missions; retired from public speaking, 1878; died at Leigh, Kent, 1883; buried in Norwood cemetery. Publications include: Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa (1840 and subsequent editions).
The Moffats' children included Mary (1821-1862), who married the missionary David Livingstone (1813-1873) in 1844, and John Smith Moffat (1835-1918), also an LMS missionary in southern Africa, who published The Lives of Robert and Mary Moffat (1885).
James Sibree: born in Hull, England, 1836; son of the Rev James Sibree, Congregational minister, and Martha Goode Aston; educated at Hull Collegiate School; articled to a civil engineer; Assistant Surveyor, Local Board of Health, Hull, 1859-1863; appointed London Missionary Society (LMS) architect of four large stone churches in Madagascar, each a memorial to a martyr of persection, and was sent to Antananarivo, 1863-1867; worked on the churches at Ambatonakanga, Ambohipotsy, Andohalo and Manjakaray, and other mission buildings; trained for the Congregational ministry at Spring Hill College, Moseley, Birmingham, 1868-1870; also carried out deputation work for the LMS; ordained in Hull, 1870; married Deborah Hannah (d 1920), daughter of the Rev J Wilberforce Richardson, Congregational minister, in London, 1870; two sons and three daughters; LMS missionary in Madagascar, 1870-1877; led the extension of mission work outside the capital, founding the first country station, at Ambohimanga, and settling there, 1870; chosen one of the LMS delegates to revise the Malagasy Bible and began work on it, 1873; accompanied the LMS deputation to Antsihanaka province, 1874; took an explorative and evangelistic journey to south-eastern Madagascar, 1876; moved to Antananarivo to work at the theological college, 1876; difficulties with the government in Madagascar forced him to withdraw, 1877-1883; undertook LMS deputation work in England, 1877-1879; appointed missionary to South India, superintending the LMS high school as Vizagapatam, 1879; returned to England owing to his wife's ill health, 1880; LMS deputation work in England, 1880-1883; returned to Madagascar as principal of the LMS theological college and with his wife engaged in other missionary activities, 1883-1915; architect of almost 100 mission buildings, including c50 churches; in the years leading up to the French invasion (1895) an outspoken supporter of Malagasy independence; chief English authority on Madagascar; received Sir G Back's Grant for his work on the geography and bibliography of Madagascar, 1892; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; Fellow of the International Society of Philology; Membre de l'Académie Malgache from 1902; honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity, University of St Andrews, 1913; returned to England owing to his wife's ill health, 1915; resigned as a missionary, 1916; continued deputation work for the LMS and Bible Society, 1920s; died following an accident, 1929. Publications include: Madagascar and its People (1870); South-east Madagascar (1876); The Great African Island (1880); A Madagascar Bibliography (1885); Madagascar before the Conquest (1896); The Madagascar Mission (1907); Our English Cathedrals (2 volumes, 1911); A Naturalist in Madagascar (1915); Things Seen in Madagascar (1921); edited Register of Missionaries and Deputations of the LMS (1923); Fifty Years in Madagascar (1923), his autobiography; works in the Malagasy language; articles on Madagascar for several editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Chambers's Encyclopaedia.
James Sibree's children included several other missionaries:
James Wilberforce Sibree: born at Ambohimanga, Madagascar, 1871; studied at Cheshunt College; ordained, 1896; appointed LMS missionary to Samoa and married Gertrude Helps (d 1900), 1897; sailed to Samoa, 1898; married Lucy Phoebe Johnson (d 1937) at Apia, 1905; resigned as missionary owing to his wife's ill health, 1921; subsequently pastor at Epping, near Sydney, Australia; died there, 1927.
Mary Amelia Sibree: born at Ambohimanga, Madagascar, 1874; assistant teacher at the Girls' Central School, Antananarivo, from 1892; appointed LMS missionary and became head mistress of the school, 1898; returned to England, 1899; married the Rev Percy Milledge (1874-1907), who was appointed to the Madagascar mission, 1901; took charge of the mission following her husband's death, 1907-1908; re-appointed missionary to Madagascar, 1909; undertook deputation work in England for the LMS, 1915-1919; resigned, 1919; appointed to new work in Madagascar, 1922; at the theological college, Antananarivo, 1925-1926; returned to England for health reasons and died, 1926.
