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A History of the Oldest Bible Society: Naval Military & Air Force Bible Society

A History of Britain’s First Bible Society

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Naval Military & Air Force Bible Society

Castaway House

311 Twyford Avenue

Portsmouth

PO2 8RN

023 9269 9873

[email protected]

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“Serving those who serve, since 1779”

Registered Charity: 1102593

A company limited by guarantee, Registered No 5021052

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nmafbs.org/

https://twitter.com/NMAFBS

http://www.facebook.com/PO28RN


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Scriptures to look up for comfort and encouragement when you are:

Afraid Psalm 27:1-3, Psalm 56, Psalm 91

Matthew 10:28-31, Hebrews 4:14-16

Bereaved Psalm 34:18, Matthew 5:4

1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 21:1-4

Depressed Psalm 34, Psalm 42, Romans 8:28

Discouraged Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:19

2 Timothy 4:16-18

Doubting Psalm 146, Job 38-39, John 20:24-29

Far from God Psalm 139:1-18, Luke 15:11-24

Acts 17:22-30, Romans 8:35-39

Lonely Psalm 23, Psalm 25:16-18, Psalm 27

John 14:15-21

Tempted Psalm 119:9, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

James 1:12-15, Philippians 4:8

Worried Psalm 46, Matthew 6:25-34

Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7

And Scriptures to look up when you need:

Courage Joshua 1:9, Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Timothy 1:7

Forgiveness Isaiah 55:7, Psalm 51, 1 John 1:7-9

Luke 17:3-4, Matthew 6:14-15

Guidance Psalm 37, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 1:5-6

Help Psalm 121, Philippians 4:19

Peace Matthew 11:28-30, John 14:27, John 16:33

Philippians 4:6-9

Strength Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 95:1-7, Isaiah 40:28-31

Acts 1:8, Romans 6:14, Philippians 4:13

To find God Romans 3:23, 6:23, 1Corinthians 15:1-4

Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9-10

To talk with God Luke 11:1-13, John 15:7, 1 John 5:13-15


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Contents

Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................................6

The Christian and War .....................................................................................................................................6

Merchant Seafarers ...........................................................................................................................................7

Chapter 1 – How the Society Began .....................................................................................................................8

West Street Chapel ...........................................................................................................................................9

The Gordon Riots ...........................................................................................................................................11

Chapter 2 - The Early Years ...............................................................................................................................13

Influential Support .........................................................................................................................................13

Chapter 3 – More about the early years ..............................................................................................................18

1812 ................................................................................................................................................................19

Scotland ..........................................................................................................................................................20

Chapter 4 – 1815 to 1830 ...................................................................................................................................21

The 38th Anniversary ......................................................................................................................................22

Chapter 5 – 1830 to1880 ....................................................................................................................................25

The Military Climate ......................................................................................................................................25

The Society’s Response .................................................................................................................................25

Chapter 6 – Battle Areas .....................................................................................................................................33

Crimea ............................................................................................................................................................33

The China Wars..............................................................................................................................................33

The Ashanti Expedition ..................................................................................................................................33

Ascension Island ............................................................................................................................................33

Chapter 7 – 1880 to 1910 ...................................................................................................................................35

Join the Army and see the world!...................................................................................................................36

Egyptian Campaign, 1882 ..............................................................................................................................36

Bishop Taylor Smith ......................................................................................................................................36

Difficult years for the Society ........................................................................................................................37

Ups and Downs ..............................................................................................................................................37

Chapter 8 – The First World War .......................................................................................................................38

The First World War ......................................................................................................................................38

Chapter 9 – 1938 and the Second World War ....................................................................................................40

1938 ................................................................................................................................................................40

The Second World War ..................................................................................................................................40

Chapter 10 – 1946 – 1950 ..................................................................................................................................42

Chapter 11 – 1951 to 1960 .................................................................................................................................44

National Service .............................................................................................................................................44

Mission to the Royal Air Force ......................................................................................................................45

HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Plaque ................................................................................................45


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Pitcairn testimony...........................................................................................................................................46

Death of the Rev J R Walkey .........................................................................................................................46

