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1. INTRODUCTION.
The TITLE - Like every other Pastor before and after him The Rev. E. George BIGGS
had a number of stock phrases which he used frequently. I was twelve years of age
when I first heard him preach and was immediately captivated by –
“The VICISSITUDES of LIFE”
The word fits well with the story of this Church and with that of almost every Church
that has ever existed including the one at Corinth. Which one of the seven Churches
in Asia as described in the early chapters of the Book of Revelation we most resemble
I leave you to determine if you must.
The FACTS - which make up this biography of the life of the Church have been gleaned by
– and – large from the Minute Books. Some ‘ informations’ have been supplied by Mary
Hillier, Ella Mason, Joan Smith, Joan Riviere, Kath Stevenson, Jim Stevenson, June
Cheeseman, Margaret Kendall and Marjorie Tomsett for which I thank them. I am however,
most indebted to Master Peter White for sending me four long pages of good “GEN” half
of which was previously not known to me. I rather regret that much of the ANECDOTAL
section involves myself and the Boy Covenanter Group for I had anticipated a wide range
of ‘memories’ and stories to have come from many sources. Even so, this narrative, like
Topsy, has ‘just growed’ to three times its intended length.
A THOUGHT - By the time he was thirty-four years of age the 20th. Century SWIZGERMAN THEOLOGIAN Karl BARTH had published his ‘SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY’
in fourteen large volumes. When asked what he considered to be the central message
of the Christian Faith he replied – “JESUS LOVES ME - this I know for the bible tells
me so.” I trust you can say ‘AMEN’ to that.
AN APOLOGIA - I hasten to thank the lady who spent many hours typing these pages up and to
exonerate her from any blame for the incorrect spellings, the split infinitives, the poor syntax, the
peculiar punctuations, the absurd gerunds, the missed agreements, the scattered apostrophes, the
incongruent verbs, the incoherent speech marks, the offending clichés, the confusing capitals, the
infuriating dashes, the intrusive parenthesis and doubtless more besides which may well disturb the
sleep of an oversensitive grammarian for weeks.
Already you can see I have made every honest attempt to use the word of one or two
syllables in preference to longer equivalents but, alas I have not been able to achieve this
laudable objective to the extent that I had hoped so I apologise to my surviving old pals –
Jim Stevenson, Peter White, John Tomsett, Ken Briggs, Ken Lewis, David Elliott, Andrew
Biggs, John Powell, Brian Wood, Chris Richards, Steven Richards, Richard Bull and,
above all, Robert Stevenson for using words of three or more syllables and can only hope
that their wives or sisters can enlighten their ignorances where they expose themselves.
We can hardly hold it against them that they did not attend the school which somewhat
arrogantly described itself as “The School of Philology”. Surely every school under the sun
performs that function. ANOTHER APOLOGIA - Some years back a lady of little
consequence avoided pronouncing my surname when conferring a minor honour upon my
unworthy head. Being an old “snob” at heart I am adopting, with but a minor though
significant adaptation, what the lady called me on the day as my “nom-de-plume” I trust
you will have a merry and profitable read.
Robert Alexander – Cee
(alias – R.A. CAUGHEY).
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NOTES GLEANED FROM THE MIDDLESEX REGISTER(COPY IN UXBRIDGE
LIBRARY)
In 1810 the Vicar of WEST DRAYTON (St. MARTINS C of E) reported that among his
PARISHIONERS totalling 662 souls some 98 were 'DISSENTERS' of a variety of
religious affiliations mainly Methodists, Congregationalists, and Independents.
In 1817 some 'BENEVOLENT INDIVIDUALS from UXBRIDGE were concerned at the
DESTITUTE CONDITION of the VILLAGE of WEST DRAYTON and its neighbourhood
as to the RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION which could 'MAKE WISE UNTO SALVATION'
that they hired a large room in the VILLAGE and started a SUNDAY SCHOOL for both
adults and children.
By 1821 Morning and Evening Sunday Services had been introduced for the benefit
of those who REQUIRED ANOTHER SPECIES of RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION to that
which was available elsewhere in the village. At that time the only other Church in West
Drayton was St. MARTINS CHURCH OF ENGLAND. St. CATHERINE'S ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH was not established until the influx of IRISH folk, following the
failures of the potato crops in the Mid-1840's.
When Mr Brown (A deacon from the INDEPENDENT CHURCH in UXBRIDGE who
started the work) died in January 1825 others from UXBRIDGE with the assistance of
a Deacon from HARLINGTON BAPTIST kept the work going. Between ADULTS and
CHILDREN the total regular Sunday attendance was in the region of 135 and that from
a total population of 600+ in the village itself.
In 1826 those who were members of churches INDEPENDENT of the CHURCH of
ENGLAND the ESTABLISHED CHURCH were denied certain rights and their dead had to
be buried in un-consecrated ground in a corner of the PARISH CHURCH burial ground.
The law was still in force where anyone failing to attend Sunday Worship at the local
PARISH CHURCH could be fined for failing to do so. By 1826 this had become very rare,
mainly as a result of the endeavours of a recently formed group known as 'THE
PROTESTANT DISSENTING DEPUTIES of the three DENOMINATIONS PRESBYTERIANS, INDEPENDENTS AND BAPTISTS within twelve miles of
LONDON. In 1828 they were directly responsible for PARLIAMENT REPEALING the
"TEST and CORPORATION ACTS."
In 1926 Andrew Gunter FULLER (thought to be the son of Andrew FULLER of
Kettering in Northamptonshire - one of a group of Baptists who sent the great William
CAREY to be the 1st BAPTIST MISSIONARY to INDIA in 1792.) and his family took
up residence in West Drayton and ran a BOARDING SCHOOL in the village. He was
a man of exceptional vigour and vision, educated and gifted in a variety of ways.
Soon after his arrival he challenged the CONGREGATION to form itself into a properly
CONSTITUTED CHURCH either by joining the UNION of INDEPENDENT
CHURCHES or that of the BAPTIST CHURCHES, in either case retaining its
'AUTONOMY' and therefore retaining the ability to govern its own affairs and make its
"CONGREGATIONAL" decisions.
A meeting was called for the decision to be taken as to whether they would be of the
INDEPENDENT OR OF THE Baptist persuasion. Voting took place and the result was
a tie. After a while a second attempt was made to decide the matter but the weather
was so bad on the night that only a handful of the congregation turned up so the
decision was put off yet again.
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NOTES FROM THE MIDDLESEX REGISTER (COPY IN UXBRIDGE LIBRARY)
In 1810 the Vicar of WEST DRAYTON (St. MARTINS C of E) reported that among his
PARISHIONERS totalling 662 souls some 98 were 'DISSENTERS' of a variety of
religious affiliations mainly Methodists, Congregationalists, and Independents.
In 1817 some 'BENEVOLENT INDIVIDUALS from UXBRIDGE were concerned at the
DESTITUTE CONDITION of the VILLAGE of WEST DRAYTON and its neighbourhood
as to the RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION which could 'MAKE WISE UNTO SALVATION'
that they hired a large room in the VILLAGE and started a SUNDAY SCHOOL for both
adults and children.
By 1821 Morning and Evening Sunday Services had been introduced for the benefit
of those who REQUIRED ANOTHER SPECIES of RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION to that
which was available elsewhere in the village. At that time the only other Church in West
Drayton was St. MARTINS CHURCH OF ENGLAND. St. CATHERINE'S ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH was not established until the influx of IRISH folk, following the
failures of the potato crops in the Mid-1840's.
When Mr Brown (A deacon from the INDEPENDENT CHURCH in UXBRIDGE who
started the work) died in January 1825 others from UXBRIDGE with the assistance of
a Deacon from HARLINGTON BAPTIST kept the work going. Between ADULTS and
CHILDREN the total regular Sunday attendance was in the region of 135 and that from
a total population of 600+ in the village itself.
In 1826 those who were members of churches INDEPENDENT of the CHURCH of
ENGLAND the ESTABLISHED CHURCH were denied certain rights and their dead
had to be buried in un-consecrated ground in a corner of the PARISH CHURCH burial
ground. The law was still in force where anyone failing to attend Sunday Worship at
the local PARISH CHURCH could be fined for failing to do so. By 1826 this had
become very rare, mainly as a result of the endeavours of a recently formed group
known as 'THE PROTESTANT DISSENTING DEPUTIES of the three
DENOMINATIONS - PRESBYTERIANS, INDEPENDENTS AND BAPTISTS within
twelve miles of LONDON. In 1828 they were directly responsible for PARLIAMENT
REPEALING the "TEST and CORPORATION ACTS."
In 1926 Andrew Gunter FULLER (thought to be the son of Andrew FULLER of
Kettering in Northamptonshire - one of a group of Baptists who sent the great William
CAREY to be the 1st BAPTIST MISSIONARY to INDIA in 1792.) and his family took
up residence in West Drayton and ran a BOARDING SCHOOL in the village.He was a
man of exceptional vigour and vision, educated and gifted in a variety of ways.
Soon after his arrival he challenged the CONGREGATION to form itself into a properly
CONSTITUTED CHURCH either by joining the UNION of INDEPENDENT
CHURCHES or that of the BAPTIST CHURCHES, in either case retaining its
'AUTONOMY' and therefore retaining the ability to govern its own affairs and make its
"CONGREGATIONAL" decisions.
A meeting was called for the decision to be taken as to whether they would be of the
INDEPENDENT OR OF THE Baptist persuasion. Voting took place and the result was
a tie. After a while a second attempt was made to decide the matter but the weather
was so bad on the night that only a handful of the congregation turned up so the
decision was put off yet again.
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WEST DRAYTON BAPTIST CHURCH came into being on the 25th
SEPTEMBER 1827 in the newly built CHAPEL in MONEY LANE (then
known as MILL ROAD) and could seat 160. The new premises had been
used for the congregation to worship in since JUNE that year
PASTORAL SUCCESSION
1 Andrew Gunter FULLER 1827-1835
16. E.H. KENT
1918-1920
2. Daniel KATTERNS.
1835-1837
3. William NASH
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4. James STRANGER
1837-1842
17. S.J. FURSLAND
1921-1922
Retired as Pastor but ‘Overseer’ till
1928 when both he and his wife died.
1843-1844
18. Arthur GRIFFITHS.
5. John FAULKNER
1845-1849
6. John GIBSON.
1851-1868
19. Theo. COUSENS.
1934-1939
Retired after 35 years at Slough
Baptist Church (Died)
7. --- BURJEP
1869-1970
20. E.G.BIGGS.
8. Alfred GLIDDON.
1873-1880.
9. Alfred EDWARDS.
1880-1882.
21. P.G. TRACY-RICHARDSON
1953-1958
22. Andrew JORDAN.
1959-1961.
10. Albert SMITH
1882-1884.
23. Patrick ROSE.
11 E.W. MIZEN
1886-1887
24. William UPCHURCH. 1967-1973
12. W.W. REED.
1890-1893
25. James Mc HAFFIE.
12a. MR. G. ABLETTS ‘OVERSEER’
1893-1896
1931-1933
1940-1952
1962-1967.
1972-1980
26. G. Bryn JONES.
1984-1990
(JOINT WITH HARMONDSWORTH
BAPTIST CHURCH)
13 E. BALLARD-WARREN1897-1900
14 A.J. STANTON.
1901-1902
(SPURGEON’S STUDENT PASTOR)
15. E.W. STENLAKE.
1902-1916.
26a. The Rev. Clifford COTTERELL.
(MODERATOR till 1991)
27. Terry Mc NULTY
1991-2000.
(JOINT WITH HARMONDSWORTH
BAPTIST CHURCH).
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Eventually the most committed attenders were invited to a meeting where the
voting showed that 12 preferred a Baptist Church and 9 an Independent. Some
who qualified to attend this gathering would have been unable to do so by virtue
of the fact that they were obliged to remain at home and look after the children.
This probably balanced itself out in respect of the two groups.
BAP.
MR. E. WRIGHT.(SNR)
MR. E. WRIGHT (JNR)
MR. W. POWELL.
MR. J.HENTON
MR. J. WRIGHT.
MR. H. HOBBS.
MR..J.HOWELL
MR. J.FULLER.
MRS. L. KINGSTON
MISS. M. WATTS.
MR. ROLFE (SNR)
MR. ROLFE (JNR)
MRS. M. GRAINGER.
MR. A. NICHOLAY.
MR. R. DYKE.
MRS. WHITE.
MRS COTTERELL.
RS. T. HOBBS.
MR. J. GROVES.
MR. T. MORTEN.
MR. C. M ORTEN.
BAPTISTS 12.
IND.
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INDEPENDANTS 9
A decision was also taken to build a New Chapel in what is now known as MONEY
LANE . Subscriptions were entered into to pay for the project. One of the members Mr
Edward WRIGHT (he owned a local business) provided a plot of land and by June
1827 the CHAPEL came into use. The total cost was £560.15s.3p. This sum was lent
by Andrew FULLER and Edward WRIGHT free of interest. It took the CHURCH four
years to pay off the loans. Andrew FULLER was responsible for most of the preaching
. To start with only about 8 adults came to the morning service but in the evenings the
regular congregations were between 50 and 60 adults. In addition there was a Sunday
School for children. The CHAPEL was capable of seating 160.
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On Tuesday the 25th September a Church Meeting was held and Andrew FULLER
was unanimously elected as PASTOR. On the following morning the public
recognition of Mr. FULLER’S ordination took place. Since the Church was now part
of the Baptist Union it had to appoint ‘ DEACONS’ and hold ‘CHURCH MEETINGS’
to deal with the day to day running of the Church in respect of spiritual, business,
financial matters and deal with situations where members who broke the rules
could .be disciplined . A rule book was drawn up outlining in detail the theological
position in matters pertaining to DOCTRINE firmly based on Scripture according to
the fellowship’s understanding of GOD’S WORD.
In the deeds of 1827 we are described as being “STRICT and PARTICULAR”
and “CALVINISTIC” when it comes to a SOVEREIGN GOD whose will is
absolute when it relates to the governing of the UNIVERSE and in the lives of
individuals. The GOOD NEWS (The Gospel) was evangelical in emphasis
which would insist on the TOTAL DEPRAVITY of UNREGENERATE HUMAN
NATURE, the JUSTIFICATION of the SINNER BY FAITH in the ATONING
DEATH and RESURRECTION of JESUS CHRIST, the FREE OFFER of
SALVATION to those who will believe and the PLENARY INSPIRATION and
EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY of the BIBLE.
The first recorded instance of the need to DISCIPLINE a member who had
stepped over the line occurred in 1829 when Bro Thomas HOBBS visited the
Kings Head Inn and “had taken more LIQUER than did him good.” He was
excluded from the COMMUNION TABLE for a period of THREE MONTHS.
“Brother HOBBS was called in and in the midst of the TEARS of the CHURCH
was affectionately informed of their decision.” The feelings accompanying these
proceedings will never be obliterated from the minds of those present.
BAPTISM of BELIEVERS by TOTAL IMMERSION (signifying BURIAL) took
place in the STREAM some 20 yards across from the front door of the Chapel.
In MARCH 1833 there is the first mention of a death within the fellowship “OUR
LITTLE SANCTUARY WAS FIRST INVADED BY DEATH”(Mr. Wilkes had only
been attending for a year.) Since the law had recently changed in respect of
dissenters using burial grounds of their own the mortal remains of Bro.William
WILKES were laid to rest a few yards to the right of the front entrance of the
Chapel Sadly, several months later the infant daughter of Pastor FULLER and
his wife Esther was buried to the front of the building.
Early in his ministry Andrew FULLER baptised, among others, James
STEVENS, Thomas HOBBS, James Edward WRIGHT and his own brother
William Coles FULLER who in 1827 lived in RICHMOND.
In 1831 a certain James ROADNIGHT and his wife moved to WEST
DRAYTON. He had been appointed to the position of ‘Company Secretary’ at
a firm called ‘CAPE BOARDS’ based by the Grand Union Canal in COWLEY.
A very able and Godly man who became SENIOR DEACON and kept such
records as we have of the beginnings of the Church.
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In 1833 between 80 and 100 adults attended the services and there was
a Sunday School for children and young people presumably held either
before the morning service or during the afternoon.
It is on record that some of the members went about visiting people in their
cottages with tracts (how many could read them?) and contacting the Barge
People on the Canal and the families of the Brickworks in the Stockley and
Colham areas. These efforts were remarked upon by the Vicar of St.
LAWRENCE’S C of E Church in Cowley – “I fear that SHEPHERDS of a
different persuasion are moving among the Brickmakers of Colham. I pray that
only good will come of their endeavours and that God will be glorified in it all.”
It was about this time that the Church joined the Berkshire Association of Baptist
Churches and special prayer meetings were being held at the request of the
fairly recently established BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY for the
“PERSECUTED BRETHERN in JAMAICA.”
In 1835 Andrew FULLER decided that it was time for him to move to other
pastures. He had been the Pastor for some 8 years. His resignation letter ran
to 5 pages and the Church reply was 3 pages long. He and his family moved
to BLOCKLEY in WORCESTERSHIRE.
NO.2. 1835. Daniel KATTERNS of UXBRIDGE was then appointed as Pastor
but in less than 2 years he left and took up a Pastorate in HAMMERSMITH.
NO.3. 1837 The Rev. Willaim NASH of STAINES became the Pastor. Since the loans
on the ORIGINAL BUILDING had been cleared and within a year of his arrival the
congregation had increased to the point that on occasions there was barely enough
room for everyone to be seated the suggestion was made that the premises should be
enlarged. As there was no room at the rear end of the plot the extension had to take
place at the front. IN 1839 18 feet were added and the windows and doors of the
original building were refitted at the front so that the appearance remained as it had
been. This cost £268.18s.7d. Some removable partitioning was erected on the inside
to create a “school room” and with furnishings this added a further £31.1s.6d. to the
cost.. (NB. The WHOLE of this sum £300.0s.1d. was PAID-OFF in 4 years) The original
building put up in 1827 cost £560.15s.3d. (In 1925 when the Church moved to the
present building – the Chapel in Money Lane was sold to a Mr.Joseph HILLYER for
£207.10s.0d) In the early 1980’s a ‘developer’ CONVERTED (to use the term) the old
premises into 3 so-called ‘cottages’ by adding a “FLOOR” half way up the building and
introducing internal staircases and also a balcony at the front with access for the
residents of the front ‘cottage’.
.
The Residents were unaware of the fact that the remains of a number of elderly
Baptists from the19th.Century were residing under their lounge floor. The
renovation involved putting in a damp course, redecorating and retiling. The
cost would have been in the region of £50.000. The flats were probably sold for
a minimum of £80.000 each.
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William NASH was energetic and eager to plant new congregations where he
could. In 1839 a premises – little more than a glorified wooden hut became
available in TROUT ROAD in the village of YIEWSLEY about a mile north of
West Drayton.. It opened for worship in 1842. This work flourished for a good
number of years but by 1867 it no longer existed .
In 1841 the records show that 3 MEMBERS were ‘DISCIPLINED’’ by the
Church for different reasons:
(a) John GLYND was excluded from the fellowship for becoming the
Landlord of one of the 4 Public Houses on the Green.
(b) An unnamed woman member was suspended indefinitely for
“committing herself 3 months before marriage”
(c)
A Brother FAULKNER was warned about his poor attendance and told “that
the wandering Sheep all too frequently becomes the “LOST SHEEP”
In 1840 – 5 members – Bro. TURTON and sisters BARTLETT, GRAINGER, TAYLOR
AND TURTON were ‘DISMISSED’ (sent with the blessing of the Church) in order to
establish a Baptist Church in UXBRIDGE under the care of the Rev. Thomas WELCH.