Alice Deborah Sibree: born at Antananrivo, Madagascar, 1876; studied at the London School of Medicine for Women; appointed to the Maternity Hospital, Hong Kong; dedicated and sailed, 1903; returned to England and resigned from the LMS, 1909; subsequently returned to Hong Kong and undertook voluntary medical mission work; married C C Hickling; awarded MBE for services during World War One; decorated as Sister of the Order of St John of Jerusalem; died at Hong Kong, 1928.
Elsie Isabel Sibree: born in Catford Bridge, Kent, England, 1881; educated at Walthamstow Hall; French Government Teachers' Diploma (brevet); accompanied her parents to Madagascar, 1901; became assistant French teacher at the Girls' Central School, 1902; Girls' High School, Ambatonakanga, 1904-1907; head mistress of the Girls' Central School, Antananarivo, 1907; lived in England, 1921-1930; returned to Madagascar and was appointed warden of the theological college, Ambohipotsy, also superintending the district of Ambohiptsy from 1938; engaged in other missionary work alongside her educational work; retired, 1954; died in Sevenoaks, 1969.
James Sibree's niece, Dorothy Sibree, was born in Hull, England, 1882; trained at Cheltenham Women's Training College; appointed to Mirzapur, India, and sailed, 1915; transferred to the Benares mission, 1921; married the Rev W G Murphy of the Gopijang mission, 1923; transferred with her husband to Travancore, 1927; died at Neyyoor, 1927.
The World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches was founded at Constance in 1914 with the help of the Church Peace Union, with which it remained closely associated. It was supported by church leaders in Europe and America and national groups from a number of different countries were federated to it. It was an ecumenical movement working for peace. After World War Two attempts to re-establish the Alliance were unsuccessful and, as the World Council of Churches and International Missionary Council set up the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches was formally dissolved in 1948.
The archive dates from the period after the World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910. The Conference of British Missionary Societies was founded in 1912 with over 40 member missionary societies of various denominations. The International Missionary Council was founded in 1921 and its members comprised interdenominational associations of missionary societies in various countries and interdenominational field bodies. The two bodies shared premises at Edinburgh House, near Sloane Square, London, until the IMC became part of the World Council of Churches in 1961.
Liberation was founded in 1954 as the Movement for Colonial Freedom (MCF), under the leadership of (Archibald) Fenner Brockway. Its aim was to campaign in Britain for the freedom of colonial subjects from political and economic domination, and to unify the activities of smaller organisations that were concerned with these issues. It was an amalgamation of the British Branch of the Congress Against Imperialism, the Central Africa Committee, the Kenya Committee and the Seretse Khama Defence Committee. The organisation operated from a succession of offices in central London including 318 Regents Park Road, then at 374 Grays Inn Road, and 313-315 Caledonian Road.
Funds were provided through affiliations and membership, cultural events and appeals totalling approximately £2-3,000 per annum. This allowed for a staff of two or three, the publication of a bi-monthly journal, information sheets and campaign material, and the holding of private and public meetings. It had an individual membership of around 1000, and regional, national and international affiliates, which brought the total number involved to about 3 million. Affiliated organisations included trades unions, constituency Labour parties, trades councils, co-operative societies, peace societies and student organisations.
The MCF was largely associated with the left-wing of the Labour Party and other radical groups. It established Area Councils in different parts of Britain. Standing Committees were established for every sphere of the world where colonial and neo-colonialist issues were dominant, including the Mediterranean, the Middle East, South East Asia, East Africa, Rhodesia, South Africa, West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. The MCF also established a Standing Committee to address racial discrimination in Britain, and a Trade Union Committee to assist trades unions in developing countries. Each Standing Committee was chaired by an MP, and met at the House of Commons. The MCF was sponsored by up to 100 MPs. The Committees were composed of MPs and experts on the different territories, whose role it was to stimulate questions and debates in Parliament, and recommend activities to the Council of the MCF, which was representative of all the nationally affiliated organisations and Area Councils.
MCF helped to bring into being a large number of political pressure groups and charities including the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the Chile Solidarity Campaign Committee, the Committee for Peace in Vietnam, War on Want and the World Development Movement.
MCF was renamed Liberation in 1970 to address the changing perception of colonialism. In the 1960s it began to appear that political independence for colonies had been achieved. However, there appeared an ongoing need to campaign against neo-colonialism in the form of economic dependence of developing countries.
