WESLEYS OXFORD - Key Persons
Albert's connection with Oxford is unclear. He was born in Dublin, and later lived in Bristol. He was only 19 when he died near Ypres, leading his men.
Alfred was an outstanding scholar who enlisted after one year at Oxford. Serving at the Somme he contracted trench fever and was sent to Somerville College to recover.
Minutes before Arthur's death his platoon sergeant heard someone exclaim: ‘What a man! I would follow him anywhere!'
Arthur was born in Ceylon, where his father was a missionary. He showed great promise as a student, and planned to become a missionary himself.
Arthur's family ran a butcher's shop in Walton Street. He went to France in November 1914 and was in active combat for the next three years, gradually being promoted as men died around him.
Benjamin studied at University College Oxford from 1899. He was quick to enlist when the First World War broke out.
Born 11 June 1712 and raised in Ossett, in the West Riding, Ingham's father was of a group of clergy ejected from the Church of England by the Act of Conformity in 1662.
Studying at Queen's College he completed his BA in 1734. He was ordained by the Bishop of Oxford in 1735.
Benjamin's family lived in Botley Road, Oxford, and he was 17 when war broke out. He went to France in 1916 and fought at Passchendaele in appalling mud.
Born in Cheshire, Alison lived in Edinburgh for over 30 years before moving with her family to Oxford in 2017.
C H Banbury - Charles Howard Banbury. Born at Woodstock in 1877. Listed as resident there in 1911 census. Occupation: newsagent and stationer. Charles is the grandson of Gabriel George Banbury - see below.
Carl was brought up by his single mother, and studied with Oxford University's St Catherine's Society, not at a college. His entire battalion was wiped out by German machine gun fire.
Charles attended Wesley Memorial Church as a student but enlisted within weeks.
Chris grew up in Bolton, studied at Jesus College, Oxford and became a teacher.
Christine's love of music began in her childhood and sustained her throughout her long life.
Christopher's father ran a hairdressing business in Woodstock Road, but Christopher became a Master Bootmaker and emigrated to Canada.
Colin Saunders was born in Wales but grew up in London where his family attended Bloomsbury Baptist Church.
Daniel Evans (c. 1770-1846) and Elizabeth Evans (c.1765-1842)
The early life of Daniel and Elizabeth Evans has so far eluded discovery. Elizabeth was raised a Presbyterian, but became a Wesleyan Methodist by the mid-1790s; by the early nineteenth century Daniel was established as a successful builder.
In the 1810s the family was living in Eagle Street, Holborn, and Elizabeth and her daughters Hannah (1799-1847) and Elizabeth (1803-81) were members at Great Queen Street Wesleyan chapel. A near neighbour was the minister and architect William Jenkins (1763-1844). Jenkins designed, and Daniel Evans built, new Wesleyan chapels in Bishop Street, Leicester (1815) and Gold Street, Northampton (1815-16). Jenkins was commissioned to design a new chapel for Oxford in 1817, and Evans executed the work, building the New Inn Hall Street chapel in 1817-18, and adding a gallery in 1820 and a new school in 1831.
From 1820 Evans was employed on a variety of building projects in Oxford, and he moved his home and business to the city. Evans' work included new premises for Magdalen Hall (1819-20), renovations for Magdalen College (1822-27), the Broad Street range for Exeter College (1833-34) and the Garden Quadrangle for Pembroke College (1844-46). Evans won the contract for the Radcliffe Asylum (later the Warneford Hospital) in 1821-26, and he built a number of houses in the Beaumont Street area, including 34 St Giles', which became his home.
Given his evident business acumen and growing prosperity, it is not surprising that Daniel Evans was appointed to a number of responsible offices in the Oxford Wesleyan Society. He was a Circuit Steward, a member of the Sunday School Committee, and a subscriber to several Connexional funds. He secured the site for the first Wesleyan chapel in Woodstock in 1822. These were all financial or administrative roles. He was also, however, local secretary for the Wesleyan Missionary Society, and, for more than twenty years, Leader of two Classes - a position combining spiritual nurture, evangelism and pastoral care.
E Tombs - possibly Frank Edward Tombs, born Wheatley 1890. Listed as resident there in 1911 census. Occupation: grocer's assistant.