A Destructive Fire ..........................................................................................................................................46

Chapter 12 - 1961 to 1970 ..................................................................................................................................47

A New Name ..................................................................................................................................................47

A New Chairman............................................................................................................................................47

Three New Opportunities ...............................................................................................................................47

Pre-Service Units .......................................................................................................................................47

Ghanaian Armed Forces ............................................................................................................................48

Character Training Booklets ......................................................................................................................48

Chapter 15 – More about the Nineteen Seventies ..............................................................................................50

St Clement Danes ...........................................................................................................................................51

195th Anniversary Meeting .............................................................................................................................52

The Anniversary Service ................................................................................................................................53

Chapter 16 – 1980s through to 2004 ..................................................................................................................55

Distribution ....................................................................................................................................................56

Chapter 17 – 2004 through to 2015 ....................................................................................................................57

Distribution ....................................................................................................................................................57

The Bibles and New Testaments ....................................................................................................................63

The Booklets ..................................................................................................................................................66

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................67

Appendix 1 – A timeline of events 1775-1781 ...................................................................................................68

Appendix 2 –The Word and the Sword (by Rev Charles P McCarthy) .............................................................70

Appendix 3 - Donations ......................................................................................................................................73

Form of Bequest .............................................................................................................................................73

Covenant Scheme ...........................................................................................................................................73

Donations .......................................................................................................................................................73

Appendix 4 - Contact list ....................................................................................................................................74


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Introduction

The Society was founded in 1779 as The Bible Society, there being no other Bible society.

In 1804, when the British and Foreign Bible Society1 was founded, the name was changed to Naval and

Military Bible Society. In 1961, the name was changed again, to Naval Military & Air Force Bible Society, to

recognise the fact that the Society had served the Royal Air Force since the latter’s foundation in 1918.

For an indication of events taking place in 1778-1780, a brief timeline is included as an Appendix.

During the wars that closed the seventeenth century and opened the eighteenth century, religion underwent a

revival, possibly due to the Great Awakening and evangelical preachers like Wesley and Whitefield2. This

revival gave rise to the creation of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1698 – a Society still in

existence today (http://www.spck.org.uk). SPCK provided strong support to counter the neglect of public

worship in general, while The Bible Society provided a new source of Bibles and other literature for the

spiritually unawakened in the military and naval services.3

There is no mention of the Naval & Military Bible Society in 99% of Church histories. In one or two

Methodist books, there are a few – very few – paragraphs. Elsewhere it receives a sentence, such as in Dr

Waldo Smith’s “The Navy and its Chaplains in the Days of Sail”;

‘The Naval and Military Bible Society was founded in 1780 to flourish for many years.’

This short history, prepared in response to many requests, tells how Britain’s oldest Bible Society was born;

and brings glimpses of its ministry.

The Naval Military & Air Force Bible Society is a missionary-hearted enterprise. It believes that the

circulation of the word of God is the spearhead of evangelism. The Society’s initial method of distributing the

Holy Scriptures was to provide copies, without formal charge, to Chaplains, Missionaries and other authorised

workers with liberty to give or sell as circumstances indicated. It was desired that a copy be given to anyone

who, otherwise, would be denied the privilege of possessing and reading the Divine Message. The Committee

requested that any proceeds from sales or donations be remitted to the Society to enable the enterprise to

continue. This remains much the same today.

The Christian and War

“War is Hell.” This view of war has been held since ancient times. No poet or philosopher has encapsulated in

so few words what it means when people or nations seek political solutions through the use of military force.

Since Jesus walked the earth, men and women of faith have wrestled with the question of whether or not there

is a place for the Christian in the hell that is war and, if so, how should they conduct themselves. The types of

modern warfare and the reasons for fighting them differ widely from those of earlier times. Struggle for

1 The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as the Bible Society, is a non-

denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the

world. The Society was formed on 7 March 1804 by a group of people including William Wilberforce and Thomas

Charles to encourage the 'wider circulation and use' of the Scriptures.