An elected Council in turn elected an Executive Council, which met jointly with the London Area Council. Annual General Meetings were also held. Liberation pursued its aims through various means including the dissemination of information via the general press and various publications, including the journal Liberation; sponsoring the establishment of the publishers New World Books; organising conferences; lobbying governments at home and abroad; hosting delegations from overseas and making reciprocal visits. Funds were raised through annual membership subscriptions and the sale of the journal, as well as appeals for particular projects. In 1984 a grant from the Greater London Council allowed Liberation to participate in the GLC's London Against Racism campaign. Lord Brockway remained President of Liberation until his death in 1988.
The Melanesian Mission was founded in 1849 by the then Bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn (1809-1878), to evangelise the Melanesian islands of the South West Pacific Ocean (i.e. the Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz and Northern New Hebrides Islands), which formed part of his diocese. In 1850 the Australian Board of Missions was formed and the Australian and New Zealand Colonies formally adopted the Melanesian Mission. In January 1854, Bishop Selwyn used a visit to England to plead the cause of the Mission. He obtained the gift of a mission ship, which was named the 'Southern Cross'. The ship and its successors were to become the visible link between the remote parts of the diocese, carrying the Bishop on his biannual circuits and transporting missionaries, trainees, stores and medical supplies to their destinations.
From its foundation, Selwyn intended the work of the Melanesian Mission to be conducted by native teachers and a native ministry. In his own words, the 'white corks are only to float the black net'. The work was threefold: evangelistic, educational and medical. Trained 'Native Brothers' undertook pioneer evangelistic work. Under vows renewed yearly, they volunteered to visit unexplored areas and win a footing for teachers to follow. European clergy and lay-workers also engaged in the first stages of work in certain areas. Education was the key to evangelisation. In addition to village and district schools there was a system of 'Central Schools' for native children who reached the required standard. These were run by European missionaries and assisted by native teachers. After training and testing, these children were set apart for the teaching of religion in their local communities or on other islands. The Mission also had a college at Siota, Solomon Islands, for training ordination candidates. Medical work in Melanesia truly began in 1888 with the addition of a missionary doctor, Dr. H. P. Welchman. The main medical centre of the Mission was the Hospital of the Epiphany at Fauabu, on the Island of Mala, with a series of smaller hospitals in the districts and village dispensaries run by local women. Care was also provided for lepers and, with the help of the Mother's Union in England, centres were established to give classes on health and hygiene to Melanesian women.
Initially the Melanesian Mission was funded with special grants and by private donors. Subsequent sources of funding included an endowment bequeathed by Bishop Patteson; proceeds from Miss Charlotte Yonge's book 'the Daisy Chain'; contributions from England in the form of donations, legacies, subscriptions, special appeal funds and the sale of the mission magazine, the Southern Cross Log; and contributions from New Zealand and Australia.
In 1855, John Coleridge Patteson (1827-1871) joined the Melanesian Mission. He was consecrated as Bishop of the newly formed diocese of Melanesia in 1861. Patteson's efforts were concentrated on the Northern New Hebrides, Banks and Solomon Groups, including Santa Cruz and Swallow Isles. In 1867 he secured the transfer of the training college and headquarters of the mission from New Zealand to St. Barnabas, Norfolk Island. He also reduced to writing several of the Melanesian languages, preparing grammatical studies and translations of parts of the New Testament. In 1869 Patteson began the native ministry with the ordination of George Sarawia. In 1871, Patteson was killed by natives at Nukapu, Santa Cruz Group, probably in response to the recent forced removal of islanders by labour traffickers. His death encouraged the regulation of the labour trade in the South Pacific.
On the death of Patteson, Rev. R. H. Codrington declined the bishopric but continued the Mission with the support of the Bishops of New Zealand and Australia. Subsequent Bishops of Melanesia included the son of the founder, John Richardson Selwyn (1877-1892); Cecil Wilson (1894-1911); Cecil J. Wood (1912-1918); John Manwaring Steward (1919-1928); Frederick Molyneux (1928-1932); Walter Hubert Baddeley (1932-1947); S.G. Caulton (1948-1954); and Bishop A. T. Hill (1954-).
By 1899, the staff of the Mission included the Bishop, Archdeacon, 9 white priests, 2 native priests, 9 native deacons, 420 native teachers, 6 white women workers and 12,000 Christians.