Charles and Eileen Coulson believed in acting out their faith, within Wesley Memorial, the wider church and the world.
The builder of Wesley Memorial Church, Joshua took over his father-in-law's business and established the building firm Symm.
Ernest's father was a minister, and he was born in Lucknow, India. He enlisted without completing his degree, and fought in the Royal Field Artillery.
Francis graduated from Oxford in 1910 and became a schoolmaster in Cheshire, but when war broke out he left to train as an officer. After he was commissioned he returned to visit boys at his school.
Francis was born into an East Oxford family. When war broke out he had three children and was a Territorial soldier.
Frank was born in Oxford and married at St Frideswide's. While he was away fighting he would have heard of the birth of his son, Frank, but he did not live to see him.
Born in Oxford, Frederick married aged 24 and moved to Nottinghamshire. He joined up there and went to France in August 1915.
Frederick Clements was the oldest surviving son of William Clements and his wife Elizabeth. He was born in 1825 at Charlton on Otmoor, Oxfordshire, where his father was a boot and shoe maker and farmer.
Frederick studied in Oxford for only a term before joining up. He was promoted to Lieutenant and died in day-to-day trench warfare.
Frederick lived in several parts of Oxford and was associated with a number of its Methodist churches. He became a saddler and maintained harnesses for horses pulling field guns.
Frederick was the son of an Oxford draper. He studied at Oriel College and became a classics teacher. He enlisted as soon as war broke out and was promoted to Major, but died at the Somme.
Born into an Oxford farming family, George joined the cavalry and was sent to France in September 1914. He gained the Military Medal for gallantry.
At school George was gifted and popular. He joined the same regiment as his older brother, John, and died in France in his first action.
George became an upholsterer but served in the army in 1900 - 1902. In 1915, aged 37 and the father of four, he was sent to fight in Salonika in Greece in the face of extreme heat, cold and disease.
George Whitfield was born on 27th December 1714, in Gloucester.
He matriculated at Pembroke College in 1732, and joined the Holy Club, where he was introduced to the Wesley brothers. He became leader of the Holy Club when the Wesleys left for Georgia in 1735.
Whitfield was ordained immediately after receiving his BA degree in 1736, but he did not settle as the minister of any parish. He preferred to be an itinerant preacher and evangelist, and was well known for his extremely dramatic sermon performances.
Together with John and Charles Wesley, Whitfield founded the Methodist movement. As an Anglican evangelist and the leader of Calvinistic Methodists, he was the most popular preacher of the Evangelical Revival in Great Britain and the Great Awakening in America.
He died on 30th September 1770.
Godfrey was born in Woodstock. He studied for a year at Oxford University before enlisting, but died leading his platoon in his first battle.
Gordon Wakefield moved to Woodstock when he was appointed minister in the Oxford Circuit in 1949.
Grace was born in Kenya. After moving to Oxford with her husband, she found a 'home' at Wesley Memorial Church.
Hardy wanted to be a missionary doctor, and hated war. He came to Oxford for officer training.
Harold was an outstanding pupil who gained a history scholarship to Exeter College. He wrote poetry in the trenches, which was published with some of his letters.
War time evacuation and the death of her young sister taught Helen some early life lessons.
H Hazell - probably Henry Hazell, born at Lower Heyford in 1865. Listed as resident there in 1911 census. Occupation: canal worker.
Herbert won a Mathematical scholarship to Brasenose College and wanted to teach in France.
Horace was eager for action and lied about his age to join the Royal Fusiliers when he was 16. He was soon stood down. At 18 he was accepted by the Royal Flying Corps but died in night flying training.
J Brownjohn - John Brownjohn, born in Frome, Somerset in 1847. He married Annie Kerry in Oxford in 1875, and worked as a compositor, almost certainly at Oxford University Press. The couple had seven children and lived mainly in the Jericho area of Oxford. Their son Lewis was killed at the Somme in 1916 and is remembered on the war memorial of Walton Street Methodist Church.
G G Banbury - George Gabriel Banbury born Burford 1818. In 1911 he is living with his grandson Charles Howard Banbury (above) in Woodstock and describes himself as a retired draper. However in 1891 the census records he was: Retired draper, Mayor, JP, Local Preacher. He died in October 1911 aged 96. Not surprisingly he has pride of place, in the middle of the front row in the photograph.