2 John Wesley who, with his brother Charles Wesley and fellow cleric George Whitefield, is credited with the foundation

of the evangelical movement known as Methodism. His work and writings also played a leading role in the development

of the Holiness movement and Pentecostalism. On 24 May 1738 he experienced what has come to be called his

evangelical conversion, when he felt his "heart strangely warmed" and he subsequently began his own ministry. A key

step in the development of Wesley's ministry was, like Whitefield, to travel and preach outdoors. In contrast to

Whitefield's Calvinism, however, Wesley embraced the Arminian doctrines that dominated the Church of England at the

time. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including prison reform and

the abolition of slavery. Although he was not a systematic theologian, Wesley argued for the notion of Christian

perfection and against Calvinism – and, in particular, against its doctrine of predestination. He held that, in this life,

Christians could achieve a state where the love of God "reigned supreme in their hearts", giving them outward holiness.

His evangelicalism, firmly grounded in sacramental theology, maintained that means of grace were the manner by which

God sanctifies and transforms the believer, encouraging people to experience Jesus Christ personally.

3 Evangelicals in the Royal Navy 1775-1815; Richard Blake p274.

http://www.spck.org.uk/


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national survival and defence of sovereign territory has been replaced by counter-insurgency wars far from

home. These wars have been promoted as a means of promoting security at home, whilst at the same time,

threats from international terrorism have increased. In order to assess the place of the Christian soldier in

today’s rapidly changing context, the Bible provides answers of what is right and what should be avoided. The

conclusion that must be drawn is that not only may Christians serve in the armed forces today but that

Christians, or at least those Christians who are called to serve in the military, should still serve in the armed

forces.4

Merchant Seafarers

Today’s seafarer is no longer in port for a few nights, but often only for a few hours. 1.5 million men and

women live in the twilight world of big shipping, carrying over 90 per cent of world trade. It's a lonely life.

They roam the world's oceans for up to 12 months at a time. They come from more than 100 different nations

and speak dozens of languages. Shipping is a truly international industry: in today’s global market you might

have a Greek-owned vessel, registered in Malta, with officers from India and a mixed crew from Thailand,

Indonesia, Vanuatu, and the Philippines.

However, it is also one of the world's most dangerous occupations. In 2012, 1,000 sailors died at sea5. The rate

of suicide for international seafarers is triple that of shore workers and they are 26 times more likely to be

killed at work. The threat of piracy is also very real. The rise in international piracy has been one of the most

notable and dangerous reinventions of long-standing criminal activity that the world has seen. The history of

piracy is well-documented, but in the last ten years the pirates of Somalia, and more recently Nigeria, have

come to dominate world headlines for acts of brutality leading to death, injury and long periods of detention

for innocent victims, from all over the world. While it is in decline off the coast of Somalia, piracy is on the

rise elsewhere, and over 40 seafarers kidnapped by Somali pirates have been held for over three years.

4 The Christian and War in the 21

st Century; The Revd Peter Lee

5 International Maritime Organization


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Chapter 1 – How the Society Began

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, religion at sea varied very much with the Captain of the ship.

Although chaplains served at sea, in many cases they were there because they had failed in their parish and

needed employment; barely ten chaplains per year entered the navy and few stayed beyond a single

commission6. At the same time, many Captains ignored the regulations which required regular prayers and

worship on Sundays. However, with the rise of the Methodists, the Church of England Evangelical Movement

responded in kind; both groups preached the need for conversion. This was to be achieved through the spread

of the Scriptures and applied by persuasive teaching of the message and literature. As the revival grew and

spread, so Chaplains and sons of clergy went to sea and lower-deck seamen were drawn in.