In 1910 the first conference of Mission staff was held in the Islands, and the second in 1916. At this time the decision was made to adopt English as the language to be used in Mission Schools in place of Mota, a change which took effect in 1928. On 6 August 1919, for the first time, a special Synod composed of European and native clergy was called to propose a successor to Bishop Wood from its own members. They elected John Manwaring Steward. In October 1921, at St. Luke's Church, Siota, the first Synod of the Missionary Diocese of Melanesia was constituted. Bishop Steward issued his primary charge, which was printed at the Mission Press, Norfolk Island. His charge laid down that the manner of rule in a diocese is that of a Bishop and his priests together; that native clergy should have the same position in Diocesan Councils as the missionary clergy; that the Synod should not meet less than once in 7 years; and he gave definite regulations as to the powers of the synod and its relations with the Bishop.
In 1920, the Mission headquarters moved to Siota, on the Island of Florida in the Solomons. In 1925 Rev. F. M. Molyneux was consecrated as the first Assistant Bishop, and the Native Brotherhood was founded, led by Ini Kopuria. In 1929, two Sisters from the Community of the Cross were brought to Melanesia to work amongst the women and girls of the Islands. In 1926 the Diocese of Melanesia was extended to include the Mandated Territory, which included North New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the northern islands of the Solomon Group, and preliminary visits were made to discuss the possibility of opening up new work there. From 1929, New Britain in the Mandated Territory was also opened up and developed, assisted by the work of the Native Brotherhood.
The Japanese invasion in early 1942 involved the Mission in New Britain and the Solomon Island areas. The Mission experienced a great deal of damage to stations and buildings; however, the native church survived and assisted with the care of wounded Allied troops. Bishop Baddeley began the work of reconstruction after the War.
In 1963, Rev. Dudley Tuti and Rev. Leonard Alufurai became the first Melanesian priests to be consecrated as Assistant Bishops of Melanesia by the Archbishop of New Zealand. In January 1973, at the diocesan conference held in Honiara, Solomon Islands, it was agreed to set up an autonomous Province of Melanesia (formerly an Associated Missionary Diocese of the Church of the Province of New Zealand) with its own constitution. On 12 January 1975, with the permission of the General Synod of the Church of the Province of New Zealand, the Church of Melanesia was thus inaugurated as an autonomous province.
In 1999, the 150th anniversary of the Church of Melanesia was celebrated in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The Church's Archbishop, Ellison Pogo, vowed that the Church would continue to uphold the founder's vision for the Melanesian Mission. The Church of Melanesia is now widely involved in many development and social projects. It has a fleet of ships, operates a shipyard and a commercial printing press.
Further reading: D Hilliard, God's Gentlemen. A History of the Melanesian Mission, 1849-1942 (University of Queensland Press, 1978); E S Armstrong, History of the Melanesian Mission (London, 1900); S W Artless, The Story of the Melanesian Mission (Church Army Press, Oxford, revised 1965).
Born at Otley, Yorkshire, of devout Methodist parents, 1864; educated at Otley Collegiate School; entered the Primitive Methodist ministry, 1887; minister at Barrowford, 1887-1888; Halifax, 1888-1889; sent by the Primitive Methodist Missionary Committee on a pioneering mission to northern Rhodesia, 1889-1902; his time in Africa affected his health and he returned to England, 1902; minister at Halifax, 1902-1903; Brighouse, 1903-1908; Nottingham, 1908-1911; Gainsborough, 1911-1916; Leeds, 1916-1919; Financial Secretary to the Missionary Department, 1919-1924; Kingston, 1924-1925; Secretary of the Chapel Aid Association, 1925-1936; supernumerary, 1936; married firstly Elizabeth Anne (née Smith) and secondly Harriet (née Wright); died, 1937. Publication: The Rev Henry Buckenham, pioneer missionary (Joseph Johnson, London [1920]).
Born in Rockferry, Birkenhead, England, 1883; trained at Didsbury theological college; ordained as a Wesleyan Methodist minister; served the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society at Chipembi, northern Rhodesia (later Zambia), 1910-1915; chaplain to the armed forces, 1915-1917; returned as missionary to northern Rhodesia, 1917; instrumental in the development of Chipembi mission station and its circuit, although his treks in the Luano Valley did not result in permanent missionary endeavour there owing to shortages of money and manpower; served the Selukewe, Salisbury, Broken Hill, Lusaka, Nambala and Kafue circuits; reduced the language of the Bene-Mukuni to writing, translating part of the Bible and producing a vernacular hymnbook; began the first girls' secondary school in northern Rhodesia at Chipembi, 1928; supernumerary from 1951; subsequently served at Chingola; MBE; married, firstly, Louie (née Barrett) and, secondly, Dorothy Mabel Christian (née Hicks); died, 1963. Publications: articles and books on missionary subjects.