James Nix came to Oxford from Fritwell in 1833, and soon joined the city police force, eventually rising to the rank of sergeant. Emma took in laundry, and then ran a small grocer's shop from their home, first in Union Street, St Thomas's, and then in King Street, in the parish of St Peter's in the East. Both were active members of the New Inn Hall Street Wesleyan chapel: Emma was a class leader by summer 1851, helping to fill the gaps left by resignation or expulsion during the Reform crisis, and a succession of ten Nix children were baptised at the chapel, from James junior in 1836 to Fanny in 1858.
James Nix junior (1835-1909) was a key figure in Methodism in Oxford in the second half of the nineteenth century. His working life began as an errand boy, but by his mid-20s he was a Post Office clerk, working for an expanding public institution, and by his retirement he was Chief Clerk of the Oxford Post Office. James's considerable administrative ability and growing prosperity were put to work in the service of the church. He became a Local Preacher in 1857; more significantly, he was for many years Chapels Secretary for the Oxford Circuit, and he did much to facilitate the building of new chapels, both in the city and further afield. Among other contributions, he gave the rose window to Wesley Memorial and lobbied St John's College for a site for a chapel in Walton Street. In the 1880s, when Hugh Price Hughes was revitalising Oxford Methodism, James Nix was a Circuit Steward. In the next decade he was an early supporter of the Oxford and District Free Church Council, and he wrote articles on local Methodist history for the Free Church and Wesleyan Circuit magazines.
James and Emma's second son, Josiah (1847-1924), was a much more flamboyant character than his civil servant brother. He built a successful career in the grocery trade, and was also active in Liberal politics, at a time when Oxford became notorious for municipal corruption. Converted to evangelical Christianity and to temperance under the ministry of Hugh Price Hughes, Josiah followed Hughes first to Brixton Hill and then to the West London Mission. As the evangelist in charge of Wardour Hall, he gained a nationwide reputation, before moving to work at the London Polytechnic in 1894. He was the first Organising Secretary of the London Mission Band Union, served as a Connexional Gospel Temperance Missioner and then became a Connexional Evangelist. He returned to Oxford in 1896 but spent the final years of his life in Yorkshire, where he died in 1924.
James junior and Josiah were the most high-profile of the Nix siblings in Methodist life, but their sisters Rosa Colegrove (1837-1907), Elizabeth Sumner (1842-1929) and Rebecca Edens (1850-1933) were also active Methodists, as was their youngest brother Robert Newton Nix (1854-1913).
In the next generation, James junior's sons Frank and Philip maintained the Methodist cause, as did their Colegrove cousins. Philip Wamsley Nix (1865-1924), named for a junior minister in the circuit, was a Local Preacher and jeweller; he made the ceremonial keys for the opening of Wesley Hall (now Cowley Road church) in 1904. Francis William (Frank) (1863-1950) was an organist at Walton Street chapel for many years and added substantially to his father's collection of historical materials about Oxford Methodism.
James was born in County Down, Ireland. He excelled in his first year exams at Oxford, but did not complete his degree and died at Gallipoli.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Church During the Last Quarter of the 19th
- Member of Wesley Memorial During the Last Quarter of the 19th
James Woods was born in Warrington, Lancashire, in 1851, the son of Peter and Rachael Woods. By the time of the 1881 census he was settled in Oxford.
He lived at 5 Mill Street with his wife Janet and children James, Martha, Florence and Clara, and working as an inspector of telegraphs. As well as being a Class Leader he was also active as an evangelist, speaking at open air services in the city centre. He had left Oxford by 1901 and died in 1922.
James William Woods was a much loved and respected member of the Church during the last quarter of the 19th century. This framed testimonial was produced by members of his ‘Class' - a group of young men who met together under his leadership to encourage and support each in their faith. It was their way of saying ‘thank you'.
James Woods was a much loved and respected member of Wesley Memorial during the last quarter of the 19th century
Jessie was one of the first female local preachers to take services in the Oxford area.
Joanna Tulloch was brought up in an Anglican home in Essex and her early memories of going to the local ...