Because the West Drayton Church was a PARTICIULAR BAPTIST congregation the
five members had to obtain permission from the Church Meeting before they were
allowed to leave. Similarly those wishing to join the congregation from another
fellowship had to present a “letter of dismission” from their previous Church before
being accepted as a member.
During the pastorate of Mr. Nash the Church was ‘alive’ and well attended and
out and about doing the work of the Lord However, in1842 having completed 5
years as Pastor, William NASH felt that GOD was calling him to JAMAICA so
he resigned and joined the BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY and sailed for
JAMAICA in the latter part of 1842. On the 13 th.JANUARY1844 he died of a
fever in KINGSTON at the age of 37 after just 1 year in JAMAICA.
If the blood of HIS Martyrs is the seed of the Church it may also be said that the
death of HIS saints in such situations is the life of the Church.
NO.4 James STRANGER. Became PASTOR in 1843 but left within a year.
NO.5. In MAY 1845 John FAULKNER of READING was appointed as Pastor .
His wife (Maria) had to be baptised by immersion in keeping with the rules of
this Particular Church. She had been brought up as an ‘Independent’. Within
two years a deep rooted disaffection had developed between the Pastor and
the Church Officers and many of the members. It would seem that something
to do with money was at the heart of the ill feeling. The Pastor was ACCUSED
of something of which the Church Minutes are very discreet. When things came
to a head and feelings ran very high indeed it appears that Mr. Faulkner ‘lost
his rag’ and used some rather ‘strong’ language at the Officers Meeting. When
later he was taken to task about that he made a classic reply “I did not use any
word which could not be found in the DICTIONARY.”
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The Church Officers called a meeting without the Pastor’s knowledge in December
1847 the result of which was that senior Deacon James ROADNIGHT and 22 members
withdrew themselves from the fellowship (some of whom presumably went off and
worshipped at the Church in Trout Road.) Eventually, the embattled John FAULKNER
was excluded from the Church taking his wife and the Church Minute Book with him.
All efforts to recover the book were unsuccessful. The 23 members who had pulled out
in 1847 returned in August 1849.
Fortunately, Mr ROADNIGHT had kept his rough copies of most of the minutes
from which he was able to produce another “ORIGINAL” copy of the first Minute
Book (it still exists to-day –February 4th 2008.)
HISTORICAL NOTE
By 1849 – not only had the GRAND UNION CANAL (connecting London and
Birmingham) arrived half way between West Drayton and Yiewsley but the
BRUNEL GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY – was up and running. This meant
that journeys that had taken days could now be covered in a matter of hours.
Mr. ROADNIGHT arranged a CELEBLRATION gathering for FRIDAY
7th.SEPTEMBER. Some 70 members and friends and other Ministers sat down
to TEA at half past 5 on the clock. Mr. ROADNIGHT’S dear friend the 1st
MINISTER AND FOUNDER of the Church the Rev. Andrew G. FULLER gave
the address and spoke on “ PEACE and UNITY”.
The regular congregation on the Sunday was in the neighbourhood of 40.
It was about this time that British people were emigrating to AMERICA (USA) and to
the colonies – AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND and other
parts of AFRICA. This did affect the Church at West Drayton Baptist but was
compensated by the arrival of new people into the area, as the ability to get to London
on the train and to return in the evening made it possible for people to work in the
rapidly expanding city where office and shop jobs were very available offering wages
that were considerably better than those of local agricultural workers.
Queen Victoria had been on the throne for over 10 years. And an enormous
expansion in the population was taking place. The potato famine in IRELAND
brought many Irish Catholics to West Drayton to work at brickmaking and in
road making. St.Catherines R.C.Church was built on the GREEN less than 100
yards from the Baptist Chapel.
1850. One of the Church members – Maria MOORES had been fined (5s.0d.- a very
considerable sum of money indeed) at UXBRIDGE Magistrate’s Court for
ASSAULTING a Mr.CURTIS in a public place (i.e. The street) and causing him
some bodily harm. The Church Meeting decided to suspend her from the Lord’s
Table (communion) for 2 months. “The 2 DEACONS dispatched to
COMMUNICATE this news to her were received in a very Christian Spirit.
Prayer was offered with her and the brethren left her weeping.”
13
The Church was so short of funds at this time that a LEVY of 1d.(one penny) a
week was placed on each member and that was over and above their normal
Sunday giving in the “offering”. For how long this was imposed is not stated.
So, come on cough up your 1p you 2007 lot.
NO.6. Jn 1851 The Revd. John GIBSON became the Pastor initially for just 3
months but he stayed for 17 years – the longest serving Pastor in the history of the
Church (to date 2008) . During his time the Church was free of conflict and
maintained a stable witness in the expanding village which had become a bit of a
‘dormer’ for London workers and was growing up around the Railway Station, which
meant that Yiewsley and West Drayton were developing into quite large villages.
The Railway Station bore the names of both villages in those early days.
When Mr. Gibson became the Minister there were 47 members and some other
attenders in addition and the Children’s Sunday School numbered 74.
The disciplining of wayward members took place at irregular intervals mainly
for being “found in drink”. Brother HOBBS was excluded from the LORD’S
TABLE (COMMUNION) yet again but this time for “Refusing to stop working on
the LORD’S DAY when he didn’t really have to.”
In 1860 Mr. GIBSON offered to leave but at the Church Meeting (of members)
the resolution “that we ask the Pastor to stay on” was passed unanimously.
Services were conducted twice on Sundays and at other times in the week.
Visitation around and beyond the village was part of the normal life of the
Church as also were OPEN AIR MEETINGS on the Green. There were Special
Services – with up to 5 sermons separated with afternoon tea. Occasionally an
itinerant EVANGELIST would conduct a ‘CAMPAIGN’ for 2 or 3 days, usually
over a week end. Nevertheless, church attendance dropped in number and the
financial position was uncertain.. There has been talk of building a new premise
near the station on the border of Yiewsley and West Drayton but this never
progressed beyond the ‘desire’ stage.
In 1868 the situation had reached a critical state. The now “very nearly unused
and dilapidated chapel in Trout Road” was sold and the money used to make
some necessary improvements at the Money Lane Chapel.
The Church Deeds could not be found; since only 3 of the ORIGINAL 12
TRUSTEES were still alive and it was assumed that one of the deceased 9 had
taken the Deeds “home” with him for safe keeping. The Rev. John GIBSON
resigned as Pastor – there was no longer sufficient money coming in to support
him and the now elderly and somewhat infirm James ROADNIGHT who had
been a stalwart (and his wife) in the Church for 37 years left the area and settled
back in LUTON from whence they’d come in 1831.
NO.7. In 1869 a Mr.BURJEP became the Pastor He told the Church that he
would “Not at all be dependent on members and friends for financial support
and would receive what they could afford him”.
14
Since he was already the Pastor of the Baptist Church in the village of Harefield
some eight or so miles from West Drayton, and, often as not, he did not turn up to
take the services which made life difficult and unpredictable for the Church Officers
at the West Drayton Church. Within a year, perforce, he tendered his resignation
citing distance, poor health and lack of financial resources as his reasons for
leaving. (All very predicable I should have thought.)
1870 A first mention is made of “Mr.Spurgeon’s young men” two of whom were
allocated to West Drayton Baptist Church taking turn about to spend the weekend there (Saturday to Monday morning) being fed and accommodated in
someone’s home. They were given a’ fee’ to cover the rail fair expenses from
South Norwood (Crystal Palace) in return for preaching at the 2 Sunday
Services and, possibly, helping in the Sunday School.
The students were a Mr.MORRIS and a Mr.TARN. This arrangement only
lasted for ONE academic year since the accommodation was so poor that the
College were advised by MORRIS and TARN not to continue with the
unsatisfactory arrangement. The “fee” was whatever the evening offering
amounted to. The Church then had to engage the Sunday by Sunday Services
of visiting preachers, some of whom would have been LAY-MEN.
NO.8. In 1873 The Revd. Dr. Alfred GLIDDON - who had rented a house(with his wife)
in the now expanding village of West Drayton became the Pastor. He was the Manager
of a Bank in the City of London. He was energetic and a man of many talents and
willing to use them in the service of the LORD. The stipend for his “services” as Pastor
was set at £24 per annum .With the hope that “it may be increased” as the church
grew. He lived at SOUTH END HOUSE (close to the present day Brandville Road.) A
man of substance for his house was burgled in 1879 and all his silver plate was stolen
.During his ministry the Church flourished and in 1875 £75 was raised at the special
ANNIVERSARY SERVICE for the purpose of reseating the Chapel following its
renovation. The Sunday School “TREATS” held in Dr.HAMILTON’S garden at the rear
of the Chapel, were attended by over 100 children. .The Sunday School Teachers at
that time were Messrs. BELCH (superintendent), ABBOTT, PYM, HOBBS,
EDWARDS, BETTLES, WORRELL, HOBBS, WYMAN, WATTS AND THE 2 Miss
NEWESTEADS.
IN 1877 the CHURCH CELEBRATED its GOLDEN JUBILEE with SPECIAL
MEETINGS and ACTIVITIES and a panel of 4 visiting speakers over the weekend.
In OCTOBER 1877 Dr. GLIDDON was arrested and put in prison. One of his best
CLIENTS at the ALDGATE BRANCH of the CITY BANK where he was Manager was
accused of FRAUD and in order to spare the man’s family Dr.GLIDDON, who honestly
believed the man to be INNOCENT, attempted to stop the prosecution by offering to
pay the amount involved. For this he was brought to Court and received a SIX
MONTHS SENTENCE The matter found its way into the National News Papers and
this led to a PUBLIC OUTCRY at the severity of the sentence and among those who
signed a petition for his reprieve and release were the DIRECTORS of the CITY BANK
and several of its esteemed CUSTOMERS. As a result of the petition the Home
Secretary not only ORDERED his release but met him as he left the prison and
escorted him on his way.
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Dr.GLIDDON returned home to a great welcome and the TOWN BAND
accompanied him from the Railway Station all the way to his house. A summary of
his home- coming sermon still survives – but not in the Church Minute books. In
1870 he moved away from the area and had to resign as Pastor. The fortunes of
the Church revived during the seven years he was the Minister.
(Dr.GLIDDON was TREASURER of the ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
from 1870 to 1874. A man of many parts indeed.)
NO.9. IN 1880 Mr.Alfred EDWARDS became the Pastor His first somewhat painful
duty involved trying to help a member by the name of FAULKNER who held the
post of Secretary of the PROVIDENT SOCIETY of the GREAT WESTERN
RAILWAY. Mr. FAULKNER was accused of embezzling the sum of £500 and
although the case was not proved he was sent to prison for 3 months after which
“our poor brother and his wife removed to WOLVERHAMPTON.”
Alfred EDWARDS resigned the Pastorate after barely 2 years and left the area.
NO.10. In 1882 an Albert SMITH who was connected with HAVEN GREEN BAPTIST
CHURCH in EALING became the Pastor but he also lasted only 2 years
.During his time some EVANGELISTIC MEETINGS were held as follow up services
in connection with the visit of D.L.MOODY and Ira SANKEY to BRITAIN. A lecture
was given on the life of Missionary David LIVINGSTONE and Mr. Frank RUSSELL
who was connected at SPURGEONS METROPOLITAN tabernacle (at the
Elephant and Castle in London) conducted services. There were a good number
of conversions at this time and public baptisms in the stream were frequent. As
always, since the formation of the Church in 1827, a list of the names of the
members show that for every man there were 2 and sometimes almost 3 women
attenders and so, it has continued to this day – 2008.
In 1885 an application was made to the “Particular Baptist Central Fund” for some
financial assistance to help to pay the Pastor’s stipend; since nothing was
forthcoming Albert SMITH left and returned to Haven Green. Once again the
Church had to rely on visiting preachers to SUPPLY the PULPIT on Sundays.
NO.11. In 1886 – January – a Mr.E.W.MIZZEN became the Pastor but in November
he left having “EXPRESSED his DISSATISFACTION with the general state of the
CHURCH and WORK”. The place was in his opinion, poorly run and he felt that
there was a lack of commitment amongst members and attenders.
The Church was back to visiting preachers mostly Lay Men – for almost 3 years.
.NO.12. In 1890 Walter W. REED of WINDSOR was appointed PASTOR He lived
in GOTHIC VILLAS and married a young lady of the congregation. “At his
RECOGNITION (INDUCTION) SERVICE there were no fewer then 6 SPEAKERS
and the place was crowded and ‘they’ all had a successful and happy day”
However, after just 3 years he resigned in 1893. There were 67 names on the
Membership Roll at this time. He was one of ‘Mr Spurgeon’s Young Men’.
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NO.12a. HAVEN GREEN BAPTIST CHURCH appeared to have a place in their
hearts for the Baptist Church in West Drayton and one of their Church OFFICERS
– a Mr. ABLETTS agreed to become our ‘ OVERSEER’ (1893) He endeavoured to
introduce a workable structure for the running of the Church and it was he who took
on the responsibility of making sure that preachers were properly engaged for the
Sunday Services.(This involved a lot of letter writing and waiting for replies for the
number of folk with telephones were few and far between though the railway meant
that preachers could travel more speedily and from farther distances.) Because he
was not actually a Church Member Mr.Abletts had to have special permission to
attend Church Meetings.
In 1894 there is a first mention of:
(a) The BAND of HOPE.
(b)
A (MAGIC) LANTERN LECTURE – with 4 inch coloured glass (SLIDES)
(c) An ORGAN being used for public worship. A small ORGAN offered for
Church use provided:
(a) we pay the owner 1d. (penny) a year and
(b) that we keep it in good repair.
There is also mention at that time of a letter having been received “OFFERING
COMMUNION WINE at a cheap rate” from the WELCH GRAPE Company. It
was decided that the FEE for visiting PREACHERS be cut from 7s.6d to just
5s.0d. the other 2s.6d. should be placed in the POOR FUND in order to assist
families (not necessarily connected with the Church) who were existing on the
bread line or even below it.
The CHAPEL BUILDINGS were in a poor state – dampness, leaking roof, wood
rot and ill-fitting windows all needing attention. The benches needed replacing
and the hymn books were in a very poor state.
NO.13. In 1897 the Rev. E .Ballard-Warren became the Pastor. He and his wife were
exceedingly energetic for the LORD. The arrangement concerning the remunerations
for his services was “that he should receive what remained from the offerings at the
Sunday Services after 4s.0d had been deducted for Church expenses.
In recognition of his contribution to the life and work of this Church during the three
years when he was “OVERSEER” A “Testimony was raised to Brother ABLETTS
sufficient for the seven volumes of C.H.SPURGEON’S TREASURY of DAVID” (Sermons based on David’s PSALMS) to be purchased” and presented to
Mr.ABLETTS to take with him back to Ealing from whence he had come.
Open air services became a regular feature on Sundays (as well as two Sunday
Services in the Chapel and the Sunday School) on the village green. Breakfasting
together before the morning service was experimented with at least for a while. Midnight meetings were held frequently for men coming out of any of the four pubs on the
GREEN. (Drunkeness was an immense problem). An “EVANGELISTIC BAND”
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was created for the purposes of conducting services in the cottages (and
houses) of the people of West Drayton and Yiewsley. A good proportion of the
members and attenders at the chapel in Money Lane came from the Yiewsley
side of the railway bridge.
Money was raised to purchase –
(a) Modern INCANDESCENT LAMPS to replace the old style oil lamps.
(b) To purchase a MAGIC LANTERN so that illustrated talks and lectures
could be given. Since this was something rare other Local Churches
frequently asked to borrow it but our man had to be the ‘operator’ so
many of his evenings were taken up till other churches were able to
purchase a lantern of their own.
In 1898 an Evangelist from SHOREDITCH TABERNACLE conducted an eight
day mission; he came armed with lantern slides concerning “Jesus the
CARPENTER of NAZARETH”.
NOTE- It is a sobering thought that the boys and girls who were in the Sunday
School and Bible Classes at that time were those who would be very much
involved in the GREAT WAR of 1914-18.
One of the Church Officers passed away – Henry HONOUR and was buried in
ST.MARTINS CHURCH YARD.
There is a first mention of Church Officers being voted in on a BALLOT system.
Mr. Warren – a man of experience as Pastor of a number of previous churches
introduced a range of changes as to how the day-to-day running of the Church
should be conducted.
In 1899 the Rev. Ballard-Warren himself conducted a week of meetings at the
Wesleyan Chapel in the village of IVER (one stop up the railway line). There
were a number of CONVERSIONS some of whom having already been
‘Baptized’ as infants requested to be baptised by total IMMERSION as an open
confession of their “NEWNESS of LIFE in JESUS”.
At this time the membership stood around the 80 mark (plus over 20 regular
attenders) there were 70+ children in the Sunday School and the mixed Bible
Class of Lassies and Lads had 26 on the roll and was led by a Mr. Patterson (a
‘professional man of some sort’) whose wife was a very ‘live wire’ and took the
responsibility for organising any teas (and breakfasts) that were required.
The BALLARD-WARRENS were eager that a Baptist Chapel should be started in
YIEWSLEY. A local builder – a Mr. Reuben SMITH provided a plot of ground at the
corner of PROVIDENCE ROAD and a TABERNACLE was built that could seat 180
folk. Over 20 members of the West Drayton Chapel were “DISMISSED “(sent) to
establish Yiewsley Baptist Church mid-way through the year 1900. Understandably
some at West Drayton were none too happy that Mr. Warren, engaged to build up
the Church in West Drayton seemed dedicated to the task of building up the Church
in Yiewsley. All of those who left the West Drayton Chapel lived in Yiewsley and no
one had been forced to leave the Money Lane Chapel.
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At the end of that year The Rev. E. Ballard-Warren resigned and became the Pastor
at BRENTFORD TABERNACLE. A purse of money amounting to £5.3s.3d was
handed to him at their going. He and his wife were sadly missed. They lived at 4
Daisy Villas on the Green which was owned by the Miss. Honours.
NO.14 The Rev A.J. STANTON – a STUDENT at SPURGEON’S College was
appointed Pastor for just over one year in 1901. C.H. SPURGEON had died some
years previously but one of his two sons – The Rev. Thomas SPURGEON WAS NOW
THE College PRINCIPAL. The basic arrangement was that the Church should pay 10/(50p) for the week-end to any student who supplied the pulpit in addition to covering
the cost of the rail fare from and to the college and the provision of hospitality whilst in
West Drayton. Not for the first time attempts to get Thomas SPURGEON to speak at
the Church Anniversary proved unavailing though on a Wednesday evening during
1902 he spoke at the 2nd. Anniversary of Yiewsley Baptist Church and a large number
of West Drayton folk heard him that night.
At the Church AGM in 1901 the Treasurer presented the overall financial figures
for the year 1900 –
INCOME -
£61. 9s. 4½d.
EXPENDITURE -
£61. 5s.4d.
BALANCE IN HAND - 4s. 0½d.
Not enough to pay a Spurgeon’s College Student his preaching fee! At that same
meeting NO ONE wished to become the Church Secretary. Surprise; surprise.
When he left Mr. STANTON did not take any young lady from the chapel with
him neither did he steal the MINUTE BOOK.
NO.15. In 1902 the Rev. E.W.STENLAKE became the Pastor. During the 14 years
of his ministry the population of West Drayton rose from 1,246 to about 4,500. The
same happened in Yiewsley at that time. New industries had taken root mainly
along HORTON ROAD and also the BATH ROAD. The CHAPEL building was in
constant need of repair which was a drain on the finances which were somewhat
precarious at the time. Even so, in1909 the decision was taken to purchase a new
site in Station Road opposite the end of Brandville Road. The plot was about 110ft
long and 45ft. wide and cost £153.11s. 0d. When eventually the debt on the site
was paid off then the new building would be put up. The arrival of the GREAT WAR
(1914-18) meant that the plan had to be shelved for the time being. In 1921 it was
decided that that plot of ground should be sold off to a Mr. GOODMAN and a MR.