The British North Borneo (Chartered) Company was formed in 1881 and from 1882 administered the territory of North Borneo, the present-day Malaysian state of Sabah. The Company ruled the territory until the end of 1941, when the Japanese occupation ended Company rule. After the war, in 1946, the Company surrendered the territory to the British Crown and North Borneo became a British colony until 1963, when the territory became part of Malaysia. The Company was dissolved in 1953.
The territory was administered by a Governor, a nominated Legislative Council and a Civil Service, but the final seat of authority was the Court of Directors of the Company, which sat in London. The Company, under the Charter, was the Government of the territory and had to maintain a civil administration. But the Company was also mindful of its shareholders, and promoted the territory as a source of timber, forest products and mineral wealth, and publicised the territory's potential for growing plantation crops such as rubber and coconut.
Edward Peregrine Gueritz was Governor of British North Borneo, 1904-1911.
Further reading: K G Tregonning, Under Chartered Company Rule (North Borneo 1881-1946) (University of Malaya Press, 1958).
From at least 1821 the Church Missionary Society advocated the establishment of a permanent post in Jerusalem. The London Jewish Society, which aimed to convert Jews to Christianity, also took an interest in the city. The first permanent station was established in Jerusalem in 1833 and the first Bishop, Michael Solomon Alexander (a converted Jewish Rabbi), arrived in 1841 with the aim of converting Jews and Palestinians to Christianity. The Bishopric started as an Anglo-Prussian union, for Anglicans and Lutherans. In 1845, the first Anglican Church (Christ Church, Jaffa Gate) was dedicated. The second Bishop (1845-1879) was Samuel Gobat von Cremines. After the death of the third Bishop (1879-1881), Joseph Barclay, the Bishopric became a solely Anglican Bishopric, centred on the Cathedral Church of St George, which was built and dedicated in 1898 under the fourth Bishop, George Blyth (d 1914).
Khalil Sakakini (1878-1953) was a Palestinian educationalist and Arab nationalist.
Isa Daoud Al-Isa (1878-1950) was a Palestinian journalist and poet, the co-founder (in 1911) and editor of the Arabic newspaper based in Jaffa, Filastin.
Ebenezer John Mann was born in 1881, and Mabel Mann in 1883. They were second cousins, and first met in England in 1900. Each sailed independently for China with the China Inland Mission - Ebenezer in 1903, and Mabel in 1905. Both were sent to Kansu province (North West China) - Ebenezer to Tsinchow and Fukiang, Mabel to Liangchow. In October 1907 they were married at Sichuan and left to fill a gap at the Si'ning Mission (close to the Tibetan border) for six months. In May 1908 they returned to Fukiang, where they were based until their retirement in 1944. In 1921 Ebenezer Mann was appointed Chairman of the Famine Relief Committee set up after the earthquake in Kansu Province. He was awarded the Certificate of the Medal of the Sprouting Grain in 1921, the highest award given to foreigners. Ebenezer Mann died in 1957 and Mabel Mann in 1977.
The Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Constitutional Conference, held at Lancaster House, London, began on 10 September 1979. The delegates included Lord Carrington, the British Foreign Secretary; Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Prime Minister of Rhodesia since the general election in April, and other members of his Government of National Unity including the former premier, Ian Smith, Joshua Nkomo, head of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), and Robert Mugabe, head of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), both representing the Patriotic Front. Although none of the participants began the conference with any real expectations that a solution would be reached, after four months of negotiation a settlement was concluded. On 21 December 1979 the delegates signed an agreement to accept a constitution for a new independent Zimbabwe and to implement a cease-fire in the civil war.
Alice Werner was born in Trieste on 26 June 1859. In her youth she lived in New Zealand, Mexico, USA and Europe. She was educated partly in Germany, and later in England, where she attended Newnham College, Cambridge University. Her interest in Africa began with visits to Nyasaland in 1893 and Natal in 1894. In 1899 she taught Afrikaans and Zulu in London. Between 1911-1913 she toured East Africa, where she came into contact with Swahili and other languages of the region. In 1917 she joined the School of Oriental Studies as one of the original members of staff, initially as Lecturer but later as Reader and eventually Professor of Swahili and Bantu languages. She continued in this position until her retirement at the end of the 1929/1930 session. During this time, she also taught at Oxford and Cambridge, in co-operation with her sister Mary Werner. In 1928, Alice Werner received the degree of D.Litt from the University of London. After her retirement in 1930, she received the title of Emeritus Professor from the same University. In 1931 she was awarded the Silver medal of the African Society, of which she was Vice-President. She died on 9 June 1935.
