Page 28 - GFA – A Different Drumbeat
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GFA – A Different Drumbeat 28
From this wedding photo, we can see Bishop Cassels of the Cambridge Seven8 who
performed the ceremony. The wedding service followed by a reception was held in the
home of Mrs. Ritchie, wife of the head of the Postal Service in Szechuan. As Ella Reid, Mrs.
Ritchie went through the Chefoo Schools with Esther Moore (GFA's older sister) and they
were lifelong friends.
The journey to Chengtu had taken 28 days. The journey back to Lanchow took 42 days,
because Fanny had to be carried in a sedan chair as they returned safely to Lanchow on
their ‘honeymoon’.
1911 was a crucial year in China’s history. It was the year that China overthrew its foreign
rulers and became a Republic with no outside force or nation imposing its sovereignty over
them. It had been preceded by years of factional fighting, making the country an extremely
dangerous place for missionaries to work. GFA had already been caught in some of this
turmoil.
In Sining however, Esther (GFA’s sister) and Arthur Moore were alone in June of that year,
and they were in an extremely dangerous position due to an anti-foreign uprising, and only
by the mercy of God were they saved from death and enabled to go for a time to Lanchow
until things settled down.
GFA's health was giving him trouble, and on 10 October he left for Peking for medical
advice. Because Arthur and Esther Moore were still in Lanchow, they were able to stand in
for him during his absence.
In April the following year, GFA and Fanny welcomed their firstborn George Leslie. It is
probable that the new Dad had returned home for the occasion.
He was an extraordinarily charismatic man. He was equally at home with the rich or the
poor. He could commune with both the academic and the criminal. He had a happy knack
of getting on well with all kinds of people, a good command of the Chinese language, and
an exceptional capacity for winning the confidence and friendship of responsible officials
not only among the Chinese but also within the large Muslim minority in Kansu. There
was no love lost between the two communities. In 1912 the newly appointed Chinese
Governor-General of Kansu was murdered by Muslims at his home in Titao city. The room
was boarded up and one of the first persons allowed to enter it a year later was GFA.
George Findlay Andrew would find that he would need all these talents and abilities in the
coming years. Return to Table of Contents
8 The Cambridge Seven were seven students from Cambridge University, who in 1885, decided to become
missionaries in China; the seven were: C.T.Studd; M. H. P. Beauchamp; S. P. Smith; A. T. Polhill-Turner; D. E.
Hoste; C. H. Polhill-Turner; W. W.Cassels Having been accepted as missionaries by the China Inland
Mission the seven were scheduled to leave for China in early February 1885. Before leaving the seven held a
farewell tour to spread the message across the country — it was during this tour that someone dubbed them
"The Cambridge Seven." (Wikipedia)
From this wedding photo, we can see Bishop Cassels of the Cambridge Seven8 who
performed the ceremony. The wedding service followed by a reception was held in the
home of Mrs. Ritchie, wife of the head of the Postal Service in Szechuan. As Ella Reid, Mrs.
Ritchie went through the Chefoo Schools with Esther Moore (GFA's older sister) and they
were lifelong friends.
The journey to Chengtu had taken 28 days. The journey back to Lanchow took 42 days,
because Fanny had to be carried in a sedan chair as they returned safely to Lanchow on
their ‘honeymoon’.
1911 was a crucial year in China’s history. It was the year that China overthrew its foreign
rulers and became a Republic with no outside force or nation imposing its sovereignty over
them. It had been preceded by years of factional fighting, making the country an extremely
dangerous place for missionaries to work. GFA had already been caught in some of this
turmoil.
In Sining however, Esther (GFA’s sister) and Arthur Moore were alone in June of that year,
and they were in an extremely dangerous position due to an anti-foreign uprising, and only
by the mercy of God were they saved from death and enabled to go for a time to Lanchow
until things settled down.
GFA's health was giving him trouble, and on 10 October he left for Peking for medical
advice. Because Arthur and Esther Moore were still in Lanchow, they were able to stand in
for him during his absence.
In April the following year, GFA and Fanny welcomed their firstborn George Leslie. It is
probable that the new Dad had returned home for the occasion.
He was an extraordinarily charismatic man. He was equally at home with the rich or the
poor. He could commune with both the academic and the criminal. He had a happy knack
of getting on well with all kinds of people, a good command of the Chinese language, and
an exceptional capacity for winning the confidence and friendship of responsible officials
not only among the Chinese but also within the large Muslim minority in Kansu. There
was no love lost between the two communities. In 1912 the newly appointed Chinese
Governor-General of Kansu was murdered by Muslims at his home in Titao city. The room
was boarded up and one of the first persons allowed to enter it a year later was GFA.
George Findlay Andrew would find that he would need all these talents and abilities in the
coming years. Return to Table of Contents
8 The Cambridge Seven were seven students from Cambridge University, who in 1885, decided to become
missionaries in China; the seven were: C.T.Studd; M. H. P. Beauchamp; S. P. Smith; A. T. Polhill-Turner; D. E.
Hoste; C. H. Polhill-Turner; W. W.Cassels Having been accepted as missionaries by the China Inland
Mission the seven were scheduled to leave for China in early February 1885. Before leaving the seven held a
farewell tour to spread the message across the country — it was during this tour that someone dubbed them
"The Cambridge Seven." (Wikipedia)