LOVEJOY (they sound like characters out of Pilgrims Progress) in favour of a larger
though somewhat strangely shaped plot in Swan Road which belonged to a Miss
CLASSON who lived in a handsome semi-mansion towards the top of the road –
THE SWAINS - and who was willing to lower the price somewhat if the Church
promised NOT to interfere with a line of POPLAR TREES in her garden for she did
not wish to look out of her bedroom window and be confronted by the side view of
a church building only 50yards away. The promise was given readily and the price
was agreed - £225. 0s.0d.
Work started on the new buildings in 1924. The secondary room (40ft. x 26ft) was
opened for use in OCTOBER 1924 and the Sunday Services were held there though
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the Sunday school continued to meet in the Money Lane Chapel. On December
28th the congregation returned to the OLD CHAPEL to hold a FINAL MEETING
there. The old building was then sold to a Mr. Joseph Hillyer of BELLCLOSE ROAD
for £207.10s.0d. After the payment of the legal fees the balance of the money went
towards the cost of the NEW CHURCH in Swan Road.
The NEW CHURCH opened in MARCH 1925. It had cost just over £2,000 to
erect. The ARCHITECT was a very local man – Mr. HUBERT BATEMAN of
Warwick Road, West Drayton. The builder was his father SAMUEL BATEMAN
who was himself a member of the CHURCH; he was also the church organist
and leader of the “Singing Band”.
Many small streams in the West Drayton area had been filled in by Estate Owners in
days gone by. It was unfortunate for the BATEMANS that the entire left hand wall of
the new church had been built right where one of these filled in streams existed. The
line of tall poplar trees was very adjacent to the boundary of the buildings on that side
so, no sooner was the place built than it started to fall apart. Not rapidly but certainly
decisively. Within just 15 years the doors on the end wall of the Sunday School Room
leading out to a garden area at the rear could no longer be used and were boarded up
which meant no escape route in the event of a fire. The metal framed windows on that
side were difficult to open and shut and the wall became distorted to some extent. The
wooden floor ‘bowed’ and the joists came away from their supporting wall. The main
room was not affected to that extent but in 1938 both corners at the platform end were
“UNDERPINNED” at considerable expense. Nevertheless the rear buildings were not
condemned till 2005 and were pulled down also at considerable expense (£18,000)in
March 2006. The main building still stands and is in use for public worship but another
£8,000 had to be spent on it in 2007 in order to prevent it from being demolished.
£18,000 was also spent during 2005 constructing a new kitchen and 2 new toilets within
the CONFINES of the MAIN WORSHIP ROOM which was reduced by 10feet all the
way across its width at the front of the church by the entrance door so the room now
measures 40ft x 30ft room enough to seat over 100 people.
Mr. Bateman built many of the houses in Swan Road which are standing firm
and true to this day (2008).
At the official opening of the new church in 1925 when the place was packed to
the door with members and visitors three elderly men who were adamantly
against the need to build the new church stood up about ten minutes into the
service and in loud voices gave vent to their feelings. Strong hands quickly laid
hold on them and bundled them out the front door into the street somewhat
robustly where they continued to make their protest.
A proper Baptismal Pool had been put in under the platform and one of the first
three to be baptised in it was Sammy BATEMAN’S 13 year old grand daughter
WINIFRED. The first couple to be married there in 1926 was a Miss Mary
MacKENZIE (of Old Farm Road) to Mr. Richard CHARITY (a carpenter from up
STOCKLEY WAY) both of whom were Sunday School Teachers.
During Mr. Stenlake’s time a very determined effort was made to tackle the problem of
drunkenness with the support of the Vicar of St. Martin’s C of E Church
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(The Rev. .A.W.S.A.ROWE) and the newly established SALVATION ARMY CORP
based in their new building in Horton Road – strenuous efforts were made to get men
off the drink. On many occasions with a band of ‘helpers’ over a 100 men would be in
the Money Lane Chapel at midnight. Some, but not many, did turn their lives round
with the help of someone who befriended them from one or other of the churches.
When Mr. Stenlake resigned with regret in 1916 - “For I had hoped to have
spent the evening of my life here and seen the new chapel built.”
About eighty were attending the Sunday Services.
No mention is made anywhere in the Church Records (i.e. The Minute Book) of
young men going off to war in 1914 and thereafter or of what befell them when they
did. Nothing is said about any who may have returned and no mention of any sort
to those who fell in battle. The only reference to the war appears in August 30th.
1915 when “A MRS DAVY requested to borrow some of the church forms
(benches) as she was entertaining some wounded soldiers in her garden”.
The Church was without a Pastor for almost 2 years (no mention of
SPURGEON STUDENTS filling the pulpit this time) then NO.16. In 1918 PASTOR E.H.KENT was appointed. Nothing of note seems to have
happened during the 2 years when he was in West Drayton other than the recurring
problem of the lack of funds. The number of those attending worship dropped to
about 60 some of those who left went off to seek a new life in America (USA) or
Australia or to other parts of the distant colonies.(A repetition of what had taken
place in the 1850’s and 1860’s.) A couple who went off to America in 1925 sent the
OAK COMMUNION TABLE and the 3 OAK CHAIRS all the way from the USA as
“a gift to be used in the New Church”. Two more families – the NASH’S and the
HORNVILLES left for AUSTRALIA .
The Singing Band, The Band of Hope, The Christian Endeavour ( a youth
group) and the Sunday School were all going well except that all the Sunday
School Teachers resigned for a reason not stated in the Minute Book.
When he arrived in 1918 his salary was fixed at £52 0s.0d. per annum. In 1919 Mr.
Kent suggested that 5s 0d. per week be knocked off his already rather frugal
wages. In December of that same year the Pastor resigned and the church had to
resort to the POOR FUND to pay the 2 months wages due to him. Mr. Kent and his
wife went off and joined YIEWSLEY BAPTIST CHURCH.
NO.17. IN 1920 the REV. S.J. FURSLAND of HAVEN GREEN Baptist Church
in EALING agreed to be responsible for “SUPPLYING the PULPIT”. No mention
is made of where the money came from to pay the visiting preachers. In 1921
the FURSLAND’S joined the CHURCH and he became the PASTOR. There
seemed to be an undercurrent of ill-feeling within the fellowship.
In 1922 the Church Rules were revised and the question of “MEMBERSHIP” was
examined though it remained “CLOSED.” (You have to be baptised by IMMERSION
as a believer in order to become a member.) The communion table was “OPEN” to all
believers. The revision of the rules meant that for the first time in the CHURCH’S
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HISTORY LADIES could be appointed as DEACONS; so MISS HONOUR,
MRS. T.HOBBS and MRS. HUMPSTEAD became DEACONS; there were
already FOUR MALE DEACONS.
In 1923 MR. FURSLAND resigned (he was getting on in years) as PASTOR but
remained as a sort of OVERSEAR for a further six years.
The new site in SWAN ROAD was purchased and a chart was drawn up
showing the number of bricks that would be needed to complete the NEW
CHAPEL. A tick was placed on each space as members and attenders bought
(or paid for) a brick. The new CHAPEL was opened in MARCH 1925 by which
date not all the bricks had been purchased let alone all the other materials
essential to the erection of a premise. The debt was not paid off until 1936.
In 1927 Centenary CELEBRATIONS were held and Win Bateman (granddaughter of
the builder) took a leading part at the CONCERT though she was but sixteen years of
age at the time. She became a school teacher then a head mistress and attractive and
capable as she was she never married. She lived until she was eighty-nine years of
age but worshipped a St. Mary’s Parish Church in Harmondsworth following a dispute
within the Chapel Fellowship in the mid 1930’s.
Although the Church was not in a position to pay even a part time Pastor some
of those who preached on Sundays came “WITH A VIEW.” A birthday party was
held for Mr. FURSLAND – his 80th – who had more or less held ‘ things’ together
when there was considerable tension within the Fellowship.
A local Builder – Mr. Spalding and his wife joined the Church and paid
£400.0s.0d. off the DEBT still outstanding in respect of the Building Fund.
In 1928 both Mr. and Mrs. FURSLAND died within a week of each other and
were buried on the same day. His going more or less left the Church without a
leader strong enough to hold the two disputing factions in check.
A Miss. Elsie MATTHEWS – an evangelist spent four days in West Drayton and
some were converted..
A meeting of Church members all but came to blows when the newly arrived builder
suggested that the man who’d been in the Church for over sixty years and who had
built the Swan Road CHAPEL was only fit to build lopsided chicken houses. (It is
interesting to note that Mr. SPALDING like Mr. BATEMAN before him went on to
build many houses in the neighbourhood one at least of which was built on the
same fault line as the chapel and in time suffered the same fate).
In 1930 one of the factions within the Church proposed that a Mr. Gilbert
INGRAM – he’d served as a MISSIONARY in CHINA with the C.I.M. (China
Inland Mission which had been founded by the remarkable Hudson TAYLOR)
for a number of years when he was a young man – should become Pastor.
No one at the meeting had any reason to dislike Mr. Ingram, however, when it
came to the vote the numbers for and against were EQUAL. The Chairman of
the meeting had an extra casting vote and he voted against the motion.
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Mr. Ingram, a dear and Godly man if ever there was one, made it clear that he would
not have become Pastor if only one member had voted against him. Undeservedly, Mr.
Ingram seemed to have become ‘Piggy in the Middle’ . Before the year was out about
fourteen members left the Church and established a fellowship at STOCKLEY with a
Sunday Morning Service and Mr. G Ingram as their Pastor. They had the use of a brick
building in the middle of a field. It could seat about forty people and belonged to the
SHAFTSBURY SOCIETY. In 1943 a fleeing German Bomber, in order to reduce his
weight jettisoned his bomb load at random. Unbelievably one of them scored a direct
on the little “CHAPEL” and reduced it to ashes.
Since the persons with whom they had been in conflict when at the Baptist
Church in Swan Road had “moved on” the Stockley Congregation rejoined the
Church – which now had congregations of over a hundred and, was, as it were
“under new management”.
NO.18. In 1931 those who remained at Swan Road appointed an ARTHUR
GRIFFITHS as the new PASTOR. The congregations had shrunk to about forty
and times were hard. As a result of the WALL STREET CRASH in October
1929 the Financial Market prices dropped steeply and the Great Depression
set in. Wages fell and many lost their jobs as firms closed down.
The Sunday School was well attended but Sunday School Teachers were in
short supply. Once again Haven Green Baptist Church in Ealing came to the
rescue. THREE YOUNG MEN came to West Drayton on Sunday afternoons
and one of them A.V.BAYLEY became the SUPERINTENDENT. The
‘SCHOLARS’ were inclined to call him “BILL BAILEY” and, generally, gave him
a bit of a hard time. There were over a hundred of them and the numbers
increased the nearer it got to Sunday School Treat Day.
Amy Johnson – she who had but recently flown SOLO from England to Australia
– and a number of up and coming film stars chief among whom was C. Aubrey
SMITH who had also played cricket for England as a fast bowler, (round-thecorner – SMITH) lived in houses overlooking the Green and would join in the
fun on village FAIR DAYS.
During 1931 a Madame Annie (or Jessie) STRATHEARN conducted three days
of Evangelistic Services. There were some ‘conversions’. She was given a fee
of £5.0s.0d. for her services.
When he was installed Arthur GRIFFITHS received £3.0s.0d. per week but during
1932 this was reduced to just £2..0s.0d. per week plus as much as possible from
the offerings up to £1.0s.0d. a week after church expenses had been covered.
In 1933 the Building Society wrote demanding the £340.0s.0d. still unpaid in
respect of the building of the Swan Road Church.
In APRIL 1933 Mr. GRIFFITHS had to resign since the Church offerings had
slumped.
When a young man – Frank WARE attended one Sunday Morning in 1933 there were only
seven elderly ladies in the congregation. Even so he joined the Church and was
23
given permission to start up a “WOLF CUB PACK”. About the same time Mrs.
Elsie PUDDIPHATT (nee. WILKINSON) started a “GIRLS LIFE BRIGADE
COMPANY”.
14 boys and 2 masters from SPURGEON’S ORPHANGE gave a concert which
included BELL RINGING – hand bells that is.
Things began to look up and a number of Baptisms took place including that of
Miss Muriel (known as Betty) BATEMAN grand daughter of ‘Sammy’ who built
the church.
After the evening service one Sunday the congregation had a “whip-round” to
pay the rent of a lady attender who was to be ejected from her home the next
morning if she could not come up with the money.
NO.19. In 1934 the Rev. Theo COUSENS of SLOUGH became the next
Pastor. He had been one of the early cadre of “Mr. SPURGEON’S Young
Men”. Following two earlier Pastorates he was appointed as Pastor at the
Baptist Church in SLOUGH and remained there for 35 years. He and his wife
came to live in Brandville Road, West Drayton and attended the Swan Road
Church. Within weeks of his arrival he became at almost 70 years of age, the
‘Minister’ the only financial requirement was that the Church would pay the rent
on his house.
Theo. Cousens was a very fine Christian man and noted for being gracious in
the manner in which he dealt with people. His experience meant that he had a
wise old head on his shoulders. He was also a gifted preacher. The warring
factions within the Church managed to put aside their differences and under
their new leader a spirit of optimism was in the air.
As a result of factories, warehouses, new shops and houses being built the
population in West Drayton went up to around the 7,000 mark as did also that
of Yiewsley. The new people coming into West Drayton were Londoners moving
from inner city areas. The ‘village’ was now a suburb of
Greater London some fourteen miles from Trafalgar Square. By now
Swan Road was built up on both sides and electricity cables had been laid on
so the Church replaced the gas lighting and the secondary heating gas stoves
in favour of electric lighting and power points. The main heating was supplied
by a coke boiler feeding 6” diameter pipes and a number of radiators. The two
coke burning stoves in the rear hall did not disappear till 1959.
By 1935 the years of Depression (ECONOMIC) were behind us. Most people
were able to get a job of work of some sort and with arrival of Adolf HITLER in
Germany the shadow of another World War was looming large.
New people joined the Church. The financial position improved and from time
to time the Pastor was presented with a gift of £10.0s.0d. In 1936 the debt on
the buildings was cleared.
When baptising young June WHITE Mr. Cousens noticed that her face had not
gone under the water so without warning her he dipped her again properly. She
all but choked for her mouth was open the second time down.
Mr. Cousens requested that the Baptismal pool should be dug out and
deepened by at least nine inches. This work was undertaken by two very
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young men in the church one of whom was Ken KNIGHT who some years later
married Miss Margaret VOYSEY whose father had been the part-time
Pastor at Harmondsworth Church in the late 20’s and early 30’s and who died
in harness in 1936. He had also held down a management job at the E.M.I.
By 1937 the Sunday School, the Bible Class, the Christian Endeavour, the
Scout Troop and the Girls Life Brigade were all flourishing. The week night
Prayer Meeting with Bible Study had been re-introduced and the congregations
were in the region of 50-60 persons of all age groups.
Special missions and concerts were well supported and people were being
converted, baptised and received into Church membership bit by bit. By this
time the new comers outnumbered those who belonged to the village and had
been worshipping at the Chapel most of their lives. One long serving member
– Mr. Samuel BATEMAN – he who had built the Swan Road Church
– died.
In 1938 young Frank WARE went off to ALL NATIONS BIBLE and
MISSIONARY COLLEGE at TAPLOW (near Maidenhead)) and in June 1942
he sailed on a TROOP SHIP to NIGERIA where he worked with the SUDAN
UNITED MISSION till he returned with his IRISH wife Winnie and their three
grown sons thirty seven years later but did not settle in West Drayton.
When the war started in September 1939 he expected to be enlisted into the
forces as six other lads in the church were but no PAPERS arrived telling him
to report to an army enlisting centre so he kept his head down; NO ONE “spliton- him” not even on the troop ship that took him to Africa. The ship had been
pursued by enemy U-boats at one point but managed to evade them.
Sadly in 1939 Theo. COUSENS was knocked down by a car in Swan Road.
The war had just started and it was ‘BLACKOUT’ when no lights were to be
shown. He died of his injuries. The heavy brass vase used in the church to this
day bears an inscription to his memory. “The memory of a righteous man is
sweet” He was a great loss and so was his wife who left the area.
1939. Before going off to war four young men made BLACK OUT SCREENS
for every window in the buildings. They were like internal shutters.
Some children from Inner London were evacuated in the 1 st. instance to West
Drayton so at the end of 1939 the buildings were used as school rooms for the
new arrivals and their teachers. For a short period (up to 2 weeks) some slept
on the premises whilst homes could be found for them. The intense bombing of
London – The BLITZ - did not start till France fell in June 1940 but who was to
know that? It was a time of great upheaval.
Church attendance improved even though some of the young men had
gone almost as soon as the conflict started on Sunday 3 rd. September 1939.
NO.20. 1940. Mr. E. George BIGGS as PASTOR’
The Church was back to relying on visiting preachers. One Sunday morning a
London City Missionary took the Service. At the Church Meeting later that week
one of the Deacons asked the question – “Is Mr. BIGGS a BAPTIST.?” None of
the others seemed to be in the least concerned about that. He preached the
Gospel loud and clear and, besides, they rather liked the man.
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On the last Sunday in March 1940 he became the part time PASTOR. He
continued as a London City Missionary and during the week he visited the
Actors and Actresses in the West End THEATRES which was his special
responsibility. He was forty years of age, married to Harriet and had two sons
– John (13) and Andrew (9). He had grown up with a “Brethern” (P.B.)
background at RAINHAM in Essex. He’d been in charge at the DAWSON HALL
MISSION (L.C.M.) in Dagenham for nearly ten years before being transferred
to a New Mission in Northolt in 1938. He was the antithesis of Mr. Cousens. He
had all the gifts of an evangelist and played a
CONCERTINA and was never happier than when he was conducting an OPENAIR Meeting. Although his singing voice was not exceptional he managed to
get the congregation singing their heads off. On Sunday evening he used the
SANKEY HYMN BOOK rather than the Baptist Book. He could preach well. He
had a good way with him whether he mixed with children, young people, the
middle aged or the elderly. He visited folk in their homes and put in an
appearance at almost every meeting and function that was held on the
premises. By the end of his first year as Pastor over 100 attended the morning
service and about 150 came to the evening service and that meant you had to
get to church well before the service began in order to get a proper seat. The
services continued during AIR RAIDS.
He discouraged WORLDLY pursuits – DANCING, attending THEATRES,
SMOKING, GAMBLING (cards) and SNOOKER HALLS. He did encourage
musical interests and taking part in sport so long as they did not interfere with
Sunday attendance or kept you away from week-night gatherings in the church.
A high moral code of conduct was insisted upon. He did, of course, rely on
dedicated and committed leaders and helpers. Somehow, like Mr. Cousens
before him and each in his own way he managed to create a great sense of
‘FELLOWSHIP’ within the CHURCH from the youngest to the oldest and a
caring for each other. The years from 1942 to 1948 were quite remarkable .
As they reached the age of eighteen the young men were obliged to do their
two years military service and the ethos underwent a subtle change.
Nevertheless, church attendance help up well with regular Conversions and
Baptisms. The Wednesday afternoon Ladies Meeting was also well attended
– about 50 or so.
In 1945 George BIGGS severed his CONNECTIONS with the London City
Mission but created an “ACTORS CHRISTIAN GUILD” with himself as
DIRECTOR and continued visiting Theatre Land till he had his wife sailed for
AUSTRALIA in JUNE 1953.
In 1945 at a Special Meeting one THURSDAY NIGHT six Baptist Ministers
including the Baptist Metropolitan Superintendent placed their hands on his
head and shoulders as he was kneeling on the platform and somehow turned
him into a “REVEREND”. He took to wearing a CLERICAL COLLAR on
occasions after that – when conducting weddings and funerals and when
visiting folk in hospital and, of course, when visiting the WEST END
THEATRES.