Alice Werner made contributions on African subjects to the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, in addition to other journals. She also produced works on African philology and mythology. Her own publications included: The Natives of British Central Africa (1906); The Language Families of Africa (1915); A Swahili History of Pate (1915); Introductory Sketch of the Bantu Languages (1919); The Swahili Saga of Liongo Fumo (1926); Swahili Tales (1929); Structure and Relationship of African Languages (1930); The Story of Miqdad and Mayasa (1932); and Myths and Legends of the Bantu (1933). She also translated a number of works.
David McLean was born on 4 February 1833 at Scotswall Farm, near Dunfermline in Fife. At sixteen he joined the National Bank of Scotland. In 1858 he took a post in the Far East with the Oriental Bank at Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1865 he was appointed Manager of the Shanghai Office of the newly formed Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. He remained there until 1873 when he was made Manager of the Bank's London Office, where he stayed until his retirement in 1899. McLean remained with the Bank as a Member of its London Committee for some years after his retirement. He died in June 1908.
The Nazareth Baptist Church was founded by Isaiah Shembe, the Zulu religious leader and healer, in Natal in 1910. The amaNazarites are the oldest African independent church in South Africa. For further information see A Vilakazi, Shembe: the revitalization of African Society (1986).
Wilson Herbert Geller was born on 26 December 1868 at Thaxted in Essex. He trained at Harley College. In 1897 he was appointed to Siaokan in Central China as Lay Evangelist for the London Missionary Society. On 5 January 1901 he married Mabel Love Neal, also of the London Missionary Society, at Union Church, Hong Kong. His work was mainly pastoral and evangelistic with the oversight of a large country district comprising about 25 churches. He took a large part in the production of a Chinese hymnbook, and composed many of the tunes. He also planned and built Siaokan Church. He retired in 1936, and died on 20 November 1949.
Mabel Love Neal was born on 18 December 1872 at Stoke Newington. She was appointed to Canton and sailed on 9 November 1897. Her chief work in China was building up a Bible school for women, as well as taking part in general work for women and girls at Siaokan Mission. She died on 17 December 1953.
Factors behind the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858) included the political expansion of the East India Company at the expense of native rulers, harsh land policies of successive Governor-Generals, and the rapid introduction of European civilization. The trigger was discontent among indigenous soldiers (both Hindu and Muslim), who revolted, capturing Delhi and proclaiming an emperor of India. The mutiny became a more general uprising against British rule, spreading through northern central India. Cawnpore (Kanpur) and Lucknow fell to Indian troops. With support from the Sikh Punjab, troops under generals Colin Campbell and Henry Havelock reconquered affected areas. The British government subsequently undertook reform, abolishing the East India Company and assuming direct rule by the Crown. Expropriation of land was discontinued, religious toleration decreed, and Indians were admitted to subordinate civil service positions. The proportion of British to native troops was increased as a precaution against further uprisings.
Peter Hackett was a British field researcher involved in the collection of material for the planned third volume of the Linguistic Survey of the Northern Bantu Borderland (Oxford University Press for the International African Institute, 1956).
The survey was undertaken under the auspices of the International African Institute. Support for the project was obtained from the British, French and Belgian governments, and the work was overseen by Malcolm Guthrie and Archibald Norman Tucker. The field research was carried out by four investigators, two to work on the western languages (between the Atlantic Coast and the River Oubangui) and two to work on the eastern (or central) languages (from the River Oubangui to the Great Lakes). In addition to Peter Hackett, the British members of the team included I Richardson, joined by G Van Bulck from Belgium and André Jacquot, a Frenchman. Richardson and Jacquot worked on the western languages, while Hackett and Van Bulck on those in the then Belgian Congo.
At a later date, work on the languages from the Great Lakes to the Indian Ocean (eastern or far eastern languages) was prepared by Archibald Tucker and Margaret Bryan, from documentary sources as well as their own field research. The collection of material for the first two sections of the work was undertaken from June 1949 to December 1950.
The third volume of Linguistic Survey of the Northern Bantu Borderland, which would have appeared under the heading Linguistic analyses of the central (Belgian Congo) area, never reached publication.