John was sent to France to join a regular army battalion that had already suffered serious losses. Seven months later he was wounded and evacuated to hospital, but then returned to the front.
J Banbury (left) - probably John Banbury born Woodstock in 1841. Eldest son of George Gabriel Banbury (above). He died in April 1911 and is recorded as being a retired draper, JP.
John recounts vivid memories of Sheffield Whit Walks and relief efforts in Bangladesh following devastating floods.
John Clayton was educated at Manchester Grammar School and gained the school exhibition to Brasenose in 1725.
In 1729 the Hulmean scholarship was awarded to him, and a little later he became a college tutor. He proceeded to BA on 16 April 1729 and MA on 8 June 1732.
He became a distinguished Anglican clergyman, although he fell from favour over his support for the '45 Jacobite Rebellion. Clayton is buried in Manchester Cathedral.
John Faggetter (1830 to 1912) was born in Ripley, Surrey. He is recorded as a Shoemaker aged 20 in the 1851 census. He moved to Lower Heyford, Oxfordshire where he met a local girl Margaret Andrews (1839-1898) and married her (1861). They lived in Freehold Street and John worked on the GWR Railway for most of his life as a signalman, porter and later a railway pensioner. A house in the village was registered as a Methodist meeting place in 1804 and John would have witnessed the new chapel built in 1906. He was recorded as a Local Preacher on the Oxford Circuit of the United Methodist Church. Sons emigrated, George to Canada in 1888 and John Eli to USA in 1907; the vast majority of those with the Faggetter surname in these countries are descended from these two sons. Daughter Catherine married James Charter, and when widowed he married her sister Sarah. In about 1911 John joined Sarah and James in Monkton Combe, Somerset, where John finally died in 1912 aged 81.
John Gare fought at Marcoing at the end of 1917. He and most of his comrades were killed, but John Nash was among the survivors and later painted the scene that day.
John, the son of a Methodist minister, was born in the Bahamas. He survived Gallipoli, but died in Mesopotamia, 8 months after his brother George.
John Pike was a leading member of the New Inn Hall Street Chapel. His second son, James was the first Non-conformist Mayor of Oxford.
John came to Oxford from Hungerford in 1799. Pike was a ‘china man' - a dealer in china and glassware - and he established a business in the city with his brother-in-law Alexander Porter Viner (1768-1806). Later the china business was sold, or perhaps handed on to John junior (1807-84), and Pike became a hop merchant, also the business of his second son, James (1811-79).
John Pike was a committed Methodist before he arrived in Oxford. He held many of the offices open to a Wesleyan lay person, serving on numerous occasions as Circuit Steward (a job requiring deep pockets, because the Stewards were responsible for any shortfalls in the circuit budget). He was District treasurer for the Wesleyan Missionary Society for many years, and a generous subscriber to a range of Wesleyan funds.
When Pike came to Oxford the Wesleyans were meeting in a small chapel on the east side of New Inn Hall Street. He was instrumental in carrying through the scheme for a new chapel, minister's house and day school, achieved at the considerable cost of over £5000.
Pike made a substantial contribution to the scheme, was active in enlisting donations and loans for the project, and became a trustee and treasurer of the new building. Thomas Viner, another brother-in-law was also a trustee, and the Superintendent Minister at the time of the building, Richard Gower, was probably married to Pike's sister Mary.
In the next generation, Matilda Pike (1808-69) was a faithful member of the Wesleyan society in Oxford, as was James Pike (1811-79), who succeeded his father as a trustee and was also the first Nonconformist to become Mayor of Oxford (1855-56).
John Pike was a leading member of the Wesleyan Chapel in New Inn Hall Street.
A highly regarded authority on Methodism, John shares some personal memories and reflections.
Can you help us name these members of the John Wesley Society photographed with Rev Reg Kissack?
Born in Surrey, Joseph moved to Oxford as a child. When war broke out he enlisted even though he was under age. He was only 17 when he was killed.
Joseph Richardson was a committed Methodist who transformed the Oxford Wesleyan Day School into one of the best elementary schools in the country.
Richardson was born in Lincoln in September 1838, the son of a warehouseman. The family were committed to Methodism, to self-improvement and to political activism: Joseph's brother William became Mayor of Lincoln and his brother John, an engineer, was a radical with strong socialist sympathies; both built successful business careers in Lincoln.