When Frank WARE (Missionary with S.U.M. IN NIGERIA) came home on
furlough in 1958 he too became a “REVEREND” during a Sunday Evening
26
Service. He did not take to wearing a clerical collar but the title carried a lot of
STATUS in NIGERIA especially as he was a European.
From 1945 -1952 George Biggs organised a two week church holiday at some
seaside place or other for young and old even one or two from Yiewsley Baptist
Church muscled in on that somehow year on year.
Sadly, during 1952 a serious split took place within the Church over a matter
that seemed important at the time and led to Mr. Biggs leaving the Church.
When he got to Australia he spent six months as an itinerant preacher visiting
many Churches in the Melbourne Baptist area circuit. He was invited to become
the Pastor of a church in Melbourne where only about fifty folk
27
28
29
attended the Sunday Services. One year later you had to get there early to get
a seat - the building held 400. He remained there until he was 72 when his sons
insisted on him retiring. They arranged for their parents to visit
England in 1972 and they were received with good grace and not a little
affection.
When they returned to Australia after three months they settled in a sea side
resort some distance from Melbourne and attended a small Church which had
NO PASTOR. George became the Pastor; the congregations increased but
when he reached 80 his health broke down and he died in 1982 aged 82. Harriet
lived until she was 99.
When he started at West Drayton they moved into No 8. Brandville Road and
the Church paid his rent and gave him 10s.0d. (50p) a week ‘EXPENSES’.
During 1942 there were Baptisms and the attendances increased with a number
of AIRMEN from the RAF Camp in Porters way joining us.
In 1942 – an evangelist – The Rev.Angus SCOTT conducted a ‘CAMPAIGN’
which lasted for a week and once again folk were converted, got baptised and
joined as members. Frank WARE sailed for Nigeria. The financial position was
improving. Some German bombs landed in West Drayton the nearest one
missed the Chapel by 300yards.
In August 1942 George BIGGS and a deacon called Richard CHARITY
engaged in conversation with a group of young lads who were playing cricket
on the Green. Some were local boys and some were evacuees whose parents
had settled in West Drayton. They attended the Sunday School on the following
Sunday and a COVENANTER GROUP (a non uniformed Christian
Organisation) was formed in September and with one exception these lads
remained in the teenage BIBLE CLASS till 1948 when one-by-one they left to
serve their time in the FORCES. One of them was Brian HILLYER - grandson
of the Mr. HILLYER who had purchased the OLD CHAPEL in Money Lane in
1925. There was a one and a half hour games session for them on Monday
evenings.
On October 25th 1942 a young boy named ‘Robert’ entered the Church for the
first time at 3pm. – Sunday School time – wearing a full KILTIE rig-out. The 120
‘nippers’ gazed at him in disbelieve. A nine year old girl was heard to say “Miss
Dunning why is that boy wearing a SKIRT.”? The “SKIRT” had been bought for
him when he was nine years of age and he was being required to wear it a few
weeks short of his thirteenth birthday. The family had arrived from the GOVAN
area of GLASGOW during the week. His father had been sent south to Yiewsley
to open a factory allied to the shipbuilding industry some six months earlier. The
following week the boy wore his ‘Sunday Best’ this time to the Covenanter Bible
Class and point blank refused ever to put the kilt on again. Since ‘clothes
coupons’ were rationed (there was a war on) his mother was not able to buy
him a jacket and trousers (his first pair of longs) till 1943. That boy was me and
I am now
78 years of age. (2008)
30
In 1943 Mr Biggs’s wages went up to £1.10s.0d. per week (payment by
success) and the Church continued to pay his rent.
When the war in Europe ended in MAY 1945 a dozen or so German Prisoners
of War from their camp in IVER drove themselves to Church in an open lorry on
Sunday evenings. They sat in the back row against the wall. Only two of them
could speak some English. One evening the service closed with the hymn –
“GLORIOUS THINGS of THEE ARE SPOKEN, ZION CITY of OUR GOD” to
the tune AUSTRIA. Mr. Biggs said their faces were a picture when they heard
the organist playing the opening bars. They stood to attention and sang lustily
but not the same words as the rest of us were singing. Afterwards one of them
said – “We’ve always suspected that the English are mad but not so mad as to
sing the German National Anthem.”
We Covenanters Boys challenged them to a Table-Tennis match and they beat
us 6 games to 3. They played with great intensity. Then they beat us 5 goals to
2 at Football so we challenged them to a CRICKET MATCH but before that took
place they were repatriated to Germany or Canada.
In September Mr. Biggs ceased to be a LONDON CITY MISSIONARY and was
appointed as FULL TIME PASTOR and moved to a house in SWAN
ROAD about 200 yards from the church.
In 1946 a Welcome Home Evening was arranged for the 8 men and 2 ladies
from the Church who served in the war:
(1) BILL SPALDING who had survived three and a half years in a
JAPANESE prisoner of war camp.
(2) VIC STEVENSON was in the 8TH. Army in Africa but came home in
1944 to train as an OFFICER and finished up in Germany.
(3) KEN KNIGHT who had risen to the rank of SERGEANT-MAJOR at the
age of 26 and who had been at EL ALAMEIN with the 8 th. ARMY (The
Desert Rats) and also in ITALY. He had been out of England for four and
a half years.
(4) KEN WARE had been captured at DUNKIRK in JUNE 1940 and had
spent a rough five years in a P.O.W. Camp in POLAND.
(5) LEN KENDALL who had been in CAIRO for four years and in
EUROPE after the D-DAY Landings.
(6) RON GREEN (DFC) trained and served as a NAVIGATOR on
WELLINGTON BOMBERS based in MALTA. He was shot down twice
and floated about in the MEDITERRANEAN SEA and it was fortunate
that British Sailors found him before the Germans or Italians did. When
MALTA was ‘RELIEVED’ in 1943 he saw the war out in England as a
BRIEFING OFFICER to the Bomber Crews who night after night bombed
the GERMAN CITIES. In 1944 he became the BOY
COVENANTER LEADER till he left the area in 1951. A leader “parexcellence” and an outstanding Christian man in every way.
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(7) ALBERT SPREADBURY was a fighter pilot for the early part of the war
who became a TRAINING OFFICER in Scotland and taught others to fly.
A somewhat precarious occupation. When the war in Europe ended in
May 1945 his fighter squadron was posted to the Far East to take on the
JAPANESE. They got as far as Italy and the war ended in August 1945
following the dropping of the two ATOM BOMBS on JAPAN.
(8) TONY BROUGHTON spent four years in the R.A.F. servicing aircraft in
SRI-LANKA.
(9) WAAF. MARGARET BROUGHTON and WREN. JOAN WOOD were
present.
Frank WARE who the young ones had never seen, was also part of that
memorable evening’s celebration as he was home on his 1st. Furlough from
NIGERIA. It was an enjoyable occasion with the ladies in the Church putting on
a good meal inspite of food, tea, sugar and almost everything still
“RATIONED”.
One Sunday evening in 1946 Mr. Ted TRAYLER became ill at the start of the
Service so his wife thrust the NOTICE BOOK into the hands of a duty
STEWARD – a dear “Rustic” elderly gentleman called Mr. POPE as she left for
home. He had never spoken in public in his life. He was overcome by
nervousness but did very well until the final announcement “The Young People
are going for a HIKE tomorrow (Easter Monday) if you wish to join them for
lunch they intend to have a “NIT-PICK” in Langley Park about 1pm. The dear
old chap died in December that same year.
It was about this time that the evangelist Mr. Tom REES (of Hildenborough
Hall fame) held monthly meetings on Saturday evenings at the Royal Albert
Hall. About 20 or so of the young people were regular attenders some of whom
became Christians. Afterwards we would dive into a Joe LYONS Corner House
Restaurant and catch the 2nd last train out of Paddington Station; it got to West
Drayton just after mid-night.
A Mr and Mrs Frank TURNER had become members of the Church in1946.
They had both been officers in the SALVATION ARMY and he in particular was
a dynamic little man. They opened a Sunday School in the canteen on a building
site up Royal Lane Yiewsley near the hospital. In 1950 two huts came up for
auction and Mr. Biggs got them for £71.0s0d; men at the auction had a whipround and presented him with £15.0s.0d. In 1952 one of the huts was sold for
£50.0s.0d.
Mr TURNER then started an evening service at ‘Violet Farm Church’ and about
thirty folk from around that area became regular attenders. Mr. TURNER had
taken on secular work to support his family but in 1952 he rejoined the Salvation
Army Corp in Southall. Sadly he died a few years later when he was only fiftyseven. A very fine soldier of the CROSS indeed. His wife remarried and lived
on into her 80’s. In 1965 Violet Farm became a
PENTECOSTAL CHURCH.
During 1946 a very young Leith SAMUEL (he became well known in the
CHRISTIAN CIRCLES over the years) and his wife conducted a MISSION
32
which went on for one week. Len KENDALL and six or seven others were
converted at that time.
Most of the lads who were teenagers in the 1940’s were now in the Army or the
Air Force. Some of those on their twenties were marrying and moving away
from the area. Some moved because of their jobs. The Sunday School and the
Bible Class were still maintaining their numbers as was the Christian
Endeavour and the Girls’ Life Brigade.
One Sunday evening in 1948 an elderly Scottish Lady (she had been brought
up on strong, well prepared sermons from erudite Presbyterian Ministers in
Glasgow) was very angry with the Minister. As she left the church she refused
to shake the man’s hand but looking him straight in the face said with intense
feeling – “You’re just a BLETHER”. Nevertheless, she continued to attend the
evening services till she went to Glory a few months later. The standard of the
preaching improved noticeably.
In 1952 there was a bitter dispute within the fellowship. The result of this was a
serious split and Mr. Biggs had to go. Twenty-three others also left including the
seventy- three year old LIZZIE HOBBS the last link with one of the founding
families of 1827: some joined other local Churches and some ceased to worship
anywhere. Mr and Mrs Biggs went off to Australia. They were fifty -three years
of age and set off from Southampton on the day of the Queen’s Coronation in
1953.
George BIGGS had several very successful ministries in the Melbourne area
and only stopped being a Pastor when his health broke down at eighty years of
age. He died two years later in 1982. Mrs. Biggs was ninety-nine years old when
she entered into the presence of her Lord. Their sons John and Andrew had
also settled in Australia.
Meanwhile, a somewhat depleted Church was left to lick its wounds and go on
the search for a new Pastor.
NO.21. In September 1953 the twenty-nine year old Peter G. TRACYRICHARDSON BECAME THE Pastor He had just finished three years at the
London Bible College (based in Marylebone before it moved out to
Northwood) and he had married Christine just two months earlier. Both of them
had been brought up in Surrey in non- Christian upper-middle-class families.
There had been no shortage of money but now they had to manage on
£5.0s.0d. per week. A Manse had to be purchased for them to live in – 88
Fairway Avenue. Christine, a secretary, had to work to make ends meet. The
Church Finances were stretched to the limit. He proved to be a very practical
and down to earth chap. He spoke with a rather ‘POSH’ voice but in the pulpit
(platform) his sermons were not only well constructed and relevant but they
were delivered with an unexpected passion. A quiet man with a bit of fire in his
belly.
The congregation increased and the various organisations held up; there were
still plenty of folk who were willing to put their shoulders to the wheel and push.
The leaders were able people. Without any sense of complacency creeping in,
it is true to say that after a while the spiritual life of the church was better than
it had been for some time.
33
Soon after his arrival the LADIES FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE was started up. They
met on Monday evenings. It became known as “QUESTION TIME with the
PASTOR”. In next to no time over thirty ladies came along most of them the
mothers of the children in the Sunday School, the Bible Class and the Christian
Endeavour. The Pastor was cutting his teeth indeed - many of the questions, it
seems, were of a spiritual and Biblical nature but others were very much to do
with the basic and practical problems of day- to-day living and to the relationship
between husbands and wives. These questions were put to a man who blushed
to the roots of his already thinning hair when he entered a ward full of ladies
when visiting hospital. There were, of course experienced and wise Christian
women in the meeting (namely the leaders) who doubtless came to his rescue
if things became difficult. After a while a large percentage of those ‘mothers’
became regular and eager attenders at the Sunday Evening Services. Some
became Christians and got baptised and joined the Church and did more than
warm a seat on a Sunday.
At the end of his five year period the Church UNANIMOUSLY invited him to
stay for another three years but they felt that the Lord was telling them to move
on. He was much loved and we were sorry to see him go. They had Pastorates
in CROYDON, WALTHAMSTON, AYLESBURY and in CALGARY (Canada).
One of their daughters married a Canadian Farmer’s son. When “TRACY” (as
we called him with affection) and Christine visited her he preached in the Baptist
Church in Calgary where she worshipped and some months later that Church
invited him to become their Pastor. He was there for over ten years and the
church was full. They loved him in spite of his
‘posh’ English accent. (Maybe in the 1st . instance because of it.) Many of that
congregation were from a farming background. He was a fine Pastor and a
powerful preacher who remained humble to the end. He was who he was.
They returned and settled in Cornwall when he retired. He preached at the
afternoon Anniversary Service here at West Drayton in 1987. He was sixtythree years of age but nothing had changed – except that there was even more
fire as he preached. A very choice BROTHER in CHRIST indeed. Sadly, after
fighting a courageous and prolonged battle with cancer in the spine he died at
the age of sixty-seven years. “The memory of a righteous man is sweet.”
Christine is still with us.
In 1954 the American EVANGELIST Billy GRAHAM and his team conducted a
CAMPAIGN at the HARRINGAY ARENA in LONDON. Coach parties from this
area attended these evening rallies. A few were converted and joined the
Church.
The search was on once again for a new Pastor. Three gentlemen came
“preaching – with – a – view” One of them was invited to become the Pastor
with the backing of a UNANIMOUS VOTE.
NO.22. The Reverend Andrew JORDAN his wife Joy and their six- year old
daughter Elisabeth moved into the Manse in APRIL 1959. JORDAN was not his
original surname. His father was German and his mother was English and he
grew up in COLOGNE. He enlisted in the German Army when he was eighteen
years of age and came to England as a Prisoner of War some time after the DDAY landings in France.
34
When the war ended he and
other P.O.W’s attended the evening service
at a Baptist Church in Kent.
He got converted. Soon after that he was
repatriated back home. He returned to England and embarked upon a course
of training with a view to becoming a European Missionary. He met and married
Joy who was a teacher. In 1954 he became the PASTOR of the Baptist Church
in BANSTEAD in Surrey. A good company from that Church attended his
induction service here.
When he started Mr. Jordan was on a salary of £450. per annum. In order to
maintain the monthly premium payments on the Manse a list of volunteers was
drawn up who were willing to make up the short fall when the Sunday offerings
failed to reach £15.
Andrew JORDAN set about a revision of the church roll. He was nothing if he
was not efficient. Sixty-eight members were identified and there were another
twenty or so regular attenders. He then set about the task of modernizing the
interior of the main building including re-painting the walls in lighter colours. The
old wooden benches had been removed some years previously and new light
coloured tip-up seats replaced them. The ancient lectern (it had been in the
Money Lane Church almost from its foundation in 1827) was replaced by a
modern one in light oak which had been made by an ex-Superintendent of
Police who was serving time in WORMWOOD SCRUBS Prison. The church
sent him £5. which was presented to him by a young Church member – Chris
RICHARDS – who was an administrator of some sort at that establishment.
Andrew JORDAN proved to be an exceptionally fine preacher; very
‘persuasive’ and convincing. The broken accent seemed to add enchantment
to what he had to say. He was a find looking man of thirty-four years and
possessed a fair measure of natural charm. The Sunday congregations
increased steadily but not all the teenagers were attending the evening service.
To solve this problem a lady in the church made a suggestion - “Why don’t we
put on an occasional TEA including ‘RELIGIOUS EXERCISES’ in the rear hall
then into the main building for the Gospel Service?” Even she did not know what
she meant by ‘Religious Exercises’ and the matter was dropped.
Mr. Jordan proved to be a caring Pastor and industrious. It so happened that
he had been brought up with some sort of a Roman Catholic background though
it hadn’t meant too much to him as he grew up in Hitler’s Germany.
He did not adapt readily or kindly to the ‘congregational’ style of Church
Government. He found having to compromise with views contrary to his own
very distasteful. One of the Deacons pointed out to him in a non-aggressive
way that he showed a tendency to behave like a PRIEST and demand his own
way in all things. He reacted very badly to this observation which he saw as
criticism and once again polarisation took place within the Church. Andrew
JORDAN insisted that the Deacon who had made the comment should be
excommunicated from the fellowship. Since he was a well respected man the
majority of the members refused to excommunicate him so the PASTOR gave
three months notice and left barely two years after his arrival. For a number of
years he worked as an Industrial Chemist in
SWINDON. After a while he was appointed PASTOR of a CHURCH in DEVON
then moved to CHARD in Somerset. Two years later he parted
35
company with his ‘CHARISMATIC FRIENDS there and took to ‘ ITINERANT
Preaching’ In time this led to him becoming an INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE SPEAKER visiting GERMANY and other EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES and also SOUTH AFRICA. He often toured in the U.S.A. He got
caught up again with the so called “CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT” and became
a big gun in their circles.
In 1971, ten years after he left, he turned up one Sunday afternoon, quite
unannounced, on the door step of the West Drayton Manse (now at 6
Brooklyn Way) and told the then Pastor (who had never set eyes on him before)
“The LORD has told me to PREACH in your PULPIT tonight.” And he did, much
to the surprise of the congregation. He preached ‘entrancingly’ for ONE WHOLE
HOUR with much use of the phase – ‘powers of persuasion. Afterwards some
of us were of the opinion that there was a great deal of Andrew in the sermon
and precious little of the Lord. At the next Church Meeting the decision was
taken not to let him preach again in
West Drayton; we felt that he had become rather dangerous. Nevertheless he
continued his MINISTRY here, there and almost everywhere until he was
overcome with PARKINSON’S DISEASE and reached the point in 2005 when
he could no longer put his thoughts together; poor dear man.
On the 24th October 1959 (whilst in West Drayton) he conducted his first
wedding. He was somewhat nervous on the occasion and could not get the
word “IMPEDIMENT” out without stuttering. On that same afternoon another
young couple within the fellowship were to be married. He substituted the word
‘REASON’ for the bogey word “IMPEDIMENT” and everything went off
smoothly. Andrew did not wish to fall short of perfection and could not make
light of it if he did.
His daughter became a lecturer in Theology both here and in Germany and has
Pastored some Churches in her time. When he was at West Drayton he did not
much care for lady Deacons let alone lady preachers. Alas! man proposes but
GOD disposes. It was Peter who first took the gospel to the Gentiles “What I
call clean call thou not UNCLEAN.” Acts.10.v5. Joy is still with us.
NO 23. The Rev. Patrick Joseph ROSE was appointed as PASTOR in 1962
and remained with us till 1967. He arrived from Cherry Hinton in
Cambridgeshire with his wife Elizabeth and their three children. His elderly
father had been a Minister all his working life and when asked what he was
looking forward to in Heaven he answered –“NO MORE MEETINGS.”
Theologically he belonged very much in the Reformed Evangelical Tradition.
The “Doctrines of GRACE” featured strongly in his preaching. Some found his
sermons a bit on the heavy side lacking somewhat in practical application and
in everyday illustrations. Others thoroughly delighted in them and longed for the
next Sunday to come along. There was a strong group of young people in the
Church with a young leadership Steven RICHARDS
(brother of Chris RICHARDS) being the main one.