Emily Dora Earthy (known as Dora Earthy) worked as a missionary in Portugese East Africa (Mozambique) for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, from September 1917 to December 1930. She then obtained a grant from the Research Committee of Bantu Studies of the University of Witwatersrand, to cover six month's fieldwork among the Valenge women of that country, compiling raw material for her book Valenge Women: the social and economic life of the Valenge women of Portugese East Africa (Oxford University Press, 1933).
David Lloyd Francis was born in England but emigrated to New Zealand with his family in about 1920. He and his wife worked with the Melanesian Mission for sixteen years in the New Hebrides, the Solomon Islands and Santa Cruz Islands, including six months on the Island of New Britain in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. He was ordained in May 1937. During the Second World War he worked as a medical missionary/chaplain for the Allied armed forces in a military camp in the Solomon Islands. After the War, Francis toured New Zealand with an exhibition of 'Melanesian Curios', which he brought to Britain in 1947. He settled again in Britain, doing occasional work for the BBC. He died in the early 1990s.
Born, 1885; educated at Fordyce Academy; MA, Aberdeen University, 1906; BD, Edinburgh University, 1909; ordained in the Church of Scotland; missionary for the Church of Scotland Mission at Ichang, China, 1909-1915; served in the Royal Field Artillery, firstly as a gunner and later as commissioned officer, 1916-1919; awarded the Military Cross; returned to serve at Ichang, 1920; awarded the CBE as a result of assistance given to Captain Lalor of the Butterfield and Swire ship Siangtan, managing to negotiate Lalor's release after he was captured by pirates (1927), 1928; the events were widely reported; honorary Doctor of Divinity, Aberdeen University, 1934; held by the Japanese at Shanghai, 1940; involved in relief work among destitute Britons in Shanghai, 1941-1942; interned in Lunghwa Civilian Assembly Centre, near Shanghai, 1943-1945; returned to work at Ichang, 1945-1948; minister of the parish of Botriphnie, Banffshire, 1948-1955; died, 1973.
Robert Morrison: born near Morpeth, Northumberland, England, 1782; grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne; following a rudimentary education, apprenticed to his father as a last and boot-tree maker; joined the Presbyterian church, 1798; decided to prepare for missionary work; studied at Hoxton Academy (later Highbury College), London, 1803; studied at the Missionary Academy, Gosport, Hampshire, 1804; appointed by the London Missionary Society (LMS) and studied medicine, astronomy and Chinese in London, 1805; ordained and sailed via Philadelphia and New York to Canton, 1807; pioneering Protestant missionary to China, though he saw few conversions himself; married Mary Morton (1791-1821), daughter of an East India Company surgeon, in Macau, 1809; became translator to the East India Company's factory in Canton, securing a legal basis for residence and a means of supporting himself, 1809; completed the translation of the New Testament into Chinese, 1813; it was printed, 1814; viewed with hostility by Chinese officials; baptised the first Protestant Chinese Christian, 1814; served as translator on Lord Amherst's abortive embassy to Peking (Beijing), 1816-1817; returned to Canton, 1817; on the completion of his Anglo-Chinese dictionary, received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, University of Glasgow, 1817; with William Milne (1785-1822) founded the Anglo-Chinese College, Malacca, for training missionaries in the Far East, 1818; with Milne, completed the translation of the Bible, 1819; visited Malacca, 1823; travelled to England, 1823-1824; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1824; helped to established the short-lived Language Institution in London; ordained the first Chinese native pastor, 1825; married Eliza Armstrong (1795-1874), 1825; left England and returned to Canton, 1826; died at Canton, 1834. Publications include: Dictionary of the Chinese Language (1815-1823); Grammar of the Chinese Language (1815); Chinese Bible and numerous Chinese tracts, translations, and works on philology. His son from his first marriage, John Robert Morrison (1814-1843), succeeded his father at the East India Company and became secretary to the Hong Kong government.
Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society missionary to the Gold Coast, west Africa, 1840-1845; worked among indigenous people in Canada in the Hudson Bay district from 1847.
William Walmsley: born, 1868; engineer; lived in Salford, Manchester; his firm Bousteads asked him to accompany a consignment of machinery to Zanzibar to instal in their coconut processing works, 1891; travelled from Gravesend to Zanzibar, 1891; contracted a fever and entered the French Hospital, where he died, 1891.
Although apartheid was strengthened in the period from 1948, in the preceding period black (African) and 'coloured' (other non-white) inhabitants of the Union of South Africa (established in 1910) were already disadvantaged legally and economically in comparison with white inhabitants. Initiatives to oppose their inferior treatment included the activities of the politican and writer Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (1876-1932).
