Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1910-1962 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
11 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
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.
Archival history
The papers were deposited with the Methodist Missionary Society and form part of the special series of biographical papers of individual missionaries.
GB 0102 MMS/Special Series/Biographical/Central Africa/FBN 15-20 (Boxes 613-623) 1910-1962 Collection (fonds) 11 boxes Gray , Sidney Douglas , 1883-1963 , missionary
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 papers were deposited with the Methodist Missionary Society and form part of the special series of biographical papers of individual missionaries.
Deposited on permanent loan with the records of the Methodist Missionary Society from 1978.
Papers, 1910-1962, of the Rev S Douglas Gray, comprising personal correspondence, 1910-1940s; personal papers, 1910-1950, among them journals and diary and autobiographical extracts, including accounts of journeys in Rhodesia (later Zambia), addresses on missionary work, notes for sermons, and papers on Gray's furloughs, MBE, health, and retirement; papers relating to missionary work, including correspondence with Missionary Society officials, 1924-1954, correspondence and papers on medical, educational, and evangelistic matters and on indigenous customs including marriage, 1919-1962, and printed material, 1911-1940s; circular letters and circuit and district reports, 1912-1951, on various circuits in north and south Rhodesia; papers, 1911-1955, largely typescript, on general missionary affairs in Rhodesia; correspondence with Oliver Roebuck, 1923-1925, 1930, and Roebuck's diary, 1923.
Unrestricted, but only to be viewed on microfiche.
No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
English
Unpublished handlist.
Published on microfiche by IDC Publishers.
The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (Ref: MMS/WMMS), succeeded in 1932 by the Methodist Missionary Society.
Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Source: Wesleyan Methodist Church Minutes of Conference (1963), p 203. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Mar 2002 African cultures Ancient religions Autobiographies Awards Christianity Christians Clergy Cultural heritage Customs and traditions Diaries Documents Educational missionaries Educational missionary work Evangelistic missionaries Evangelistic missionary work Gray , Sidney Douglas , 1883-1963 , missionary Information sources Literary forms and genres Literature Marriage Medical missionary work Methodism Methodist Missionary Society Methodists Mission administration Missionaries Missionary societies Missionary work Mission policy National cultures Nonfiction Ordained missionaries Primary documents Prose Protestantism Protestant nonconformists Protestant nonconformity Protestants Religions Religious activities Religious doctrines Religious groups Religious institutions Religious movements Religious organizations Religious texts Roebuck , Oliver , 1896-1966 , missionary Sermons Social behaviour Social norms Southern Africa Theology Travel Travel abroad Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Zambia Zimbabwe Nonconformists Nonconformity
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited on permanent loan with the records of the Methodist Missionary Society from 1978.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers, 1910-1962, of the Rev S Douglas Gray, comprising personal correspondence, 1910-1940s; personal papers, 1910-1950, among them journals and diary and autobiographical extracts, including accounts of journeys in Rhodesia (later Zambia), addresses on missionary work, notes for sermons, and papers on Gray's furloughs, MBE, health, and retirement; papers relating to missionary work, including correspondence with Missionary Society officials, 1924-1954, correspondence and papers on medical, educational, and evangelistic matters and on indigenous customs including marriage, 1919-1962, and printed material, 1911-1940s; circular letters and circuit and district reports, 1912-1951, on various circuits in north and south Rhodesia; papers, 1911-1955, largely typescript, on general missionary affairs in Rhodesia; correspondence with Oliver Roebuck, 1923-1925, 1930, and Roebuck's diary, 1923.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted, but only to be viewed on microfiche.
Conditions governing reproduction
No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (Ref: MMS/WMMS), succeeded in 1932 by the Methodist Missionary Society.
Finding aids
Unpublished handlist.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Published on microfiche by IDC Publishers.
Related units of description
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
- National cultures » African cultures
- Religions » Ancient religions
- Social behaviour » Social norms » Awards
- Religions » Ancient religions » Christianity
- Religious groups » Christians
- Religious groups » Clergy
- Cultural heritage
- Intangible cultural heritage » Customs and traditions
- Documents
- Information sources
- Literary forms and genres
- Literature
- Marriage
- Religious activities » Missionary work
- National cultures
- Documents » Primary documents
- Literary forms and genres » Prose
- Religions » Ancient religions » Christianity » Protestantism
- Religions
- Religious activities
- Theology » Religious doctrines
- Religious groups
- Religious institutions
- Religious institutions » Religious movements
- Social behaviour
- Social behaviour » Social norms
- Theology
- Travel
- Travel » Travel abroad
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English