The Christian Endeavour had died out some years earlier so this group adopted
the title – ‘The CYGNETS’ – the Church being in Swan Road. Following the
Sunday Evening Services the young folk would join up again for an ‘After
Church Fellowship’ in the houses of any of the older members
36
who were willing to give them a merry welcome. Tea and cake would be served
and some ‘Topic’ would be discussed freely - eg the Christian attitude to –
gambling, marriage, work, etc .etc. Some from other Churches got in on this
and a very strong sense of ‘fellowship’ developed.
Sunday School numbers had dropped off as most of the children came from
non-Christian backgrounds and the family had acquired a car and were going
out and about on Sundays. Sport on TV on Sunday afternoons provided a rival
attraction for some. The Bible Classes were also loosing out numerically though
the Sunday Services were unchanged except that more were coming to the
morning service than the evening one which was a reversal from what had been
the pattern since the Church was founded in 1827. Sitting in cars was emptying
the pews. Prosperity was robbing some of their propensity to worship.
In 1963 the Manse at 88 Fairway Avenue was sold in favour of one at 6 Brooklyn
Way which was owned by church members who were moving to Bristol. There
were a few conversions and Baptisms and one or two new members joined the
Church.
In 1965 the Branch Work that had opened up under Mr. Frank TURNER was
turned over to a Pentecostal Brother called Mr. Eastaugh. The place was
proving to be too much of a burden on our resources and had all but petered
out. Half a dozen of us went round from door to door encouraging good (and
not so good) folk to take an interest in the gospel. No one came on Sundays as
a result of our efforts. Two delightful Nigerian Pastors visited for a week and
received hospitality during that time.
1966 was a year when the older ‘CYGNETS’ were getting married and having
to move in the direction of Reading in order to be able to afford a house.
Because of Brunel University, the Airport (Heathrow) and Hillingdon
Hospital the cost of a house in this area was very high. By the end of the year
the numbers attending on Sundays had dropped considerably. One of the
Deacons - Frank BARKER became the LAY-PASTOR of a Church in Hounslow.
The American Evangelist Billy GRAHAM held meetings at EARLS COURT and
a few new people joined us as a result of attending these rallies.
Mr. Rose refused to take a rise in his salary (though he could have done with
the extra money) for the Church finances had gone into the red and not for the
first time.
In 1967 Mr. ROSE resigned as Pastor and the family moved to LYNDHURST in
Hampshire. Since he was experiencing a period of spiritual struggling he became
a POSTMAN but was out and about most Sundays preaching in Local
Churches. He never did return to full time ministry. He was about forty-seven
years of age when he left West Drayton. He was a very likeable and ‘honest’
man who was never happier than when he had his nose in a Theological Book.
He was very good company. He passed the Driving Test at the eleventh
attempt. His lovely wife did it in one. He studied for the
Ministry at SPURGEONS COLLEGE after completing his Military Service in
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the NON-COMBATANT CORP. He was prepared to die but not to kill. Such was
the man. Elizabeth is still with us.
NO.24. The Rev. William UPCHURCH HAD GROWN UP IN THE TOWN OF
HITCHIN in a Baptist orientated family and he became the Pastor in September
1967 at the age of fifty-nine years and moved into the Manse with his vibrant
Scottish wife ‘WIN’ and his three offspring- two girls and a son.
He trained for the Ministry at Spurgeon’s College in the early 1930’s but went
out with the B.M.S. to serve in China. The Japanese over-ran the area where
he served but he managed to make his way through their lines and, somehow,
he became a Major in the Indian Army and had charge of a Japanese Prisoner
of War Camp for some months; he has nothing but admiration for their industry
and integrity. He came home on furlough in
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39
40
1946 and returned to China with his young bride who almost had a breakdown
adjusting to the rural and primitive life she’d let herself in for.
She all but died when giving birth to one of her children. They spent six years
in Malaya before ‘Bill’ became the Pastor of SOUTHEY GREEN BAPTIST
CHURCH in SHEFFIELD.
We soon discovered that ‘Bill’ was unorthodox in his ways and a little eccentric
and he soon realised that we were rather orthodox and reluctant to change our
ways.
Early on some six formers from Bishop’s Halt School started to attend the
evening services. The Pastor had been invited to speak at the CHRISTIAN
UNION there early on in his Ministry. Three lassies and three laddies got
Baptised and joined the Church for a few years then they married each other
and left the area. They joined other Churches.
In 1968 the Senior Deacon –Jim STEVENSON (he’d worshipped as a young
teenager in the old Chapel in Money Lane) retired from work and became the
LAY-PASTOR at HARMONDSWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH. Steven
RICHARDS (leader of the CYGNET Young People’s Group) went off to study
for the Ministry at Barry College in South Wales.
In an attempt to ‘modernise’ the way things were done many a long evening
was spent on a review of the Church Rules. Not a lot was changed and Mr.
Upchurch was somewhat disappointed if not also a bit discouraged. The first
lady Deacon for thirty years was appointed; Mrs. Ella Mason (nee WILKINSON)
was her name. The last lady to hold that office had been her elder sister Elsie
PUDDIPHAT in 1936; she had since left the area. The Pastor had hoped to
have introduced OPEN MEMBERSHIP.
Mr. Upchurch urged us all to dig into our pockets and get rid of the mortgage
on the Manse which was a drain on Church resources. We did and the debt
was cleared. We raised over £2,000.00.
The young Minister at Yiewsley had resigned after just one year and he and his
wife became members at West Drayton. Within six months he became a
Deacon and was appointed Church Secretary. There was an element of unrest
within the fellowship concerning the way things were going and about the
Pastor; he was undoubtedly evangelical in his preaching but he was not in the
‘reformed’ tradition and nice dear man that he was, there were instances when
he took decisions on behalf of the Church without even consulting the
Deacons let alone the Church. In China there had been no one to consult so he
was able to paddle his own canoe as he so desired, though there were times in
China when his distant boss complained about his ill disciplined ways and his
somewhat eccentric patterns of behaviour. A sort of wild boar running loose in
the forest like Luther before him.
When the Upchurches were on holiday in Dundee the Secretary – Michael
HORNSBY – called a meeting of the Deacons where he intended to get a
resolution passed telling the Pastor that his services were no longer required.
Three of the Deacons refused to attend the meeting on principle (Mr.Upchurch
was out of town and didn’t know about it.) but the other four
(a majority) passed the resolution and put a letter through the Manse door
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without calling a Church Meeting. The Church did not ask the Minister to resign
and the Hornsby’s and eight others left the Church; some of them settled in
CHARD in Somerset and attended the ‘charismatic’ church that
Andrew JORDAN (an ex-pastor) had links with.
Soon after this incident, early in 1970 another six members left and joined the
good folk at Hayes Town Chapel who were ‘REFORMED’ in their teaching even
though , as CONGREGATIONALISTS they did not insist in baptism by total
immersion. Robert CAUGHEY agreed to be Church Secretary for six months.
He stepped down thirty-eight years later.
In 1970 the congregation had dropped to about fifty, and all the organisations the Sunday School, the Covenanter Groups (male and female) the Girls Life
Brigade, the Wednesday afternoon Women’s Meeting and even the CYGNETS
GROUP had shrunk numerically. The Weeknight Prayer and Bible Study
meeting had an attendance of twenty or so.
The centre section of the Church Buildings was in a very poor condition. A
Christian Architect drew up some plans for the rebuilding of the kitchen and
vestry and the toilets but the project would cost £10,000.00. Since we were
already dipping into our reserves in order to pay our way the project had to be
shelved once again.
Bill’s last two years as Pastor could not have been enjoyable. Because of the
times and not in anyway because of him the attendances continued to fall.
Some dying and some moving away and no new folk coming in. Bill and Win
retired to HITCHIN and worshipped in his home Church. In the year 2007 on
his 100th.Birthday he published his MEMOIRS entitled “A
PREVAILING WIND”. The book runs to 333 pages and is an entertaining and
enlightening read. The Lord uses all sorts to bring about His purposes even
ODD-BALLS when required. Bill and Win are going to be good company in
GLORY what with her DUNDONIAN TWANG and him on the old ‘JO-ANA’. (Bill
died of a stroke on the 16th. April 2008)
NO. 25. The Rev. James Mc HAFFIE became our next PASTOR in 1972. He
had grown up in Northern Ireland and trained for the Ministry in Barry
College in South Wales in the early part of the Second World War. He married
EVELYN who was the sister of a fellow student at the college. They had three
daughters all born during the years when Jim was Pastor of Churches in South
Wales. He came to us from a Baptist Church in Bristol. He was fifty-eight years
of age but had recently undergone surgery on his heart which caused him to be
less vibrant when in the Pulpit than he had been in his youth, when it seems,
he was a firebrand on Beach Missions and in Open Air Meetings. Occasionally,
whilst preaching he would forget himself and for a few minutes we would have
a taste of what he had been. Even so he preached with some fervour. His
sermons were always biblically based and on the whole helpful and rewarding.
Some time after his arrival an Evangelist friend of his – David SHEPHERD –
CONDUCTED a Mission at the Chapel but only twenty or so people turned out
each evening. Generally speaking it was disheartening because of the lack of
support from our own people. Nevertheless two ‘outsiders’ became ‘insiders’ as
a result of the enterprise.
In 1973 Steven RICHARDS was ordained at West Drayton and became the
PASTOR at the Baptist Church in CAERWENT in South Wales. Later he
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switched to GRACE BAPTIST CHURCHES (formerly known as STRICT
BAPTISTS) and has had a long Pastorate in HOMMERTON It was about this
time that his elder brother CHRIS gave up his lucrative job in PRISON
ADMINISTRATION and joined the GRACE BAPTISTS in ABINGDON as their
Denomination’s Missionary Secretary. He’s a very able and capable preacher
to boot. He retired in 2004.
Mr. McHaffie was given leave to – “Take £6.00 of Church Funds with him if he
found the need to go into ‘RETREAT’ with other local Baptist Ministers.”
They came out of hiding somewhat renewed by the following Sunday.
In 1975 we were invited to take the Sunday Evening Service at St.Martins (C of
E) Church as part of their 700th. Anniversary Celebrations. The Sunday
following it was to be the turn of the Catholic Church.
Mr. Arthur WATTS (father of John who was the M.P. for SLOUGH) wondered if
he was tall enough to stick the Posters on the Notice Board. It was decided that
he was “Man enough for the Job.”
The Baptist Union Surveyor inspected the Buildings and advised us to – “Watch
and Pray”.
In 1976 Mrs. Evelyn McHaffie, who had been unwell with cancer for some time
died rather unexpectedly on the one day of the year when her brother –
The Rev. Wilf CHAPMAN called on them on his way back to WALSALL after
attending some meetings in London. She was only sixty-one years of age.
Evelyn was a delightful Christian woman. She was a marvellous speaker in her
younger days and was sought after all over South Wales for Woman’s
Meetings, Anniversaries and for Conferences. Her praying in public was
exquisite and dynamic both in choice of phrase and in quality of subject matter.
A very fine woman indeed. The wife of the Rev. Leslie JENKINS of Yiewsley
had recently died also rather unexpectedly so for better or for worse these two
gentlemen Jim and Lesley spent a lot of time in one another’s company.
Discussions were held as to the possibility of the FIVE local Baptist Churches
– i.e. West Drayton, Iver, Harmondsworth, Sipson and Yiewsley – pooling their
resources and having perhaps one senior Pastor in charge and four other
Pastors - laymen if need be – working a Team Ministry. This came to nothing
so we considered joining in the sharing of a Pastor with either the Church at
Sipson, or the Church at Harmondsworth but this also came to nothing.
It was about this time that a young man called Peter FENWICK came amongst
us. He turned out to be a very capable musician and organist. He is still with us
some thirty years later. One Sunday morning in 2007 two sturdy elderly
gentlemen (one a Welsh man and the other a Scot) were singing the hymn –
“Guide me Oh Thou Great Jehovah” so lustily that they could not hear the organ
and finished the 1st. verse well ahead of time. Peter turned his head and looking
over the top of his spectacles at them said in a firm clear voice – “Certain
gentlemen are showing a measure of impatience this morning; and I would
rather that they kept in time with the Organ.” We are indebted to Peter for his
immense and rich contribution to our worship down
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through the years. By this time the congregations had dropped to about thirtyfive in the mornings and about twenty in the evenings.
In 1977 John TOMSETT the Treasurer (he held the post for 27 years) calculated
that one way and another 84% of out total income went to supporting the
PASTORATE. Since it was unlikely that a man of sixty-two and without a wife
would be able to find another Church we asked for a Home Mission Fund Grant
to help us pay Mr. McHaffie’s salary till he retired in about three years time. This
request was granted. A similar request in 1883 had been turned down.
In September we celebrated the 150th. ANNIVERSARY of the Church with a
sit-down-meal on a Saturday evening attended by just over a hundred good folk
from the past and present two of whom had come from Canada to be with us
and an Andree BOTTINEAU who now lived in PARIS was present. It was a
memorable evening. This took place in the MAIN WORSHIP ROOM
(The Church) which was the first time it had ever been used for such a purpose.
In 1978 Jim McHaffie re-married, Maureen was from Northern Ireland and had
been a student at Barry College at the same time as him. She never married
and spent many years as a Missionary in South America. She came from a
Presbyterian background and had not been Baptised by immersion as a
believer so it was not possible for her to become a Member or attend Church
Business Meetings. I rather think she did not grieve over that otherwise she
would have done something about it. Jim and Maureen were very well matched
and spent an lot of time doing the Daily TELEGRAPH
CROSS WORD PUZZLES together. She made a new man of him for his spirits
had been at a low ebb for months. Four elderly good folk who had left this
Church in 1952 at the time when Mr. and Mrs. Biggs departed rejoined us. They
could no longer attend Yiewsley Baptist Church because the Canal Bridge
proved to be an insurmountable barrier. The TRAYLER’S and the CHARITY’S
were back where their hearts had lain all these years.
Early in 1980 the Pastor retired and he and Maureen settled in the little town of
SARN in Wales where, to our surprise he became the Pastor of the Church
there. We did not tell the Baptist Home Mission people about that. Jim died in
1994 and Maureen outlived him by five years.
Once again we were back to engaging visiting preachers mostly lay-men for the
Sunday Services. By 1982 the attendance at the Morning Service averaged
about fifteen and at the Evening Service it was about eight so we decided to
dispense with the Evening Meeting.
We let a variety of “home on furlough” MISSIONARIES live in the Manse at a
pepper corn rent. We endeavoured to do ‘a deal’ with a local DEVELOPER
where he would build us a new but smaller Chapel on half the site costing us
nothing whilst he built flats at the rear of the plot and above the Church which
he would sell reserving one for us to use as a Manse which we would purchase
with money raised from the sale of the present Manse in Brooklyn Way. We
thought that it was a done deal but when he showed us the plans he said that
we would have to pay him £140,000 towards the cost of building the Chapel.
So once again we carried on “Watching and Praying” as the Baptist Surveyor
had told us to do back in 1975.
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Together with Sipson Baptist Church we asked the Area Superintendent to
supply us with the names of Pastors who would be interested in having the care
of two Churches When the list of three names was supplied the Sipson folk
opted for the lady Reverend on the list. For some reason or another no one in
our Church wanted a lady Minister so that came to naught. Harmondsworth
Baptist Church had recently appointed a Part Time Pastor-The Rev. G.Bryn
JONES who was still involved with the UNEVANGELIZED FIELDS MISSION at
their headquarters in CHISWICK. He and his wife Betty had been Missionaries
with UFM in Brazil for seventeen years till his health gave way. The AMAZON
JUNGLE was a harsh environment for Europeans. They had founded a Baptist
Church in TEFE on the AMAZON RIVER. He was about forty-years of age and
she a few years older. Betty - a school teacher – came from BELFAST and Bryn
from MOULD in North Wales. Bryn had been converted at a BILLY GRAHAM
RALLY held in the Manchester
City Football Stadium and about two years later gave up his job in accountancy
and went off to the Bible Training Institute (B.T.I.) in GLASGOW with the
intention of becoming a Pastor or an Overseas Missionary. Betty grew up with
a Presbyterian background. Bryn became one of our Sunday Morning
Preachers and West Drayton joined up with the Harmondsworth friends for the
mid-week Prayer and Study Meeting. Just over twenty attended these sessions
with Bryn as leader.
Bryn freed himself from his U.F.M. responsibilities and was inducted into the
JOINT PASTORATE of the two Churches. He and Betty moved into the Manse
at 6 Brooklyn Way in February 1984. The London Baptist Association agreed
to pay a proportion of his salary for a limited period of time. His wife
Betty got a teaching job in a Special School for DISRUPTIVE PUPILS which
was based in Yiewsley. Three others who were attenders at West Drayton
already worked there. The Headmaster – something of an atheist himself –
found that out of his team of fourteen, seven were Christians. He acknowledged
that we were all dedicated workers and “probably” exerted an influence for good
on his pupils. The morning assemblies were Christian in content most days.
Although he lacked the CHARM that a previous Minister – Andrew JORDAN
– possessed Bryn was in many ways very reminiscent of him; he preached a
clear and strong message and he Pastored the flock with care and sensitivity.
Unlike Andrew he insisted that nothing should be done without the matter
having been brought to the CHURCH Meeting. He was energetic to get things
done.
He engaged the assistance of the Manpower Power Services Department who
ran a scheme for young men who were out of work. They painted the two main
buildings and refurbished the kitchen and all we had to do was pay for the cost
of materials. He also had to look after the interests of the good folk at
Harmondsworth and see to their buildings which were in dire need of attention
– dry rot, leaking roof and a Hall that was a virtual death trap.
In September 1984 Pastor Marvyn F.KERBY (Junior) and four members from
the Southern Baptist Church in WEST POINT VIRGINIA conducted a week long
‘PARTNERSHIP MISSION’ in HARMONDSWORTH and West Drayton.
It was a very busy and hectic week with door-to- door visitation during the day
and House Groups in the evenings, a supper in the Church and a final
45
gathering on the Sunday night which was attended by over fifty people many of
whom were not church goers.
A Club for children grew out of that as also did a re-start of the Wednesday
Afternoon Women’s Meeting.
A sixty-five year old man was converted and joined the Church and later
became a Deacon, and in his own way a mighty man of valour for the cause of
Christ. Bill RATLING was with us for twelve years. Dying of cancer at the age
of seventy-seven when asked how he felt by a visitor on the day before he left
us he replied - “I consider myself to be in the state of CONTENTED
MISERY”. Body misery but Soul contentment. When Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones
was dying someone by his bedside said “You’re weary worn and sad.” Unable
to speak he nodded his head for the first two and shook it for the third. Of such
is the Kingdom of Heaven.
At the end of Bryn’s first year with us, the morning congregations had more than
doubled and about thirty attended in the evening joint meetings. The finances
improved to the point where we no longer needed help from the L.B.A.
Homework Fund.
A Mothers’ and Toddlers’ Group was started up and within a month the rear hall
was full of Mums, Grandmums, a Dad or two, some carers and about thirty
“nippers”. It was a very hectic two hours for the ladies who ran it none of whom
were young themselves.
In 1986 we had yet another review of the Church Rules and once again the
closed Membership rule was retained. Betty JONES had to be Baptised by total
–immersion before she could become a member at West Drayton. The
Harmondsworth Church had an open membership.
In 1987 over one hundred and fifty attended the Sunday Services on the
occasion of the 160th Anniversary of the founding of the Church. A former
Minister Peter RICHARDSON preached a vigorous and stimulating sermon at
the afternoon gathering. “RAMOTH GILEAD IS OURS AND WE HAVE IT NOT.”
(1 Kings 22.v3)
It was about this time that the Pastor introduced occasional suppers for men
and stipulated that men in the Church could only get in if they brought a visitor
with them. The ladies of the Church did the cooking. Marjorie TOMSETT being
head girl. Wyndham WILLIAMS (the loud singing Welshman) who had attended
the Covenanter Bible Class as a boy was re-discovered as a result of these
gatherings and he and his gentle wife NANCE have been regular Sunday
morning attenders ever since.
