Page 41 - GFA – A Different Drumbeat
P. 41
GFA – A Different Drumbeat 41
the night. The reports of the country around are harrowing. We have been cut off for
a fortnight, and now letters are just coming in and wires are up again.
The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick hosted the China Inland Mission’s Winter
School early in the new year. GFA had now finished his manuscript for his book, “The
Crescent in North-West China”. He had been working on this during the long voyage to
England and in the time he had to spare over the past twelve months, so he was able to
officially hand his book over to the CIM for printing and it was published later that year.
On January 15 he left with Fanny and Mervyn for their six week’s passage by ship back to
China. Copies exist of some of his 1921 diary.13 These entries show that they had a lot of
bad weather, much to the discomfort of both he and Fanny. On the trip they lost three men
overboard at different times. The first was a young sailor, 18 years of age, who fell
overboard at about 4:15 p.m. on 27 January. George says,
"He was a good violinist and was to have played for a dance tonight. The ship
stopped and cruised round for a time, but could not find the lad, though they picked
up the two lifebuoys which had been thrown over. This was the lad's first trip. He
was a merry athletic lad and a great pet of the Captain's. Last night he was fiddling
for the sailors on the lower deck. His untimely death has cast a gloom over the
whole ship."
On the very next day something similar happened.
"At 2:15 pm I was down in the cabin, when the ship suddenly stopped. I rushed up
on deck to find that one of the Chinese third class passengers had jumped
overboard. Two boats put off and recovered the four lifebuoys thrown over, also part
of the man's clothing, almost certain proof that the unfortunate man had been eaten
by sharks."
On 18 February near Saigon:
"Another Chinaman jumped overboard in the river! A launch set out after him at
once, but did not get him - not known whether he was drowned of swam ashore."
They reached Singapore exactly a month from the time that they left England, In Singapore
he met up with his brother Jim who came down from Ipoh in Malaya to see him. It was a
significant reunion because they had not seen each other for thirteen years, since
December 1908. They had "a very happy day together", and his ship left again at 5:30 pm.
They docked in Hong Kong on 23rd February and arrived in Shanghai on February 26.
Return to Table of Contents
13 To see some of these handwritten entries from this diary go to Book 2.
the night. The reports of the country around are harrowing. We have been cut off for
a fortnight, and now letters are just coming in and wires are up again.
The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick hosted the China Inland Mission’s Winter
School early in the new year. GFA had now finished his manuscript for his book, “The
Crescent in North-West China”. He had been working on this during the long voyage to
England and in the time he had to spare over the past twelve months, so he was able to
officially hand his book over to the CIM for printing and it was published later that year.
On January 15 he left with Fanny and Mervyn for their six week’s passage by ship back to
China. Copies exist of some of his 1921 diary.13 These entries show that they had a lot of
bad weather, much to the discomfort of both he and Fanny. On the trip they lost three men
overboard at different times. The first was a young sailor, 18 years of age, who fell
overboard at about 4:15 p.m. on 27 January. George says,
"He was a good violinist and was to have played for a dance tonight. The ship
stopped and cruised round for a time, but could not find the lad, though they picked
up the two lifebuoys which had been thrown over. This was the lad's first trip. He
was a merry athletic lad and a great pet of the Captain's. Last night he was fiddling
for the sailors on the lower deck. His untimely death has cast a gloom over the
whole ship."
On the very next day something similar happened.
"At 2:15 pm I was down in the cabin, when the ship suddenly stopped. I rushed up
on deck to find that one of the Chinese third class passengers had jumped
overboard. Two boats put off and recovered the four lifebuoys thrown over, also part
of the man's clothing, almost certain proof that the unfortunate man had been eaten
by sharks."
On 18 February near Saigon:
"Another Chinaman jumped overboard in the river! A launch set out after him at
once, but did not get him - not known whether he was drowned of swam ashore."
They reached Singapore exactly a month from the time that they left England, In Singapore
he met up with his brother Jim who came down from Ipoh in Malaya to see him. It was a
significant reunion because they had not seen each other for thirteen years, since
December 1908. They had "a very happy day together", and his ship left again at 5:30 pm.
They docked in Hong Kong on 23rd February and arrived in Shanghai on February 26.
Return to Table of Contents
13 To see some of these handwritten entries from this diary go to Book 2.