As Evangelicals developed their positions in the navy, they looked to the trade of slaves and slavery. Voices

were raised against slavery from time to time; a sermon here, a tract there; Granville Sharp’s pioneering

protest in 17697 and Wesley’s Thoughts upon Slavery in 1774. Add to this the threats, fears and concerns

raised by the American War of Independence8; the war against France and Spain; and new discoveries in

Australia and the Pacific: The mood was right for a Bible Society. The following story of its foundation comes

from the Society’s earliest record9:

In September 1779, a Christian gentleman felt urged to provide Bibles for soldiers, then stationed in Hyde

Park. George Cussons10

takes us back to the early days, if not the early hours:

On Friday evening 10 September 1779, Mr John Davies and I had been to the public worship in

West Street Chapel and after the Leaders’ meeting … when on our way home, near Soho Square,

he said, ‘Friend Cussons, my mind has been much impressed with desire that something might

be done for the spiritual good of our common soldiers; and I think nothing so likely to effect this

as a small pocket Bible which they might read to their comrades, and which might be

accompanied by a small printed paper, expressing the goodwill of the giver; if this would meet

the approbation of that benevolent gentleman, Mr Thornton, I doubt not that it might be

effected.” As I was occasionally writing to Mr Thornton I observed to my friend that, if he

would put his thoughts into writing, I would send them.

The reply read:

Friend George,

Friend Davies I know not but I suppose you do and his abode. I should join with him in

contributing if he can get a subscription.

May the Lord strengthen you for your work.

Yours affectionately

JOHN THORNTON Clapham 17 September 1779

6 Evangelicals in the Royal Navy 1775-1815; Richard Blake p21.

7 Granville Sharp (1735–1813) was one of the first English campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also

involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. His efforts led to both the founding of the Province of

Freedom, and later on Freetown, Sierra Leone, and so he is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Sierra Leone.

He was also a biblical scholar and classicist, and a talented musician. Sharp died at Fulham House on 6 July 1813, and a

memorial of him was erected in Westminster Abbey. He was buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church, Fulham. The

vicar would not allow a funeral sermon to be preached in the church because Sharp had been involved with the British

and Foreign Bible Society, which was Nonconformist.

8 In 1779, the American commander and privateer John Paul Jones, onboard Ranger, engaged and defeated two men-of-

war off Flamborough Head, near Scarborough.

9 Early NMBS Annual reports.

10 George Cussons; born at Ampleforth in 1734, came to London in 1769 and began business as a cabinet-maker in

Wardour Street in 1774. He was one for the founders of the Naval and Military Bible Society. He died in 1817.


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Feeling certain that a large number of Christian people would be interested, George Cussons booked Exeter

Hall in London, a large assembly hall which, so the records say, was somewhere off Fleet Street; made the

meeting widely known and, on the appointed day, went to the hall. To his dismay, at the time the meeting was

due to begin, not one person had arrived. He glanced at his watch, found the hour correct and, in a

disappointed and downcast state of mind, sat down on the platform. Presently, footsteps echoed on the

staircase; a few moments later, a stately and intelligent-looking gentleman appeared11

.

‘Sir’ he said to the gentleman on the platform, ‘I came here in answer to an advertisement announcing a

meeting which was being held to consider a purpose of which I highly approve. Have I mistaken the hour of

the day?’ ‘You have not mistaken the hour,’ replied the disappointed chairman. ‘It was to be held here. I

called the meeting; I booked the hall but you are the only person who has come. I suppose we had better go

home.’ ‘Not so fast, if you please Sir,’ said the first speaker. ‘I approve of your plan and think it will succeed.

I will give you any help you need.’ ‘But what can we do?’ ‘What can we do? Why we can propose, second

and carry resolutions!’ ‘But what can we say about this meeting?’ ‘Say!’ responded the stranger. ‘We can say

that we proposed, seconded and carried unanimously resolutions at a publicly convened meeting of which due

notice had been given in the press. It is true we cannot say it was well attended but we can assert it was

respectably attended and that is more than can be said about some public meetings! So come, sir, propose the

resolutions and I will second them.’

The two thereupon gravely proposed, seconded and unanimously carried appropriate resolutions, then

adjourned the meeting. Sadly, the name of the second gentleman has not survived.

We now see the beginning of a Committee, for Mr Cussons says12

:

"This subject, being mentioned to some others, about twelve formed themselves into a society

for promoting the object. My friend, Mr Dobson, a member of Mr Wesley's Society, opened his

house at No 427 Oxford Street13

for our monthly meetings." on the 8th of November 1779 the

proposal took shape, for we find that date on the front page of the first Minute Book of the

Society, with a declaration of the Society's object:

"For purchasing Bibles to be distributed among British Soldiers and Seamen of the Navy."