There were corresponding suppers for ladies run along the same lines except
that the men did the cooking with John TOMSETT as head chef and Bryn as
his assistant. Lesser men like me did the serving at tables and the washing-up.
A great thing about the Pastor was that he was prepared to roll his sleeves up
and get stuck in. He used his car liberally to run folk to hospital, helped them
with their shopping and gardening, mended fuses, nailed up fences and sat with
them when they were ill. There was a high percentage of elderly parishioners
between the two churches during his tenure.
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On Sundays we sang from the Baptist Hymn Book but Bryn thought it was about
time we introduced ourselves to some of the modern songs and hymns so we
obtained a supply of “Songs and Hymns of Fellowship”( book 1) which we gave
out as well as the Baptist Book. We did this with a certain amount of reluctance
and caution for we were suspicious about any thing that was a hall mark of the
so called “Charismatic Movement”.
Towards the end of 1989 the Pastor submitted his resignation and in January
he and Betty took up residence in the Manse belonging to BURNHAM-ONSEA Baptist Church in Somerset. They remained there till he retired in 2005.
They pop off to BRAZIL from time-to-time and visit the congregation at the
Church in TEFE on the Amazon River which they founded in the 1960s. Some
of the folk there still remember them with affection. Largely as a result of their
labours for the Lord the church here at West Drayton was in a much healthier
state when they left than it had been when they bravely came amongst us.
NO.26A. In JANUARY 1990 The Rev. Clifford COTTERELL agreed to be our
MODERATOR. He had been an Accountant for most of his working life but at the
age of fifty he turned his back on that and became the full time Pastor of Hillingdon
Park Baptist Church for ten years. He had recently relinquished that position and
virtually became our part time Pastor. Because he would be responsible for 40%
of the preaching at the Sunday Services the remuneration was to be £130.00 per
month. There was some talk about Cliff taking on more responsibilities within the
Church even to the point where he might become the Pastor. Since we were
looking for someone to be joint Pastor of
Harmondsworth and West Drayton we would both have to agree on the choice
of a man.
Hillingdon Park Baptist had recently doubled the size of their premises and
needed a bigger boiler. Under the good influences and ex- offices of our
Moderator six members of that Church delivered the old boiler to our premises
for free. It has served us very well indeed and it is still going strong eighteen
years on. It’s thirty years old.
Cliff’s brother Dr. Peter COTTERELL who was the PRINCIPAL at the London
Bible College was due to speak at out Anniversary Service in 1990 but he was
unwell on the day and one of his students – a very able young German Hergen
HAYE took his place with distinction.
When our search for a new minister for the two Churches was resolved it was
with some sadness that we said farewell to Cliff and his wife Joan whom we’d
come to know and love dearly.
Within a few months Cliff was back in harness this time with our friends at
Yiewsley Baptist Church.
While he was with us Cliff was working full time with Hillingdon National
Health Service Authority.
NO.27. The Rev. Terry McNULTY had grown up in South London and after a
few years working in a shipping office he went off to ALL NATIONS BIBLE
COLLEGE in TAPLOW near Maidenhead to train as a Missionary. He joined
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the London Missionary Society who sent him to POONA in West India where
he met and married ROSE.
She was the vibrant-for-the=Lord and valiant–for-truth daughter of a New
Zealand Missionary couple who had to get out of ABYSSINIA in a hurry when
Mussolini’s thugs bombed and overran that country in 1935.
After many years in India they moved to Indonesia and from there to STROUD
GREEN in North London where Terry was the Pastor at the Baptist Church for
seven years.,
Rose and Terry were the antithesis of each other. She was up and doing and
mixing with the populous whenever and wherever she could find a bit of
populous to mix with. She rode a bicycle which always seemed marginally too
big for her and would hop off readily when she saw a face she recognised in
order to ‘have a chat’ which was really innuendo for ‘doing a bit of witnessing
for the Lord.’ Her enthusiasm put some off but others responded
enthusiastically. Her zeal was a challenge to the rest of us.
She was approaching the sixty mark when she joined us and had the energy of
two strong men although she was small of stature. She discovered that she had
cancer in the kidney and would have to have an operation. The nonChristian mothers and grandmothers of the Mums’ and Toddlers’ Group could
not understand how she could display such calmness of Spirit under the
circumstances. She put into practice what she preached – “Take no anxious
thought for tomorrow – for -your Heavenly Father knows………” Within three
weeks of the operation she was back on her bike as if nothing had happened.
For months after she left the area the women folk at the
Mums’ and Toddlers’ were asking after her well being though the Mums at
Harmondsworth Church didn’t much care for her and strangely it was the
opposite way round with the afternoon Women’s Fellowship meetings. You
can’t please all the people all of the time. Other peoples enthusiasm can be
unsettling. Rose had a great gift in art and painted some excellent posters for
the front of the church and elsewhere.
Terry was no strange recluse he could readily mix and mingle and hold his own
with the best of them when he chose to but he spent long hours going for walks.
One day his poor old “done-in” dog sat down on the pavement and point blank
refused to take another step. He had to carry her home a very fair distance.
He was never happier than when in the saddle of his bicycle but his preference
took him away from the haunts of men. His holiday one year was used up
cycling from “John-O-Groats” to “Lands End” come wind come weather. The
following year he was off to Israel. Mad dogs and Terry out in the mid-day sun
on the road that leads from Jericho to Tiberias.
They both knew their bibles exceedingly well from ‘G’ to ’R’ and they both spent
time in private prayer.
Rose was our representative in a Lenten House Group one year. The woman
in whose house the group met stopped me in the street one day and said-“Your
Minister’s wife is marvellous - she opens the Bible up to us. I can’t wait for
Monday night to come.” That good woman attended the Church where I
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took the morning service on one occasion where the organist said to me “I can
not remember the last time when the preacher read a passage of scripture then
spoke on it”. What do their own preachers talk about I wonder.
Terry was a man of careful precision. The services started on the hour and
finished on the dot one hour later. His alliterated three point sermons were
delivered clearly and were relevant and helpful. The same rule prevailed on
Wednesdays at the Prayer and Bible Study sessions. If he asked a question
during the study time he would frequently say “would anyone other than
Rose care to answer this question.” In their own way they got on very well
together. He never hung around at the end of meetings whereas she did.
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50
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When he came to the two churches he preached to four handfuls of worshippers
at the Harmondsworth Church and to about eight handfuls at the West Drayton
Church. During the seven and a-half years he was the
Pastor through no fault of his own the numbers dropped to two handfuls at one
church and four handfuls at the other. At the age of sixty-one he decided to
retire since neither Church had enough money between them to pay the
£14.000 salary which was then the minimum salary recommended by the
Baptist Union for Baptist Ministers.
The only two young couples in our fellowship moved out of the area to larger
houses. Richard HAYWARD-LYNCH retired so he and Jean moved to the
Eastbourne area and Marjorie and John TOMSETT moved out to Aylesbury to
where their younger son lived. The Tomsetts had been in the Church for some
thirty-three years. He was an accountant within Local Government and they
moved in 1959 from Worthing (where they both belonged) to a promotion job
with Hillingdon Borough Council. Worthings loss and our gain. During their time
in the Church between them they held every post and performed every function;
Deacons, Secretary, Treasurer – (27years), Sunday School Superintendent,
Sunday School Teacher, Leader of the Women’s Fellowship, co-leader of the
Women’s Own, gardeners, cooks, fabric steward, organist and, for years
without number man in charge of the heating of the premises. Is it any wonder
that when they left they were sadly missed! But above all they were jolly good
companions and company. Even so, John to this day AUDITS our Church
Books.
Some time after they left our dearly beloved brother Bill RATLING died.
Terry and Rose settled in Redbourne in Hertfordshire where he goes out and
about on Sundays preaching the Word while Rose fulfils her ongoing ministry
of encouragement. Terry was a good man on the piano- accordion and Rose
sang with Aucklandish gusto; she could do no other.
APRIIL 2000 With the going of the McNultys we were, once again back to
engaging visiting Preachers to serve our pulpit on Sundays. One of the
Deacons made himself responsible for the mid-week Prayer and Bible Study
Meeting.
Our Harmondsworth friends surprised us by linking up with Harlington Baptist
Church where the Rev. Bob SCOTT was the Minister.
This put us in the position of not being able to pay even half a salary to a
prospective Pastor. Our Reserve Fund was at rock bottom and with an elderly
congregation of about fifteen the Sunday offerings were barely sufficient for us
to pay our way. Since the Manse was available for letting for the first time in
over forty years we were able to build up our finances against “the rainy day”.
Even so we were asking the question as to whether the time had come when
we should as it were, close shop and call it a day? Was the Lord about to
withdraw the candle?
One exceedingly wet Sunday Morning in January 2001 Barbara, who lived in a
cul-de-sac by The Green and normally walked to Church, rang requesting a lift.
Two minutes before I got to her place a car not unlike mine entered the cul-desac and as the driver was backing round to leave Barbara dashed out and was
about to jump into the rear seat when she realised her mistake,
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apologised and shut the door sharply. The couple in the car were College
Lecturers who lived in Reading and armed with a fistful of “fliers” from Local
Estate Agents, were on a house hunting expedition. About five minutes into the
Morning Service the door opened and in walked Roger and Helen COOK for the
first time and they’ve continued to do so ever since even before they settled in the
locality. Barbara recognised them and they her. They normally worshipped at a
Bible Based Charismatic type Fellowship in the Reading area.
After a few weeks they asked if they could introduce some early songs with
guitar accompaniment. Peter our resident organist joined them; he playing his
flute. A young Romanian couple – ADI and IOLANDA came amongst us and he
could play the piano. Then ILIE, another Romanian arrived and he joined in with
his guitar. In 2007 RITA appeared one Sunday Morning and she is very
accomplished on the piano-accordion. So we have a talented and, generally
speaking, harmonious ensemble who lead our early worship.
In March 2004 we abandoned the “Baptist Hymn Book” in favour of the more
modern “Songs of Fellowship”. This didn’t rejoice the hearts of everyone in the
congregation but we felt it was important that we move with the times in this
respect.
We did not have to wait long for the rainy day to arrive. In 2006 our condemned
rear buildings were demolished. A new kitchen and two toilets were constructed
within the one remaining room - the church – which itself had to be strengthened
- a “sewing and gluing job – and a wall was put up out the front in order to give
more security and improve the appearance of the place. This meant that we
had to part company with £50,000 in the course of a year. In order to make
room for the kitchen and the toilets we had to say good-bye to our rather
handsome and choice ‘W.HILL’ pipe organ which we inherited in 1962 from a
Congregational Church in Uxbridge when it shut its doors. We were all
saddened to see it go but none more so than Peter whose ‘baby’ it had been
for some thirty years. It went to North Holland at no cost to the Church and no
gain.
It’s replacement is of the Electronic variety which, at the press of a button or
four can become almost any instrument you want it to be from jazz piano to
Cathedral organ; well, sort of.
Since the Lord sent Roger and Helen to West Drayton the attendances have
more than doubled and have topped the forty mark now and again. Better still,
there have been Sunday mornings when fourteen different nationalities of
people are worshipping together –
“ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.”
We are not complacent about the improved situation we find ourselves in but it
would appear that the candle is burning brighter than it was some years back.
We may not be able to pronounce one another’s surnames what with
ZUBASCU, KALEJAIYE, ONYEJI, CAUGHEY AND CRISCI but since we call
each other by our Christian names being brothers and sisters in the Lord that
is of no consequence. The fellowship is sweet and we enjoy each others
company. We do not appear to be looking for a new Pastor at the moment.
Sadly in 2006 Harmondsworth Baptist Church as we knew it closed its doors
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and we rejoice that six friends from that congregation have made West Drayton
their spiritual home. Long may we continue to - .
“ENTER INTO HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE”
AN ABSTRACT. Of the twenty-seven Ministers and two or three overseers who
have Pastored this church since its formation in 1827 only three served for over
ten years and eleven for two years or less. Twenty- one resigned most of whom
went off to Pastor other Churches but four of them abandoned the Ministry at
least for a time. Four left because there was not enough money in the kitty to
pay their wages. Two were asked to leave and two died in harness. The majority
of them were dedicated to their calling and up and about “doing the Lord’s work.”
It is possible that three or four others who didn’t seem to put themselves about
much spent a lot of time in prayer; and that’s not easy work. The same may be
said of those who made up the congregations down through the years. Some
gave liberally of their
Treasury, their Talents and their Time and some didn’t.
AN INJUNCTION. - From both the OLD and the NEW TESTAMENTS – “WHAT
YOU DO FOR THE LORD WORK AT IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT.”
(Ecclesiastes 9. v10 and Colossians 3. v23.)
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It is intended that the contents of this
APPENDIX
will enhance to some extent what has gone before. These little ‘PIECES of EIGHT’,
so to speak, should breath a bit more life into the SAGA. I can assure you that the
re-calling of events and the people involved in them rely more on a trustworthy
memory than they do on an over-active imagination though it s just possible that
here and there you may stumble across an inaccuracy; for instance – did Brian
Wood ever possess a Bowler Hat let alone wear one? And did the boy from “North
of the Border” not ask for what he got at least some of the time.
May these pages enlighten and amuse but above all may the occasional
challenging observation lead to a strengthening of your faith in our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
1. The `MAKERS’ DOZEN. 2. TEACHER’S PET.
3. BHOYS WILL BE BHOYS.
4. BLUE BELLES.
5. A SQUARE PEG.
6. A SAD REFLECTION.
7. SMOKE SIGNALS. 8. THE PENITENTS.
9. BRIEF ENCOUNTERS.
10. HALCYON DAYS.
11. REVELATIONS.
12. RAGS, BOTTLES AND BONES.
13. HOW’ZAT?
14. BRAIZ, BRAZZ, or BRAWZ.
15. WATERY WAYS.
16. DOUBLE DUTCH.
17. COMETH the HOUR.
18. WEDDING KNELLS.
19. HIGH FLIER.
20. SNOOKERED.
21. WILL – POWER.
22. ‘M’ for MUSTARD.
23. GUNGA JIM.
24. JURISPRUDENTS.
25 A HIGHLAND SING.
26. A HAPPY COE-INCIDENCE.
27. A ‘STAG NIGHT’.
28. SCOTCH MIST.
29. BULLY for 2 but NO VENISON.
30. ONE ‘REV’ TOO MANY.
31. The ‘ORFF’ MAN.
32. WELL, I NEVER.
“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run the
race that is marked out for us with our eyes fixed on Jesus the Author and
Perfector of our Faith”.
Hebrews 12. v. 1 and 2.
(1) The ‘MAKERS’ DOZEN.
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Of those who grew up in the CHURCH down through the years (other than
those already mentioned who went into full time service for the Lord) some went
on to hold responsible positions within the firms for whom they worked.
(1)
James ROADNIGHT was Company Secretary at Cape Boards in Cowley.
(2)
Dr. Alfred GLIDDON (one time Pastor) was Manager of ‘The CITY
BANK’ in ALGATE and was Treasurer of the Royal Horticultural Society.
(3) Jim STEVENSON became the Director of a GROCERY
CONSORTIUM in the CITY.
(4) Ken KNIGHT held a high position within the STOCK EXCHANGE.
(5)
Philip SEWELL(OBE) was Chief Librarian to the MINISTRY of
EDUCATION.
(6) John HILLIER was a Director of the Governments “ROAD RESEARCH
DEPARTMENT” and became a renowned lecturer throughout the world in
his field. He was also responsible for the complete lay-out of the traffic light
system in the City of GLASGOW.
(7) .Bob Stevenson rose to become the Chief Engineer (and a Vice
President) of a large ENGINEERING COMPANY in CANADA and
represented that country at International Conventions on Standardisation.
(8) John BIGGS was Company Secretary of a LARGE ENGINEERING
GROUIP in MELBOURNE, Australia.. He died when only fifty-six years of age.
(9) John POWELL was Director of Economics and Policy at the NATIONAL
FARMER’S UNION (NFU) and his attractive and clever lady wife NORMA
(nee SHELTON) was a MAGISTRATE for twenty years.
(10) Brian WOOD was the Manager at BIRMINGHAM AIR-PORT for a
number of years at a very tender age.
(11) Chris RICHARDS was heading for a high position within the PRISON
ADMINISTRATION SERVICE when, in his late thirties he turned his back
on it all and went into full time service for the Lord with the denomination
known as “GRACE BAPTIST CHURCHES”.
(l2) John TOMSETT aspired to the level of Principle Accountant with the
BOROUGH of HAMMERSMSITH and FULHAM.
(13) Sir David ELLIOTT worked his way upwards within the CIVIL SERVI
CE and after spending some years as a Secretary in Margaret THATCHER’S
Private Office by Downing Street was sent to represent his Country in BRUSSELS
where he held the rank of PERMANENT UNDER SECRETARY of STATE which
entailed having to sit through many a long weary night fighting his corner for Britain
within that Maelstrom – the European Common Market. His very lovely, elegant and
able Lady wife RUTH (nee INGRAM) gave hospitality to Royalty and Cabinet
Ministers as she performed her duties as a Diplomatic Consort. All I aspired to was
the spending of many a weary uniformed night chasing the pigeons away from the
front door of number 10 Downing Street during the first four years of the 1950’s. Mr.
Churchill was no lover of pigeons and in particular the “stool” variety.
(2)TEACHER’S PET.
In the early weeks of the 2nd. World War the premises were used as additional class
rooms for West Drayton Junior School and on Friday afternoons the Headmistress sent
her favourite ‘brown eyed’ boy round to the Church in Swan Road to collect the
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attendance figures for the week. The boy was none other than Mrs. White’s
reliable and obedient little lad “Peter”.
(3) BHOYS will be BHOYS.
Whilst journeying in Nigeria with their three young sons – David, Philip and Paul in the
back of the car Frank and Winnie WARE topped a ridge to be confronted by the most
magnificent panoramic view of mountains and trees and a lake. The mother proclaimed
excitedly in her Irish brogue - “Oh, look bhoys, look at those VISTAS.” Six sharp young
eyes searched in all directions then the “bhoys” chorused – “We can’t see any vistas.
What sort of animals are they anyway?” to be sure!
(4)BLUE BELLES
Miss Margaret BROUGTON had opened a Hairdressing Business in Station
Road just before the war started. In 1941, in common with most young women
at that time she received her calling up papers and was given the choice of
going into a Munitions Factory or of becoming a WAAF – the women’s branch
of the Royal Air Force. She opted for a new tailored outfit in blue and very
attractive and elegant she looked in it indeed.
Most of her time whilst in the service of King and Country was spent at R.A.F.
Stanmore which was the Headquarters of Fighter Command. She was down in
the bowels of the earth in a ‘BUNKER’ giving the girl Fighter-Plotters’ hair -do’s
so that they looked good when they went out wining and dining with the Fighter
Pilots in the evenings. She left in 1945 to become Mrs.. Len KENDALL since
he had returned from five years abroad in the British Army.
Miss Joan WOOD was only seventeen when of her own volition, she became a
little ‘WREN’ just one day before ‘VE-day’ in MAY 1945 which was the day the
war against Germany came to an end. She was secretary to an ADMIRAL for
a while but ended her time in the NAVY in 1947 at ROSYTH next to the Forth
Bridge. She looked exceedingly chic and engaging in her smart dark blue outfit
and white crowned hat.
(5) A SQUARE PEG.
Uncle Ted TRAYLER as we sometimes called him was not a man whose
presence carried authority.