Joseph left Lincoln to train as a teacher at the Wesleyans' Westminster College in London, and in 1859 he succeeded J.W. Sixsmith at the head of the Oxford Wesleyan Boys' School, which was located in the grounds of the New Inn Hall Street chapel.
Over the next thirty-two years, Richardson transformed the school into one of the best elementary schools in the country. The curriculum was steadily extended, new facilities were built, university students were recruited to give extension classes and lectures, and a succession of H.M. Inspectors, including Matthew Arnold, praised Richardson's achievements.
An estimated 6590 pupils passed through the school during those years. At the same time Richardson played a leading part in creating professional associations for teachers in the city and the county. Beyond the school, Richardson served as treasurer of two benefit societies for working women in Oxford, and stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate for the city council in 1889.
Meanwhile, he led a large and successful Class at the New Inn Hall Street chapel, and brought his educational expertise to bear in the Oxford Wesleyan District and in the Wesleyan Conference, serving as a District representative to Conference and member of the Connexional Education Committee. He was a Circuit Steward, Sunday School Superintendent, strong supporter of the Temperance cause, and a familiar figure on the platform of many religious and philanthropic meetings.
Joshua Robinson Symm (1809 - 87) and Elizabeth Symm (1803 - 81)
Joshua Robinson Symm was born in Allendale, in south-west Northumberland, in 1809. A skilled stonemason, he came to Oxford probably in the 1830s, and worked for the builder Daniel Evans.
Symm married Evans' daughter, Elizabeth, at St Giles' church, Oxford, in September 1839, and two years later Evans took Symm into partnership in the building firm. From the early 1840s until his retirement in 1884 Symm was involved in building some of Oxford's major landmarks, including Exeter College Chapel (1857-59), the Wolsey Tower at Christ Church (1876-79), the main Post Office in St Aldate's (1878-79) and the Indian Institute (1882-84). By 1881 Symm was employing 155 men, and was one of the two largest builders in Oxford.
Joshua Symm's commitment to Methodism matched his business success. By 1843 he was a member of the Sunday School committee, and he became Superintendent of the Sunday School at Headington Quarry (1844) and then at New Inn Hall Street (1851). He was a trustee of the new chapel in Cranham Street (1875), and his expertise in building was invaluable in maintaining the original New Inn Hall Street chapel, and then in constructing the Wesley Memorial Chapel in 1877-78. His financial contributions were substantial, including £50 towards clearing the debt on the old chapel and £150 for the new building. At his death in 1887 Symm left a little under £20,000 [the equivalent of £2,650,000 in 2020].
Elizabeth Symm, born in Bolton in 1803, was Daniel and Elizabeth Evans' younger daughter. Like her parents and her sister Hannah (1799-1847) she was an active Wesleyan, becoming a member in her teens while the family were living in London. She was appointed a Class Leader in Oxford towards the end of 1835, and sustained this responsibility for many years. Among her concerns was the well-being of Methodist students, and Benjamin Gregory, a former Superintendent, whose son was an undergraduate in the late 1860s, paid tribute to her as ‘an intelligent and catholic Christian'.
Elizabeth and Joshua Symm's only surviving child, Hannah Elizabeth, was born in 1845, but died in September 1875, within a year of her marriage to Joseph Lawton. The ‘Faith, Hope and Charity' window in Wesley Memorial Church was given by the Symms in their memory.
Kofi Abrefa Busia was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. His connections with Methodism and in particular with Wesley Memorial Methodist Church in Oxford are less well known. His family has kindly set these out for us in this biography:
Kofi Abrefa Busia (11 July 1913 - 28 August 1978) was born in Wenchi, the Ashanti Colony of the then Gold Coast, now Ghana. His life-long commitment to Methodism began when Reverend William Whittle and his bride Alice arrived in Wenchi, on their honeymoon, in 1920, to help establish Wenchi Methodist Church. On their arrival, they were introduced to seven year old Kofi Busia, nephew of the Paramount Chief. This meeting with the young Busia began Busia's life long commitment to Methodism and a relationship that lasted more than half a century.