West Street Chapel

There is no firm evidence that there was any connection between the meeting noted above and what now

follows. It could be there were two starts. Be that as it may, the scene now moves to West Street Chapel,

Seven Dials14

(now known as Cambridge Circus), London15

.

11

Some later minutes of the Society report this gentleman to have been a reporter, who submitted the first minutes for

publication in his newspaper.

12 Memoirs of Mr George Cussons.

13 Between Lumley Street and Balderton Street.

14 In a backstreet near Seven Dials is an unassuming building that is a rare survivor from the early Methodist movement.

This is the West Street Chapel. A plaque on the wall states ‘John and Charles Wesley preached here frequently’, which

perhaps underplays the importance of the building. This was John Wesley’s first chapel in the West End and one of the

principal centres of London Methodism.

15 The same place mentioned as the origin of the walk on 10 September 1779.


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In the Methodist Archives and Research Centre, at City Road, London, are the ‘Memoirs of Mr George

Cussons’16

, published in 1845. The writer of the preface states:

“In the memoirs will be found that he [George Cussons] was among the first (if not himself the

very first) who laid the foundation of that eminently useful institution, the Naval and Military

Bible Society.”

The original letter written by George Cussons, delivered to the Rev Dr Adam Clarke on 11 August 1815 in

response for information as to how the Society began, has been preserved17

:

Dear Sir,

According to your request I shall endeavour to give you some account of the beginning of the

Navy and Army Bible Society; but it will be in a very imperfect manner, not being in possession

of the books in which our accounts were kept. As there will be a few names mentioned it may be

necessary for me to say something of one or two.

John Davies, on whose spirit the Lord first moved in this work, and who first opened his mouth

in its behalf, was a marble carver. He departed this life 6 March 1786 aged forty-nine.

John Thornton Esq. Clapham, Surrey18

. His love to God and benevolence made his character so

conspicuous that I need not say anything. This merciful man was taken away 7 November 1790.

George Cussons' account contains a further letter worthy of inclusion. He says:

The year 1780, being a time of great riots in London, many soldiers were brought here. I insert

a letter of Mr Thornton's:

Dear George,

I have some Bibles for soldiers and if you know of any person to entrust a few with I will send

them where you direct. I mean to St James or Hyde Park or the neighbourhood. I have sent a

large parcel to the Museum.

Your faithful friend

JOHN THORNTON

Clapham

28 July 178019

16

Memoirs of Mr George Cussons.

17 Memoirs of Mr George Cussons; pp 86 onwards.

18 John Thornton was said to be the wealthiest merchant in Europe. Cowper sang of his industry in doing good - "restless

as he who tolls and sweats for good". "Few" said Venn "have ever done more to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and

help all who suffer adversity; and this was no exaggeration for he spent at least £100,000 in works of charity. He

employed extensive commerce ... as a powerful instrument for conveying immense quantities of Bibles." (Letter quoted

in Life of Henry Venn (1725 – 1797) - an English evangelical minister and one of the founders of the Clapham Sect, a

small but highly influential evangelical group within the Anglican Church).

19 The Military Magazines in Hyde Park.


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Thanks to Major Sir Harry Verney, Bart, MP, the Chairman at the

101st Anniversary, we can read that Minute Book. He said:

I now hold in my hand (exhibiting a book of time-worn

appearance) the very earliest minutes ... minutes having

been kept since 1779 ... Here is a request for a Bible for

a private soldier; a request from the 3rd Guards,

another from the 1st Guards, ... another from persons

belonging to the Royal Academy ...20

Major Sir Harry Verney, Bart, MP21

And a record of a grant:

To officers at Portsmouth on board the ship VICTORY.22

The first sermon on behalf of the Society was preached in that same Chapel by the Rev B B Collins on the text

1 Samuel 4: 7

"And the Philistines were afraid for they said: 'God is come into the camp.' And they said: 'Woe

unto us! For there hath not been such a thing heretofore.'23

And so we have arrived at the point where Britain's first Bible Society has been launched.24

The Gordon Riots

Riots! Arson! Agitation! Indiscriminate orgies! Revolutionary crowds!

