Page 79 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 79
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
"my brother-in-law has been ailing for some time and, though the
doctor has been attending him, he is not much better and has now
been ordered a change from Lanzhou for not less than two months".
Acting on this advice, George left for Didao in January 1915. In June 1915 Arthur was writing again,
"As you were aware, my brother-in-law has been ill more or less for
the past year. He has taken several journeys and has benefited from
the change, but the old trouble is beginning to return and it is more
than likely that the doctor will suggest a change if these boils
continue."
By Christmas 1913, the George Andrews Senior had arrived back in Shanghai and by February 1914
were back in Lanzhou, so that during 1914 the three families were all working in that city. That was
the year when World War I broke out and in October 1914 a telegram was received from the Christian
Churches of Beijing with the backing of the President and Vice President of the Republic, asking that a
meeting be arranged in Lanzhou to pray for peace.
Mr. George Andrew visited the Governor of Gansu to discuss the matter and a meeting was arranged
for Sunday 18 October. It was held in the Zuo Zong Tang Ancestral Hall "and the reverence shown
by officials of all ranks was most striking, showing that during the last few years the prejudice against
Christianity has lessened. The meeting took place between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday 18
October. Mr. Gou, one of our Christians, acted as chairman. Prayer was offered by George Andrew
Senior and the Scripture reading was by Mr. Shen, another Christian. An address was given by Mr.
Zhong, a Christian business man and then Mr. Guai, the Governor's representative, was called on to
speak. He gave a very appropriate address for the occasion, after which Dr. George King MB closed
with prayer."
George and Fanny's second child, Aileen Margaret, was born on 15 March 1914. Five months later
World War I broke out. John Arthur Andrew resigned from the Mission to join up. Alfred Isaac, only
just seventeen, joined up in England and was killed in action on 4 June 1916. GFA with a wife and
children to consider stayed on in Lanzhou, but decided to serve his country as well as he could while
still fulfilling his missionary calling.
GFA'S SPECIAL TALENTS
George Findlay Andrew had a remarkable capacity for friendship with responsible officials, a happy
knack of getting on with all kinds of people, and a good command of the Chinese language. The
warmth of his personality, his effervescent sense of humour and his fund of entertaining stories,
endeared him to everybody. People liked and respected him. They knew him to be an upright man,
and they felt that they could trust him, so he acquired a rather special, undefined position in society,
unusual for a foreign missionary. When the newly appointed Governor of Gansu Province was
murdered by Muslims in his home at Didao, the room was boarded up, and the first person allowed to
enter it a year later was GFA.
Dr. Robert Parry MRCS LRCP arrived in 1915 to work in the Bordern Memorial Hospital. He writes,
"When I arrived, George was already established in the missionary
community, at least as the adviser on the quality of any horse. As
most male missionaries owned a horse for convenience of travel, his
advice was usually sought. He certainly managed horses well, even
79
Amy Moore
"my brother-in-law has been ailing for some time and, though the
doctor has been attending him, he is not much better and has now
been ordered a change from Lanzhou for not less than two months".
Acting on this advice, George left for Didao in January 1915. In June 1915 Arthur was writing again,
"As you were aware, my brother-in-law has been ill more or less for
the past year. He has taken several journeys and has benefited from
the change, but the old trouble is beginning to return and it is more
than likely that the doctor will suggest a change if these boils
continue."
By Christmas 1913, the George Andrews Senior had arrived back in Shanghai and by February 1914
were back in Lanzhou, so that during 1914 the three families were all working in that city. That was
the year when World War I broke out and in October 1914 a telegram was received from the Christian
Churches of Beijing with the backing of the President and Vice President of the Republic, asking that a
meeting be arranged in Lanzhou to pray for peace.
Mr. George Andrew visited the Governor of Gansu to discuss the matter and a meeting was arranged
for Sunday 18 October. It was held in the Zuo Zong Tang Ancestral Hall "and the reverence shown
by officials of all ranks was most striking, showing that during the last few years the prejudice against
Christianity has lessened. The meeting took place between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday 18
October. Mr. Gou, one of our Christians, acted as chairman. Prayer was offered by George Andrew
Senior and the Scripture reading was by Mr. Shen, another Christian. An address was given by Mr.
Zhong, a Christian business man and then Mr. Guai, the Governor's representative, was called on to
speak. He gave a very appropriate address for the occasion, after which Dr. George King MB closed
with prayer."
George and Fanny's second child, Aileen Margaret, was born on 15 March 1914. Five months later
World War I broke out. John Arthur Andrew resigned from the Mission to join up. Alfred Isaac, only
just seventeen, joined up in England and was killed in action on 4 June 1916. GFA with a wife and
children to consider stayed on in Lanzhou, but decided to serve his country as well as he could while
still fulfilling his missionary calling.
GFA'S SPECIAL TALENTS
George Findlay Andrew had a remarkable capacity for friendship with responsible officials, a happy
knack of getting on with all kinds of people, and a good command of the Chinese language. The
warmth of his personality, his effervescent sense of humour and his fund of entertaining stories,
endeared him to everybody. People liked and respected him. They knew him to be an upright man,
and they felt that they could trust him, so he acquired a rather special, undefined position in society,
unusual for a foreign missionary. When the newly appointed Governor of Gansu Province was
murdered by Muslims in his home at Didao, the room was boarded up, and the first person allowed to
enter it a year later was GFA.
Dr. Robert Parry MRCS LRCP arrived in 1915 to work in the Bordern Memorial Hospital. He writes,
"When I arrived, George was already established in the missionary
community, at least as the adviser on the quality of any horse. As
most male missionaries owned a horse for convenience of travel, his
advice was usually sought. He certainly managed horses well, even
79