As Sunday School Superintendent he expected the one-hundred and twenty
or so pupils to cease their hubbub when he stood up on the platform. He could
have been there till Domesday and he would still have been ignored. He had a
rather soft voice so even when he shouted he couldn’t be heard. Eventually the
teachers had to quell the rumbustuous and recalcitrant ‘nippers’ before Ted
could get a word in that stood a chance of being heard.
When the COVENANTER Group started in September 1942 TED was given the job of
‘presiding adult’ for the one and a half hour games sessions on Monday evenings. He
would stand by the door in the rear hall, keep his overcoat on (quite a reasonable
decision since there was no heat on) place his black Anthony Eden type hat on the
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nearest chair and simply let us run our own non – programme. He managed
somehow, to transport his mind to another place whilst havoc reigned.
One night in December a lads called Ken in the midst of the mayhem, pushed another
boy who landed on the seat where Ted’s hat resided and totally flattened it. There was
no emotional response what so ever from the ‘absentee’ NON-leader. From then on
the two boys went through the same routine every Monday evening about the same
time on the clock – “I’m verrry sorrry Misterrr Trrraylerrr but I seem to have sat on yourrr
hat again. The mealy – mouthed- words would trip off the tongue as the boy would be
pushing the hat back into a recognisable shape. That hat stood up to a lot of
punishment, but not half as much as its detached owner.
The arrival of Mr. Ron GREEN in 1943 rescued ‘Uncle Ted’ from another winter
of self-mortification. Ron Green had authority; Ron Green was organised; Ron
Green did not wear a hat except on Sundays when he wore his RAF Officer’
uniform. Ron Green was a hurricane of fresh air.
6. A SAD REFLECTION.
The little ‘Scotty Dog’ who’d come amongst them in October 1942 was
beginning to discover that these English boys were not such a ‘soft’ lot after all.
Some of them, however, were beginning to show an unhealthy desire to ‘beat’
him-up’ at every opportunity for no particular reason other than the fact that he
was the little “ethnic-minority” of those times.
7.SMOKE SIGNALS.
One Thursday evening in November 1944 Keith Ingram, Robert Caughey, Ken
Briggs, Philip Williams and John Batten skipped the Christian Endeavour (CE)
meeting that night in favour of having a smoking session along the muddy canal
track leading to Cowley. Keith produced five pipes and a large bag of ‘Dog Ends’
which he’d picked up in the streets over a period of time. We stuffed the “tobacco”
into the bowls of our pipes so tightly that when we ‘lit up’ we had to suck and blow
mightily to keep the fire as it were going. Sparks were flying merrily in all directions.
The glowing pipes resembled giant fireflies in the night.
About twenty minutes into the soiree Briggs announced that he was feeling
giddy and seeing double. Caughey and Williams soon developed the same
symptoms but like Briggs all three pressed on with the experience but the
enthusiasm had gone up with the sparks. Batten and Ingram seemed to be
unaffected. They were old hands at fagging with nicotined fingers to prove it.
To save faces the other three knocked their pipes out simultaneously and were
violently sick on the way home and never ‘piped’ again.
Where ‘INKY’ got five pipes from we never did discover; not from his ‘Pastoral’
Dad to be sure. Perhaps his big sister got them for him from her ‘young man’
who looked to be a bit of a “PUFFING BILLY”.
8.The PENITENTS
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The following week the five of them were back at the Christian Endeavour Meeting
where the intellectual and rather austere Jim SPARROW had been assigned the task
of unfolding the meaning of the Biblical terms – PROPITIATION, EXPIATION, AND
VICARIOUS to the low browed ones. That night they went home suffering from severe
attacks of verbal diarrhoea. They would have preferred it if he’d explained the meaning
of the words - LASCIVIOUSDNESS, CONCUPISCENCE and PROGNOSTICATION.”
The following Thursday Mrs. Margaret Knight (wife of Ken- who was with the 8th. Army)
– a Matron like Nurse was to be their “ TUTOR” and she didn’t suffer fools gladly. They
could be going home with thick ears next week. In addition there was a war on and the
silent killer – a V2 Rocket was and ever possible unwelcome intruder which put an
edge on ‘things’. The V1 Rocket gave some warning of his coming though when the
engine cut-out through lack of fuel it was anyone’s guess where it would land. One
landed in Wise Lane 600 yards from the Church and blew a market gardener’s six large
greenhouses to smithereens. His house was also damaged but no one was hurt. Some
years later bungalows were built on the glass infested soil; Roseary Close.
One afternoon in 1992 whilst being interviewed during ‘Mothers Hour’ on Radio
4 the then Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police Force – James
ANDERTON – paid a generous tribute to the excellent training he had received
in public praying, reading, debating and speaking whilst he was a member of
the CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR MOVEMENT. He took up with a Christian girl
who insisted that he attend the meetings. He became a Christian and she
became his wife. Many of us would echo his sentiments.
9. BRIEF ENCOUNTERS
Philip WILLIAMS was so small of stature and so slight of build for a lad of fourteen that
the rest of us spoilt for a fight with him in order to boost our standing. The ‘fights’ took
place in his garage where all the warning signs were on display - four pairs of boxing
gloves hanging from a rafter and a punch bag hanging in one corner and a punch ball
on a spring in the other. He “danced like a butterfly and stung like a bee”. Not any of
the six of us laid a glove on him. He grinned the while as he reduced each of us in turn
to tears in next to no time. His Welsh father had been FLY-WEIGHT Champion of the
Royal Navy in 1920. Philip boxed for HAYES TOWN BOY’S CLUB but since no
opponents of his own weight could be found he entered the ring one night against a
lad two divisions above his feather weight class; his assailant hit him with a meaningful
punch and ended his boxing career; well, not quite; he emigrated to the USA and
settled in a small town in ARIZONA. One day as he was cutting a chap’s hair three
young yobs entered the shop and attempted to help themselves to the money out of
the till. He got stuck into them with his fists and they left dollar less with him in hot
pursuit. He was forty-seven years of age at the time.
10. HALCYON DAYS.
From 1940 onwards Bank Holiday Monday hikes became the order of these
days. There would then be a Social on the same evening which would start at
7pm. and go on till 10pm. During the three hours between the finish of the hike
to the start of the party John HILLIER would write a “DITTY” on the events of
the day and this he would read out during the evening to the delight of all and
to the possible embarrassment of some.
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A wide range of rumbustious games would use up half the evening and interspersed
would be a variety of “stunts and turns”; some of which were musical contributions. The
blind folded “INKY and JOCK would go through a ‘ARE YOU THERE BROTHER”
routine. Mr. Fred BULL who came from ALDWINCLE in Northamptonshire would turn
on an exaggerated form of his country yokel accent when telling one of his elongated
‘Cock and Bull’ stories. He also had a ‘natural’ stutter on certain words but he made a
virtue out of his impediment by slipping in a number of ‘non-natural’ stutters in order to
enhance the telling of the tale. Together with his facial expressions and arm and hand
contortions the whole thing added up to a performance that excelled that of any
professional comedian. It was utterly hilarious from the moment he stood up till he sat
down again. Even so the man who stole the show was Mr. Ted TRAYLER – Church
Secretary and Deacon. The only person who took him seriously was himself. He played
his violin so badly that most of the younger people present were in hysterics before the
first scratchings took place. When he got going every part of him wobbled and
trembled; the hair on his head, his eye lids, his dentures, his double chin, his legs but
the hand that held the far end of the instrument and the other one that held what
seemed to be a bow that had a will of its own, shook most of all. It was a serious case
of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was up to. Almost before he finished
his ‘recital’ and in order to give relief to their pent up mirth the audience would burst
into rapturous applause. No wonder ‘Uncle Ted’ thought he was the cat’s whiskers on
the Old Tremulous Violin. Both he and we couldn’t wait for the next time round; what
humours. All good clean fun.
11. REVELATIONS.
When at the age of seventy-nine Ted’s end was near the Minister – James
McHaffie and another member of the Church took it in turns to be with him
during his last ten nights. On each night ‘ere the light went out he would say –
Read Chapter 21”. (Revelation) the man we sometimes laughed at entered into
GLORY with his armour shining brightly. The SWORD of the SPIRIT in his hand
and the WORD of GOD in his heart and on his lips. What a man.
This is the only surviving DITTY and was produced in1945 in connection with
the first ever holiday arranged by the Pastor – George BIGGS.
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NO.12.RAGS, BOTTLES and BONES
Mr Ron GREEN (DFC) the RAF Officer who became the Boy Covenanter leader in
1943 lived in the village of Iver with his parents who were well-to-do and were more
interested in going to the Race Course than in going to Church. Ron had attended a
Public School as a boy and had a friend there who went to the CRUSADER BIBLE
CLASS on Sunday afternoons. Ron decided to go along with him one Sunday “just for
a bit of a laugh”. Needless to say, after some time, he came to know the Lord.
In 1946 on the occasion of the 4th. Anniversary of the founding of the Covenanter
Group he persuaded the travelling Evangelist of the Movement – Captain
PINCHBACK (known to his friends as “SKIPPER”) to be the speaker on the Sunday
Evening. George BIGGS was happy to stand aside; had not Skipper been brought
up in a Brethern Assembly. He preached under the heading of –
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“ANY OLD RAGS, BOTTLES OR BONES”
RAGS – Isaiah 64. v6.
“Your good works are as filthy rags”
BOTTLES - Matthew 9. v17. “You must not put new wine into old bottles
- - “ (leather)
BONES – Ezekiel 37.v5
“Can these dry bones live?”.
At the end of the Service seven teenaged lads met with him in the vestry.
Four weeks later George Biggs baptised four of those lads and three young
ladies all of whom became Church Members.
13. HOW ‘ZAT.
From 1944 onwards there was an annual cricket match between the Men of the Church
and the Boys. One of the men – Mr Broughton – a Yorkshireman about fifty-two years
of age would never “WALK” when he was given out. We would have to get him out four
times before he would agree to the Umpire’s decision. We took it in good part for the
run rate dropped radically when he was at the crease for he rarely ‘ran’ for a run relying
on an occasional boundary to push the score along. The games were limited to about
fifteen overs each side. On one occasion ‘Frank B’ had a rush of blood to the head and
took a mighty swipe at the ball which soared heavenwards towards the boundary line.
A lad called Ken LEWIS ran an enormous distance at great speed then dived full length
and caught the ball one handed about eighteen inches above the ground just before it
was crossed the line. It was a magnificent catch. All the spectators, mostly young
ladies, clapped and hooted. Our Ken was a great one with the girls. I believe he still is.
Mr. Broughton – even though he’d only been ‘out’ once up till them – did not argue with
the raised finger. A shock reaction perhaps; certainly an unexpected one.
In contrast George BIGGS wearing, as always, his undertakers type striped
trousers held up with broad braces did not take the game too seriously. He had
a good eye for a ball and would score twenty or thirty runs in next to no time
then give-his-wicket-away usually by hitting the ball vertically as high as he
could, step to one side and watch with amusement as three upward gazing
youths would collide with each other and fail to take the catch; what mirth. This
would be repeated till, eventually, one of the boys would catch the ball.
John Hillier and Albert Spreadbury did not take a leaf out of their Pastor’s book
removing them was always difficult.
Over the years the honours were more or less even with long shadows across
the pitch before stumps were drawn for time, tide and sundown wait for no man.
We do well to remember that. “Wait not till the shadows lengthen” – come to
JESUS NOW. It isn’t cricket; it’s life and it involves eternity.
NO14 BRAIZ, BRAZZ OR BRAWZ.
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George Biggs was very rarely out of his pulpit but one Sunday morning in 1946 he was.
The visiting preacher asked one of the lads in the front row if he would read JEREMIAH
36 v20 -32. This is the passage where King Jehoiakim cut the scroll bearing “The word
of the Lord there on” into pieces with his penknife and threw them into the fire in the
hearth. Using his A.V. translation the lad read through the passage to himself three or
four times before the time came for him to read it to the congregation. When he got
onto the platform the Preacher requested that he should read from his Revised
Version. As he read he came to the word ‘BRASIER’ where he’d expected the word
HEARTH. The word appears three times. In his innocence and uncertainty he
pronounced the word as ‘BRASSIERE’. The reaction of his so called ‘pals’ in the front
row made him realise that he’d gone for the wrong option. He decided to stay with it
and gave them two more ‘brassieres’ for good measure. Then there is the forbidden
BRASSERIE.
Because the lad in question had built up a reputation for himself as one who “larked
about a bit” some of the older ‘friends’ in the fellowship thought he’d done it on
purpose. He was disappointed in them for that. You don’t use the WORD of GOD
in trivial ways. The lad was exceedingly thankful that his Scottish parents
worshipped at Yiewsley Baptist Church. If they ever got to hear about their surviving
off spring’s little mishap they did not betray the fact. The preacher did not say
anything either but he probably told his wife. You should see the names in that
passage; no one congratulated him for getting them right.
Not long after this took place one of his ‘pals’ the very fluent, erudite, man of words
and young philologian David ELLIOTT and none other, whilst in the company of a few
friends – I being one of them – referred to his ‘LAPELS’ as ‘LAPPLES’’. A slip of the
tongue no doubt but what a hoot. It has taken him some time to live it down; sixty-two
years to date. Who needs an enemy when they have a friend like me.
NO.15. WATERY WAYS.
Ever since Theo Cousens’s day the Sunday School annual outing took the form
of a trip along the Grand Union Canal to a field at NORTHOLT or HAREFIELD.
Mr Cousens would arm himself with a huge bag of sweets and from time to time
would throw out fistfuls of them and the scholars would scramble for them. All
good clean fun; perhaps.
In1947 a well filled open ‘barge’ set off for Harefield. There would be no scrambling for
sweets on this occasion since “sweet rationing” was still enforced following the war. An
arrangement had been made for an ice cream man to be in attendance at one of the
LOCKS. He did a roaring trade. On disembarking at the chosen field the children were
able to run about and stretch their legs and attend to “nature” whilst the “PICNIC” was
set up. In order to let the meal digest a number of lusty choruses were sung with the
Minister George Biggs on his concertina. Then followed a programme of rounders,
team games and races. A good time was had by all though a number of children shed
some tears when they didn’t win. There is no new thing under the sun except that by
this time there was very little sun. Clouds had formed so the activities came to an
abrupt end and we speedily embarked for the return journey. By the time we reached
Cowley the sky was dark and threatening and just ten minutes from
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journey’s end the heavens opened and, there being no hiding place, we all got
very wet indeed. Some of the younger ‘nippers’ sobbed and wailed.
At some time in its past the “TALLY-HO” had been used as a coal carrier and the
rain so activated the dust in every nook, cranny and crevice that we all looked like
so many chimney sweeps as we clambered ashore at Yiewsley bridge.
The attendance at the Sunday School next day was down by 50%. All subsequent
outings found us going by coach or train. We live and learn but not always.
NO. 16. DOUBLE DUTCH.
John KESSLER, a Dutchman, came amongst us in 1947. His father was a
DIRECTOR with the SHELL OIL COMPANY.
John spent just one year at CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY then gave that up to go
and train as a MISSIONARY at ALL NATIONS BIBLE COLLEGE at TAPLOW near
Maidenhead. He took lodgings with Mr. & Mrs. WARE in Brandville Road. His zeal
for the Lord challenged that of the Apostle Paul’s. He was a bit of a ‘wild’ man within
the context of balanced society. He made us realise that the rest of us spoke out
too seldom and too softly for the LORD. Perhaps. sadly, we still do.
On the occasion of his 21st. birthday he hired the hall at Cherry Lane Junior
School one Saturday evening and inspite of food rationing restrictions a
marvellous table was set before the eighty or so guests most of whom were
West Drayton Baptist connected. Crazy games and team activities used up the
rest of a very entertaining and remarkable evening which ended with a short
address, a hymn and a prayer. The congregation at the Sunday morning service
following on from the night before was much depleted. All those who had
partaken of the ‘GREEN JELLY’ had been violently sick during the night.
Fortunately George Biggs the Minister had not eaten of the tainted fruits and
neither had a somewhat subdued John KESSLER and neither had I.
John went off to distant PERU to pursue his Master’s calling and settled in
AREQUIPA close to the Chilean border. Whilst preaching in the open air one
morning he so upset the Catholics in the crowd that he had to abandon his
platform and run for it. It was just as well for him that he was a good 400 metre
man otherwise a number of locals would have been using parts of his anatomy
to hold up their hosiery next morning.
Among other achievements John and his wife founded a school in the town and
in 1982 Peter WHITE’S niece “JILL” who was a Missionary with ‘EUSA’ taught
there for quite a number of years.
We lost contact with him for many a long day but in 1997 we received a letter
from his wife (they had four children) stating that he was very much alive and
still kicking mightily for the LORD. He had become Director of ‘EUSA’ and
visited Europe from time to time. I had hoped to have gotten him to be our
speaker at the 170th Anniversary of the founding of the Church. A very mighty
man of valour if ever there was one.
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NO. 17. COMETH the HOUR. Mr. A. WARE (senior) was a Deacon with his heart
very much committed to the life and work of the Church. Even so he built up for
himself over the years a reputation of being rather severe, a bit critical and some
what unsmiling though he did have his moments. The Covenanter boys referred to
him as ‘Mr. B. WARE’. He rather saw himself as one who did not make mistakes
and above all he was a stickler for time keeping. He always aimed to be in the
church ten minutes at least before the services were due to start when more than
half the congregation had yet to arrive.
On the last Sunday in March 1947 he arrived at the morning service ten minutes
before the hour as was his want and was surprised to see the place almost full.
George Biggs was on his feet by the Lectern and obviously well into his sermon. A
somewhat stunned Albert WARE sat down in the nearest empty chair. He did not
notice the wry smiles on the faces of some sitting near him and it wasn’t till the
Pastor rather pleasingly said – “We will now rise to sing the last hymn” (it was
12.15pm. by then) that the dear man realised that he had forgotten to put his clock
forward by one hour since it was the start of BRITISH SUMMER TIME. One ‘wag’
said afterwards that he was tempted to slip a note to the Pastor suggesting that he
change the last hymn to No.401A – “Art thou weary art thou languid art thou sore
distressed” but he didn’t. We must all do our best to resist temptation at all times
and in every circumstance. We should also resist becoming self-righteous. The
others will be reluctant to forgive you for that let alone the Lord Himself. Poor old
Albert went home somewhat chastened but it wasn’t long before he came out
fighting fit again. You can’t keep a good man down. I must say I rather liked the
man though some didn’t care for him.
NO.18. WEDDING KNELLS.
It was about that time also (1947) that we younger ones in the Church discovered that
Mr & Mrs A.E.WARE had a daughter called Evelyn. Just before the war started she’d
gone off to train as a nurse and she settled in a hospital in Sussex somewhere. One
Saturday she turned up at the Church dressed in white and leaning on the arm of her
smiling father. The groom was a rather willowy character with his hair smoothed down
with Brylcream. His name was “Smith” and he was a “Wall–of–Death” rider at the
KURSAAL FAIR GROUND in Southend.
The wedding, presided over by the Minister George BIGGS wearing his clerical collar,
was about to start when the lady registrar jumped up to say that we could not proceed
with the ceremony since neither she, Mr. Biggs or Mr. Smith could produce a letter or
document to establish the fact the Mr. Smith was properly divorced from his
first wife. So that was that. The bride did not burst into tears, she displayed
admirable self control.
The Pastor did not deliver his usual twenty minute peroration so we sang a hymn
then made our way through to the rear room and wasted no time in getting stuck
into the feast that was set out on the table before us. What they did about the
honeymoon I know not. The necessary document arrived through the post nine
days later and the marriage took place in a Registry Office in Southend. They had
one daughter before the marriage broke up after just three years.
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We did not set eyes on Evelyn again till 1987 when she and her delightful daughter
attended the 160th. Anniversary of the Church. At sixty-seven years of age Evelyn was
an elegant lady who looked to be the picture of health; nevertheless, within a year her
daughter wrote to us to say that her Mother had died of cancer. A reminder to us all of
the “ transient nature of our relatively short and uncertain lives.”