These were some of the ingredients in the 1780 London uprising. Led by Lord George Gordon25

, whose

harangues resulted in angry scenes, the riots were initially directed against Catholic Chapels and the houses of

wealthy Catholics; then against prominent personalities in authority; then against the prisons, whose inmates

were released; and finally culminated in an attack on the Bank of England. At last, the Lord Mayor sent a

desperate message to the Commander-in-Chief calling for ‘Horse and Foot to assist the civil power…’ 26

20

Further evidence as to the foundation year comes one hundred years later. First is the recorded fact that the one

hundredth anniversary took place in 1879; secondly, at the one hundred and first anniversary, the Chairman, Major Sir

Harry Verney Bart MP showed the first Minute Book, started in 1779; 1880 Annual Report.

21 Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet PC, DL, JP (8 December 1801 – 12 February 1894) was an English soldier and Liberal

politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1832 and 1885. Verney married twice, his second wife

being Frances Parthenope Nightingale, sister of Florence Nightingale.

22 In 1781-1782, Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt served in HMS VICTORY when it was the first ship to be supplied

with several hundred copies of the Scriptures by The Bible Society, most probably at Kempenfelt’s request, in 1782.

23 Methodism in West Central London; p 287.

24 In the sixteenth century, a Wurttemberg Bible Society was formed “to help the poor and persecuted Protestant brethren

in Austria, Carinthia, Croatia, Slavonia and Transylvania”.

25 Lord George Gordon (1751 – 1793) was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of

1780. George Gordon was born in London, third and youngest son of the 3rd Duke of Gordon. He entered the Royal

Navy in 1763 at the age of 12 and received promotion to the rank of Lieutenant. His behaviour in raising the poor living

conditions of his sailors led to him being mistrusted by his fellow officers, although it contributed to his popularity

amongst ordinary seamen. He resigned his commission in 1772, shortly before the beginning of the American War of

Independence. From the moment he entered parliament he was a strong critic of the government's colonial policy in

regard to America. He became a supporter of American independence and often spoke out in favour of the colonies. In

1779 he organised, and made himself head of, the Protestant Association, formed to secure the repeal of the Catholic

Relief Act of 1778.

26 The Gordon Riots of 1780 began as an anti-Catholic protest in London against the Papists Act of 1778, which intended

to reduce official discrimination against British Catholics. The Popery Act 1698 had imposed a number of penalties and

disabilities on Roman Catholics in England; the 1778 Act eliminated some of these. An initial peaceful protest led on to


12

Since the American War, evangelicals favoured their own agency for mission, The Bible Society. As noted

earlier, the Society had been founded for the benefit of soldiers, sailors and militia and this idea was given

immediate and unexpected encouragement through the actions of the Gordon riots; many sections of polite

society were frightened as much by drunken troops called out to protect their homes as by the rioters

themselves. The problem was eased by the distribution of the Bible to the soldiers. Unlike the SCPK, The

Bible Society gave away copies of the Bible and Testament to individual soldiers and sailors without note or

comment; it provided common ground for Anglicans and Dissenters to work together.

widespread rioting and looting and was the most destructive of the 18th century in London. Painted on the wall of

Newgate prison was the proclamation that the inmates had been freed by the authority of "His Majesty, King Mob". The

term "King Mob" ever after denoted an unruly and fearsome proletariat. The Riots came at the height of the American

War of Independence with Britain fighting American rebels, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic. They led to

unfounded fears that they had been a deliberate attempt by France to destabilise Britain before an imminent French

invasion.


13

Chapter 2 - The Early Years

Pitcairn Island27

affords a striking instance of the benefits resulting from the distribution of a single Bible. In

1787, a representative of The Bible Society gave a Bible to an officer onboard HMS BOUNTY at Spithead,

before the ship sailed for the South Pacific and the infamous mutiny about which so much has been written.