In 1927, with the encouragement and tutoring of Rev. and Mrs Whittle, Busia sat for, and won a Methodist Synod Scholarship to Mfantsipim the prestigious school for boys in Cape Coast established by Methodist Missionaries in 1876. After matriculating from Mfantsipim, between 1931-1934, Busia became first a trainee teacher and Methodist Lay Leader, then a staff member teaching at Wesley College, Kumasi, where he met other Wesleyan Methodists with whom he developed life-long friendships. Chief among these were the Principal of the college, Rev Charles Wesley Armstrong (d. 1948) who became a mentor to the young Busia along with Rev. Maurice Giddings (1896-1968) with whom Busia shared regular early morning devotions.
Busia read Politics Philosophy and Economics at University College, Oxford from 1939-1941 just at the outbreak of WWII. After going back to Ghana and accepting a commission as one of the first two Africans in the British Colonial Service, Busia returned to complete his DPhil at Nuffield College in 1946-47. Whenever at Oxford, Busia worshipped at Wesley Memorial Church and was an active member of the John Wesley Society.
Busia returned to Oxford in 1950 at the end of a lecture tour of the United States, Canada and England, this time to be married. His bride, Naa Morkor Bruce, a midwife he had known in Ghana, was just finishing a year of nursing practice at the Churchill Hospital and they married at ‘Wesley Mem' before returning home. Reverend William Whittle officiated at the marriage on August 14 1950. Rev Maurice Giddings who also took part in the ceremony, gave the address, and his daughter Rachel was one of the bridesmaids. Thirteen years later in 1963, when Dr. and Mrs Busia had returned again to Oxford their ten-year old daughter Abena was one of Rachel's bridesmaids at her wedding to Rev. John Anthony Newton, (1930-2017) CBE, the distinguished Methodist Minister and scholar who became President of the Methodist Conference.
After their wedding Busia and his bride returned to Ghana where he took up his position as Chair of the Department of Sociology. During those years there was much political turmoil and Busia became increasingly engaged in the concerns of nation building and the struggle for Independence from British Colonial Rule. At Independence in March 1957 he was elected The Leader of the Opposition.
By 1962 however, Busia was in exile from Ghana with his wife and children. He became a Fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford. In addition, under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, he conducted a study of Urban Churches in Britain at Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham. This was the first time an African Sociologist had conducted a study of the British rather than the other way around. With his wife and children, he became once again a regular member of the Wesley Memorial church family. Among those with whom he re-connected at that time were Mrs Margaret Eddy (1908-1984) and her husband Mr. Chris Eddy (1906-1999) who, after a distinguished career in Methodist Missionary Education Service in Ghana, (including serving as Vice Principal of Wesley College), had returned to England and become Vice Principal of Westminster College where Mrs Busia, a trained mid-wife before her marriage, entered as an adult student in their teacher training program.
The government of the First Republic ended in a coup d'etat in 1966 and Busia returned to Ghana. In 1969 he was elected Prime Minister of Ghana, in a landslide victory, unbeaten to this day. In 1970, while Prime Minister, Busia had the singular pleasure of inviting Reverend and Mrs. Whittle to return to Ghana as his personal guests to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary. As part of the celebrations, Busia journeyed with them to his home town of Wenchi, where they had been stationed 50 years prior. It was a joyous landmark of their friendship. Mrs. Alice Whittle passed away shortly after their return to England.
In 1972 Busia's own administration was also overthrown in a coup d'etat and Busia returned to Oxford for the last time. He died, still in exile, in Oxford in August 1978. Reverend Whittle was called upon to pray over Busia's body before his final journey from England to Ghana. He delivered an address for Busia at Wesley Memorial Church and at Heathrow airport before Busia's body was flown home for a State burial.
A Ghanaian academic who became Prime Minister, Busia's links with Methodism and Oxford are less well known.
Leslie Marsh's father was a Primitive Methodist Minister, and Leslie went to Kingswood, at the time, a school for the sons of ministers.
Lewis was born in Oxford, and his father was a Local Preacher of the United Methodist Free Churches.
Mary Ronaldson describes herself as a ‘daughter of the manse'.
Mel McCulloch was born in 1976 and lived in several different places during her childhood because her father moved around a lot with the Royal Marines Bands Service.
Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Noel gained a Welsh scholarship to Jesus College. When war broke out he was quick to enlist.
Pat's strong faith, nurtured when she was young, sustained her when in later years her husband's health failed.
An encounter at University changed the direction of Paul Spray's life. Paul is the son of Christine Spray, who is also featured here.
Percy married in Oxford and settled locally as a builder. He was 37 when war broke out, and so just under the upper age limit for conscription in 1916.
A mother of young children who works in publishing, Rachel reflects on the challenges and joys of being a Christian in the 21st Century.
Job Titles:
- Assistant at the Bodleian Library
Born in Oxford, Reginald became an assistant at the Bodleian Library and gained an Oxford University degree. He survived when a bullet passed through the peak of his cap in 1915.
Reuben's father died when he was 18: his mother took over his father's trade as an umbrella maker. By 1911 Reuben was a gunner in the army, and as soon as war broke out he was sent to France.
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall ( Cowley Road Methodist Church ) from 1922 to 1925
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall ( Cowley Road Methodist Church ) from 1913 to 1915
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall ( Cowley Road Methodist Church ) from 1920 to 1922
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall ( Cowley Road Methodist Church ) from 1907 to 1910 Henry or Harry Buckley Was Born in Cheshire in .
Job Titles:
- Minister of Cowley Road Methodist Church from 1950 to 1955
Job Titles:
- Superintendent of the Oxford Circuit from 1881 - 1884, When He Encouraged Real Growth in the Churches
Job Titles:
- Minister at Cowley Road Methodist Church from 1936 to 1941
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall ( Cowley Road Methodist Church ) from 1915 to 1920
Job Titles:
- Minister of Cowley Road Methodist Church from 1941 to 1946
Job Titles:
- Minister of Cowley Road Methodist Church from 1946 to 1950
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall / Cowley Road Methodist Church from 1931 to 1936
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall ( Cowley Road Methodist Church ) Thomas Shirley Herrick Was Born at Mountsorrel in Leicestershire in 1864. His Father .
Job Titles:
- Principal of Didsbury Wesleyan Methodist Ministerial Training College. Minister and Later Retired to Oxford
Job Titles:
- Minister at Wesley Hall ( Cowley Road Methodist Church ) from 1928 to 1931
For twenty-seven years he was a respected member of the Oxford Methodist Society and "sustained the office of Chapel keeper"
Robert (Bob) Kirkham was the son of the Rector of Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshsire.
He had first met John Wesley at home when the young clergyman became acquainted with the family through a mutual friend. Wesley spent some of the Christmas period staying with the family in 1726.
Kirkham went up to Merton in 1729. In the late winter of 1729/1720 he began to meet with the Wesleys and William Morgan regularly. Kirkham was the first to face ridicule following the expansion of the group's activities to include visiting prisoners and helping to pay for local children's education.
Ronald studied in Oxford and became a Maths teacher. When war broke out he was 36: his skills were deployed in field survey.
Not yet identified, due to the difficulty of matching this initial and surname with war or census records.
Sidney was born in Oxford and gained a place at Jesus College. He soon joined up, and was sent to Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) where he fought alongside Indian troops.
Job Titles:
- Secretary for Church and Society
Simeon works as the Secretary for Church and Society in the United Reformed Church - a partner in the Joint Public Issues Team.
Sizwe grew up on a farm in the Transvaal. He went to a local school but eventually was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford.
Sylvia Kenyon was born in Leeds and grew up during the Second World War. Her earliest memories of going to ...
Thomas became a printer's machine minder and moved to Oxford. He joined the Royal Engineers and worked on communications and water supplies for the troops.
Wallace married Hilda and moved to Oxford, where he worked as a bank cashier before enlisting. Hilda heard of Wallace's death at about the time their son was born.
Walter completed his BA at Oxford in 1914 and was an early volunteer at Leeds.
Walter won an Open Classical Exhibition at Merton College but enlisted after his first year of study. He died at the Somme.
Wilfred studied in Oxford for only two terms before joining up. He died on his second day in the trenches at Ypres.
Wilfrid was born in Oxford. He had to go away for officer training when his daughter was only ten days old.
William's father was a grocer who eventually owned a shop in St Giles. William joined a Field Ambulance so would not have carried arms.