The remit of the Commission of Enquiry into the Facilities for Oriental, Slavonic, East European and African Studies (Scarborough Commission) was to research facilities available in Britain and elsewhere for Oriental, East European and African studies, surveying existing facilities using questionnaires, and discussing potential needs with individuals, companies, government departments, trade associations and other organisations, including universities in South Africa and North America. Its Chairman was the Earl of Scarborough and the Secretary was Mr R T D Lechard. Its members included Dr B Ifor Evans. The Commission was appointed on 14 December 1944, and reported in 1945.
Born, 1899; educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge (MA); BSc, London; entered the Indian Civil Service, 1922; retired, 1937; member of the Indian Legislative Assembly, 1937; Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, 1943; Leader, European Group, Indian Central Legislature, 1946; Knight, 1947; Central Organiser, National War Front, India, and Publicity Adviser to the Government of India; KBE, 1963; Honorary Fellow, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1971; President, India, Pakistan and Burma Association; died, 1992. Publications: The British in India (1947); The British Impact on India (1952); Modern India (1957); The Changing Face of Communism (1961); The Road to Freedom (1964); History of the Indian Tea Industry (1967); Empire into Commonwealth (1969); To Guard My People: the history of the Indian Police (1971); A Licence to Trade: the History of English Chartered Companies (1975); A History of the Inchcape Group (1977); A History of the Joint Steamer Companies (1979); Vignettes of India (1986).
James Sibree was born in Hull on 14 April 1836. In his early life, Sibree served as an engineer's pupil and worked for the Hull Board of Health (1859-1863). In 1863 he sailed to Madagascar having been appointed Architect of the Memorial Churches, Tananarive, for the London Missionary Society (LMS). He worked on the churches at Ambatonakanga, Ambohipotsy, Andohalo and Manjakaray. He returned to England in 1867 to study at Spring Hill College, Moseley, near Birmingham. During his time at Spring Hill he also carried out deputation work for the London Missionary Society. James Sibree was ordained in 1870. He was also married in February of that year to Deborah Richardson. Together with his wife, he returned Madagascar as a missionary and was stationed at Ambohimanga. He worked on a revision of the Malagasy Bible, took part in a deputation and in 1876 went to work at the Theological Institution in Tananarive. In September 1877 the Sibrees returned to England, owing to problems with the local government. From 1877 to 1879, he carried out deputation work in England. In November 1879 he was appointed as Principal of the London Missionary Society High School at Vizagapatam, South India. However, due to illness the Sibrees returned to England in June 1880. From 1880 to 1883 he once more carried out deputation work in England. In 1883, he and his wife were re-appointed to Madagascar, where Sibree became Principal of the LMS College at Tananarive. The Sibrees left Madagascar, arriving back in England in November 1916. Deborah Sibree became ill, and a great deal of James Sibree's time was devoted to nursing her. She died on 21 July 1920. In the last years of his life, James Sibree continued to carry out much of the deputation work for the LMS and the Bible Society. In 1923, James Sibree completed the Register of Missionaries and Deputations of the LMS.
William Lockhart was born on 3 October 1811 in Liverpool. He trained at the Meath Hospital, Dublin, and Guy's Hospital, London. Joining the London Missionary Society, he was appointed medical missionary to Canton and sailed on 31 July 1838. In 1839 he left Canton to set up a hospital in Macao. Following an arrangement with American missionaries he left Macao for Chusan and reached Tinghae on 13 September 1840. The following year he returned to Macao and married Catherine Parkes. In 1842 he went to Hong Kong then to Chusan and in 1843 arrived at Shanghai and opened a hospital along with Dr. Medhurst. Following a trip home to England, Lockhart visited Peking and worked there from 1861 to 1864. He returned to England permanently in 1864 and retired in 1867. He was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the London Missionary Society from 1869 to 1870. In 1892 he presented his library to the London Missionary Society. He died on 29 April 1896.
Alan P Hughes is the great-great-grandson of Lockhart.
Walter Barr Birmingham was Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Ghana at Legon-Achimota from 1952-1960. In 1954 he conducted possibly the first public opinion survey in tropical Africa prior to the Gold Coast General Election. In 1955 he served on the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the mining industry and advised on the Five-Year Development Plan of 1963. From 1972-1975 he was Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Coast. His main publications were Introduction to Economics (1955) and in Social and Economic Survey of Ghana edited by Omaboe and Neustadt.