NO. 19. HIGH FLIER.
In 1951 a youth by the name of Brian WOOD attended the Boy Covenanter
Group. He’d left school at the age of sixteen and got a job with a firm of London
Solicitors. He took to wearing a sombre suit, a trench coat, a bowler hat and
very well polished black shoes. He carried a tightly rolled umbrella and he had
a copy of the Times under his arm; quite the little city gent.
One Saturday in late November the football match against Yiewsley Baptist Boy’s
Brigade had to kick off at 1.30pm. Brian had to work till 12.30pm. on Saturdays and did
not turn up till twenty minutes after the game kicked off by which time we were four
goals down., He arrived wearing his ‘city’ garb which amused the Brigade Boys. He
changed into his football gear and by half time the scores were even and he had scored
our four goals. The second half was goal-less till five minutes from the end our keeper
fumbled the ball and it trickled over the line. At the end Brian rubbed the worst of the
mud off his legs and arms, put on his smart togs and walked the mile or so to his house
in Mill Road. All he had had for lunch was a doughnut at Paddington Station. Not only
was his football ability to be admired but his commitment and singleness of mind and
purpose were remarkable for a lad of seventeen.
During the Sunday Afternoon Bible Class Meeting next day it was obvious by their
attitude and behaviour that a fair number of the lads in the room only came in order to
play in the football team and attend the games evening. When, some way into the
session, the leader (he was only twenty-two years old) invited those who’d rather not
be there to leave, fourteen of the fifteen present quietly left the room. That left Brian
and the leader to continue with the Study. Revelation. Chapter 1. Brian was well liked
by the others but unlike them he had a genuine interest in the things of the Spirit and
was never afraid to stand up and be counted.
We had to get out and about restocking the Covenanter Group with the next
generation of boys and that we did. When, some months later, Brian was called
up to do his National Service we missed him greatly and so did a number of
young ladies in the Church.
He met and married a bonny Yorkshire lass called Judy and they settled in the
Birmingham area and lived happily ever after with their two daughters.
NO. 20. SNOOKERED.
By 1952 the boy who spent Monday evenings repeatedly sitting on Mr. Trayler’s
hat back in 1942 became one of the leaders of the Covenanter Group and the
target of a prank which was really an object lesson for him.
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Thirteen year old David DUNCAN invited him to bend over the Snooker table to pot a
distant RED. As the unsuspecting leader got into position and was just about to play
the shot David’s collaborator, a mischievous youth called Victor PINDER, delivered a
mighty kick to the leaders behind. Both boys ran at great speed down the corridor that
led to the church Room with the exceedingly livid leader in hot pursuit. For the space
of a minute both grinning faced lads dodged between the rows of seats until the
offended party recovered his cool. They were still keeping their distance when he
asked them why they’d done it. “Last Sunday you said there was nothing any of us
could do that would make you lose your temper with us.” The lesson was taken to heart
and although the man did not actually shake their hands and thank them for the manner
in which they had “conveyed” the message he had enough about him to take it in
reasonably good part. He was very thankful that the boy was wearing his plimsoles
and not his hob-nailed boots and he was also relieved that he hadn’t been able to get
his hands on them within a minute of the landing of the blow for had he done so his
career as P.C.401”A” Division might have come to a swift and sad end. The tongue is
a little member and boasteth great things.” JAMES. 33. v.5. When did the Lord last
give you a good metaphorical kick up the rear end? We all need that from time to time.
When he was forty years old David was shot dead on the forecourt of the hotel in
Melbourne where he was the Manager as he pursued the drunken man who had
stolen all the money from the till. It was his 15th Wedding Anniversary and his wife
and three young daughters witnessed the incident whilst sitting in their car waiting
for him to finish his tour of duty before going for a Celebratory meal.
As far as I know the adventuresome Victor is still with us.
NO.21. WILL-POWER,
When Mr. Spalding senior retired from building he spent his time endeavouring to
improve the facilities at Swan Road. He erected a hut measuring 18ft. x 18ft. on
the piece of ground at the rear of the premises. Its outer skin was made of
corrugated iron sheets. This became the meeting place of the twenty or so young
ladies who attended the Bible Class which was run by his daughter Marjorie. She
was an attractive woman who never married and she was the leader of that group
for over thirty years. She also ran the Junior Branch of the CHRISTIAN
ENDEAVOUR and from time to time she was the Church organist.
Bill Spalding also constructed two toilets off the corridor that joined the two main
buildings in the space between the boundary wall and the outside wall of the
corridor. This was a great improvement for we now had three toilets which
reduced the waiting time when the “pressure” was on. He put them up without
any cost to the Church. He also put them up without letting the Council know.
When, after his death, the Council discovered what he had done they were not
pleased for in building them he’d eliminated yet another FIRE-ESCAPE door.
In keeping with many builders he was inclined to be a law unto himself.
NO. 22. ‘M’ for MUSTARD.
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Marjorie Spalding became the private secretary to the Managing Director of a
local French firm. He was, not surprisingly, a Frenchman - M.GARNEAUX –
who sometimes swore and blasphemed in English. The first time he did so in
Marjorie’s presence she took him to task in no uncertain manner. He muttered
something about ‘Puritan Protestants’ but thereafter he watched his B’s and C’s
when she was around. One salvo from his fiery but hardworking and efficient
secretary was enough to take the garlic out of his Gaulic breath. She never had
need to speak to him again on the matter.
Marjorie cared well for her elderly mother as she became frail and forgetful and she
held firm and true to her own convictions which she first embraced as a teenager.
Unable to form words she could still play hymns on the piano to the end. She was
ninety-two when she entered the Glory. She was quite a “girl” in her own way.
NO. 23. GUNGA JIM.
Jim STEVENSON ARRIVED IN West Drayton in 1924 with his Highlander parents,
his three older sisters and his younger brother Vic. They moved from Southall
where they worshipped at the Baptist Church. He married a sweet young thing
called ‘Kath’ in 1941 and when Stockley Mission was bombed in 1943 they, with
others, rejoined the fellowship at Swan Road. In time Jim became the Sunday
School Superintendent and Kath started up the “Women’s Friendship Circle’ in the
early 1950’s. Jim was appointed Church Secretary in 1952; he was also a Deacon.
He was a capable preacher and from time to time he conducted discussions with
the senior lads in the Covenanter Bible Class.
He held a top position with the company he worked for in Finsbury and was known as
“The man who gets things done”. He had joined the firm as the office boy at the age of
fourteen. When he retired from business at the age of sixty he became the part-time
Pastor at HARMONDSWORTH BAPTIST CHURCH for five years. They now live in the
Reading area and worship at Carey Baptist Church even though he’s one-hundredand one years old and blind. There’s commitment for you.
Kath who is considerably younger than him still drives a car and has been ‘done’
for breaking the speed limit on several occasions in recent years. When she
plays the organ she keeps to the ‘tempo’ of the music set.
Jim’s logic and judgements were so right so often that he ran the risk of being
seen as the man who was too right too often and as a result there were those
in the Church who were wary of him. Making the odd mistake from time to time
preserves your ‘humanity’ in the perceptions of the others. Jim’s mind is very
sharp still and his knowledge and grasp of Scripture is profound; he can quote
passage after passage to you which he learnt off by heart as a boy in the
Sunday School in Southall during the FIRST WORLD WAR.
They are both warm hearted and fine Christian folk whose sole interest in life
revolves round the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom. He’s a dear Brother–in-Christ
and she’s an equally dear Sister–in- the-Lord.
NO. 24. JURISPRUDENTS.
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Norma POWELL (nee. SHELTON) was about nine years old when she came with her
friend Maureen CONWAY to the Sunday School in 1942. She was in Marjorie
Spalding’s Bible Class before going off to Southampton University in 1952. From then
till 1960 she did not have anything to do with the Church. In 1956 she married John
POWELL who had been a member of the Boy’s Bible Class (The Covenanters) from
1942 till he left to join the RAF in 1947. He never again came to the Church on a regular
basis though his contribution to the life of this Church down through the years has been
substantial. A man of integrity if ever there was one.
Maureen’s mother Floss was converted when she attended special meetings in
1950 when the Evangelist David HOOD was in town. She worked with Norma’s
sister Peggy and got her to come with her to the Women’s Friendship Circle. In
time a third sister Joan came to the Church and she and Peggy became
Christians, got baptised and came into membership.
Norma is a “Pillar of the Church” as well as a Deacon. When she was about fifty she
agreed to become a Magistrate and sat on the Bench in Ealing for twenty years. When
the Tomsetts left in 1992 she bravely agreed to be the Church TREASURER. Her
“ECONOMICS” husband has been a great helpmate to her. The ‘Auditor’ has praised
her for the way she keeps the books and the rest of us are indebted to her.
A woman of Character and a “Mother – in – Israel” if ever there was one.
(see.2.SAMUEL 20. v19).
NO.25 A HIGHLAND SING.
In 1960 one of the leaders and twelve lads from the Covenanter Group went off on
a walking tour of the Highlands. Under the glass roof of the one time conservatory
and now functioning as a dormitory on the top floor of a Youth Hostel in Glasgow’s
West End we experienced the ‘Mother and Father’ of all electric storms which went
on for three hours during which time young Alan BROWN, as bright lad of thirteen
years, talked non-stop in his “pip-squeak” London voice much to the chagrin of the
dour looking Scots sharing our sleeping quarters. He was probably frightened by
the storm; if so he wasn’t the only one.
At 3pm. on the first day out - a Sunday – we sat down by the path on the slopes
of Ben Lomond for a Hymn, a Prayer, a Reading and a short Discourse. During
the hymn a Presbyterian man going the other way joined us then went on his
way rejoicing for he had not anticipated encountering any CONVENANTERS
(especially the English variety) roaming freely in the Highlands in the middle of
the 20th Century.
NO.26. A HAPPY “COE” – INCIDENCE.
Glen Coe is over twenty-five miles long and is a very threatening and broody place
indeed. Early one morning we set out to walk it from one end to the other. After three
hours the one and only bus of the day made up on us. The leader and ten of the boys
piled on board and parted happily with some “siller” (money) for the fare. Two of the
older lads – Brian ADAMS and Richard BULL resolved to complete the task on
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foot. As the bus covered mile after mile and the sky clouded menacingly the
leader regretted he had not insisted that ADAMS and BULL should get on the
bus. But the Lord and good sense ruled the hour.
On getting off the bus at the top end of the Glen in the town of BALLACHULISH
Richard and Brian were there to greet us. About an hour after the bus had gone
an estate car drew up and the driver offered them a lift and they squeezed in
with the two young children in the back seat. The man was a Vicar of a Church
in Liverpool where they ran a Covenanter Group. Richard had a Covenanter
Badge sewn on his rucksack. They had overtaken us about ten minutes before
we turned up. A timely answer to prayer.
NO. 27. A ‘STAG’ NIGHT.
We called in at the BALLACHULISH butcher’s shop to get some sausages. He had
a huge illegal ex-“Monarch of the Glen” (a stag) hanging in his back room. Our
quartermaster, Philip PARSONS, came away with thirteen one – and –a – half - inchthick –as –big – as – your – hand venison steaks as fresh as the morning dew and he
got them for the price of the sausages. Who said the SCOTS are mean. Not with
someone else’s money (or beast) they aren’t. The Warden at the Glen Coe Youth
Hostel was a huge Austrian Woman whose eyes bulged somewhat at the sight of the
Venison cooking on top of her range. Her eyes bulged even more so when she saw
the rice from our pot pouring out all over her stove. Philip has over estimated the
amount needed by at least 50%. The meal was magnificent but it took us a long time
to scrape the ‘burnt on’ rice from the top of the stove with a very austere and demanding
“Lady Mac.Beth” standing over us with arms AKIMBO. We wouldn’t tell her where we
got the steaks. With only one butcher in town one would have thought she could have
worked that one out. In the morning she gave us rigorous chores before permitting us
to leave her Mountain Fastness.
No.28. SCOTCH MIST.
On that same trip in 1960 we had to sleep in a ‘BOTHIE’ half way down the thirty-five
mile long and remote Glen Affric. It was no more than a corrugated tin hut with no
facilities of any sort. Little wonder we were up and out and on our way by 7am. With
the mist- good Scotch mist – on the hills we came across a large herd of ginger
Highland Cattle all reclining. Bulls or not bulls that was the question? With not a little
trepidation in our hearts we picked our way cautiously between the fierce and moody
looking beasts each of whom stared at us unflinchingly. They probably felt as uneasy
about us as we did about them. Twelve of us got clear of them but where was number
thirteen? Not, we trust, literally on the horns of a dilemma. From within the mist some
100 yards to our left we were mightily relieved to hear the voice of Steven RICHARDS
and then to see him as he came out of the mist like an apparition. He had decided to
play safe and circumvent the entire herd. “The better part of valour is discretion”. We
pressed on over heather covered moor and fen and rejoiced at the sight of a small bus
sitting on a bit of tarmac outside a lone house about a mile away and prayed that it
would not move till we reached it; it didn’t. Breakfast had been a Mars bar and a drink
from the stream and that was four hours ago. About twelve miles down the road the
driver dropped us off at a baker’s shop in the village of BEAULY so we lunched on the
most marvellous cakes we’d ever eaten and on the
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strength of them we marched the eight miles or so to the INVERNESS Youth Hostel
and dived in the nearby restaurant where we had a slap-up-feed followed by a
wonderful night’s sleep which made up for the “Bothie” non-kip-night. Next morning
we caught the train which took us over the Forth Bridge and we entered “AULD
REEKIE” (Edinburgh) at NOON. We toured that historic and attractive city on foot
and ended the long day by attending the late performance at the TATTOO – “Wi’ a
100 pipers an’ a’ that.” And so to bed by one.
NO. 29. BULLY FOR TWO BUT NO VENISON.
Forty-one years later, Richard Bull and his merry wife Jean did the same tour in a
car but they did not pick up any stray Covenanters, stags or cats. Neither did they
stay in Youth Hostels and neither did they feast at the Monarch’s Table.
.
NO. 30 ONE ‘REV’ TOO MANY.
In 1983 our two teenaged sons, myself and the then Pastor of the Church and his
wife set off in his orange van heading for a Christian Youth Camp in distant
Portugal. I was named as the second driver without ever having driven the vehicle.
On the third day out we called into a filling station by the four lane motorway on the
Southern outskirts of TOLEDO. I was told that it was my turn to drive. The van had
one of those two-foot long gear sticks that wobbled about a lot. Finding the gears
readily was not guaranteed in the best of circumstances but at 5pm. in the evening
when the workers from the sword making factories were racing along the motorway
lanes at 60m.p.h. it was little wonder that I could not find the fourth gear whilst
endeavouring to get into the outside lane without being hit by another car. Needless
to say the engine was screaming its head off when I heard a voice say rather
sharply – “Too many REVS, too many REVS!”
Subsequently I discovered that the reason why we were not to ‘over rev’ or exceed the
speed of 55m.p.h. was in order that we should return home having achieved a better
average mileage per gallon than another local Baptist Minister who had an identical vehicle
and who was journeying in France. When did you last get your priorities wrong for trivial
reasons even to the point of risking your own life and that of others?
No. 31. THE ‘ORFF’ MAN.
Following an evening service in 1988 I opted to accompany the Pastor to Heathrow
Airport to pick up a returning U.F.M. Missionary with whom he had worked in BRAZIL.
The man was in his late 60’s and short of stature. As we made our way through the
exit tunnel I recognised the voice from a long way back so I tapped him on the shoulder
and in a whimsical voice said “You wouldn’t happen to be Alf Martin by any chance?”.
“Yes I am” said he in his clipped ‘POSH’ voice. I then went on to tell him that virtually
on the eve of his departure to BRAZIL he preached in West Drayton Baptist Church
one Sunday evening in 1948. Not surprisingly he had no recollection of the evening. I
continued by telling him that he preached that night on the arrest of Jesus in the Garden
of Gethsemane and that when he was in full flow and preaching very powerfully he
reached that part in the narrative where Jesus replaced the ear of MALCHUS that when
he said - “and no one could say, “THAT
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EAR’S BEEN ORFF” all the teenagers in the congregation laughed spontaneously for
some reason or another. (I suspect it was the dissonance between the POSH ACCENT
and the EAST END “ORFF” that triggered the reaction.) Oh dear; the atmosphere in
the car could have been cut with a knife. Silence was far from being golden. I was
tempted to open the rear door and roll out. The last five minutes of the journey was
traversed in ‘grave’ silence. How can a man who cannot laugh at himself survive in the
foreign Mission Field? There was no word of praise for remembering what a man
preached upon over forty years earlier. To parody a line from T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in
the Cathedral” – “To ‘remember the wrong’ thing for the wrong reason is the greater
treason” seemed to fit the misdemeanour of the moment.
A metaphysical assassination took place that sad Sunday evening in the back seat of
a
black limousine. Over the years I have survived a fair number of such
assassinations as anyone who knows me may well imagine. So far I’ve
managed to avoid the real thing. But ‘ordinary’ dying, well, that’s another matter.
Remember Ted Trayler. When a cynic said to John WESLEY – “You Methodists
don’t know how to live” he replied – “That’s as maybe; but we know how to die.”
I wonder if we do. Alf Martin has been responsible for leading more souls to
Christ than most of us have done or are ever likely to; so, in the words of
Corporal Nym – “There’s the HUMOUR (measure) of it.”
In 1948 Ron GREEN and a number of us lads visited the cafe in Station Road
on Wednesday evenings following the Prayer Meeting in order to speak to
anyone who happened to be there about our Faith. One night a group of eight
teenagers were there who debated with us heatedly. The proprietoress turned
us out at 10.30pm. so conversation continued on the pavement for some time.
It was almost 11pm. when sixteen year old Andrew Biggs – the minister’s son
– turned his key in the door to be confronted by his anxious and angry Mother
who gave it to him in the neck for being out so late whilst witnessing for the
Lord. Mums will be Mums; even so, which one of us wouldn’t give our right arm
to see our old Mum’s face again, listen to her voice and bask in her love? Whilst
not forgetting the old Dad and his chastenings and affections.
NO. 32. WELL, I NEVER.
One Thursday morning in 1997 a grandmother turned up at the Mums’ and Toddlers’
Group with her grandson in his pushchair. When barely inside the door she looked at
the four Church folk who ran the show – three ladies and one man – and announced
somewhat triumphantly, “I’ve always regarded this Church as my CHURCH”. The four
of us looked at each other enquiringly but none of us had the slightest notion as to who
she was. It transpired that she’d attended the Sunday School and Marjorie Spalding’s
Bible Class back in the 1940’s. At the age of seventeen she took up with a young chap
who had no interest in coming to the Church so she pulled out of the Young Ladies’
Bible Class and here she was with her foot in the door for the first time in exactly fifty
years and making her grand entry.Three days later, on the Sunday Morning Barbara
(nee WELLS) had her feet in the door again and she’s been a regular worshipper for
over ten years now. She delights to attend the Bible Study meeting. “I can’t wait for
Wednesday evening to come round - I love it.” For a number of years she brought two
of her friends with her on Sunday Mornings. She very much regrets her arid and
troublesome years in the “wilderness” but is doing her
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best to redeem “the years the locusts have eaten” and rejoices in her so great
SALVATION.
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PS. I regret if your name didn’t get a mention from start to finish but 2,358 other
good folk who came about this Church down through the years have not been
named either.
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I am indebted to Mrs. C.V.M.JENKINS (Grammarian) for her observations.
** ***********************************************
Produced by R.A.CAUGHEY, 16 Fairway Avenue, West Drayton, Middlesex.
UB77AN.
01895 449018.
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