This Bible was used by the last surviving crew member (Smith) to learn to read. Smith then taught the

surviving islanders to read using the Bible28

so that the Royal Navy found a thriving Christian community in

1814.

Influential Support

William Wilberforce29

, Viscount Palmerston30

, Sir James Saumarez31

,

27

The Pitcairn Island incident received a striking confirmation through the testimony of the late Captain J Jones RN, who

visited the island in one of HM Ships in 1842 and whose address is in the 1843 report; The Word and the Sword, p. 49

28 A hardy mutineer, ready to stain his hands in blood was turned from darkness to light … through a copy of the

Scriptures furnished by this Society to HMS BOUNTY – which was providentially saved from the wreck; The Word and

the Sword

29 William Wilberforce (1759 –1833) was an English politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish

the slave trade. He became the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he underwent a

conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian. In 1787, he came into contact with a group of anti-slave-

trade activists and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists. He headed the parliamentary campaign

against the British slave trade for twenty-six years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Wilberforce was

convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. Twenty years later, Wilberforce supported the campaign

for the complete abolition of slavery, and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament

because of his failing health. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of

the British Empire; Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was

assured.

30 Viscount Palmerston was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created on 12 March 1723 for Henry Temple, who

subsequently represented East Grinstead, Bossiney and Weobley in the British House of Commons. He represented seven

constituencies in the House of Commons and served as a Lord of the Admiralty and Lord of the Treasury. He was a

distinguished politician and served three times as Foreign Secretary and twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

At his death in 1865 he was granted a state funeral, the fourth non-royal to be given this honour.

31 Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez GCB (1757 – 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy,

notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras. He was keen to bring the Christian message to sailors and to the whole

unevangelised world; to the NMBS he was the ideal Christian warrior, untainted by failings in character or professional

performance.


14

John Thornton32

, Henry Thornton33

, William Thornton, John Newton34

,

Granville Sharp, William Clarkson, Rowland Hill35

and Admiral Charles Middleton

are among the names seen in the early lists. William Wilberforce, John Newton and Granville Sharp were

close friends of Admiral Charles Middleton, later Lord Barham36

.

Sir Edward Pellew37

(1757-1833) was Commander-in-Chief East Indies in

1804-1809, during which period he was responsible for having 700 copies

of the Scriptures supplied by NMBS, of which he became a strong

supporter; Vice-President in 1815 and life member in 1817.

Admiral Edward Pellew

32

John Thornton (1729–90) – see notes Error! Bookmark not defined. and 18

33 Henry Thornton (1760-1815) was an English economist, banker, philanthropist and parliamentarian. He was the son of

John Thornton (1729–90). As an independent MP, Thornton sided with the Pittites, and in 1783 voted for peace with

America. In 1795 he became the treasurer of the committee responsible for the publication of the Cheap Repository

Tracts. The period 1797–1810 was a time of major change and great confusion in the British banking system, and the

currency crisis of 1797 led to Thornton’s greatest contribution as an economist. A successful merchant banker, Thornton

has been described as the father of the modern central bank. A close friend and cousin of William Wilberforce, he is

credited with being the financial brain behind their many campaigns for social reform and philanthropic causes.

34 John Newton (1725–1807) went to sea in his father’s ship from the age of 11, was a Midshipman in the Royal Navy for

a period but was reduced to the lower deck for a second offence of breaking leave, and later rose to command slave ships.

He became ordained as an evangelical Anglican cleric, serving Olney, Buckinghamshire for two decades, and also wrote

hymns, known for Amazing Grace and Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken. Although Newton had worked in the slave

trade for several years, he became a prominent supporter of abolitionism, living to see Britain's abolition of the African

slave trade in 1807. Plagued by ill health and failing eyesight, Newton died on 21 December 1807 in London.

35 Rowland Hill A.M. (1744–1833) was a popular English preacher, enthusiastic evangelical and an influential advocate

of smallpox vaccination. He was founder and resident pastor of a wholly independent chapel, the Surrey Chapel, London;

chairman of the Religious Tract Society; and a keen supporter of the British and Foreign Bible Society and the London

Missionary Society.

36 Admiral Charles Middleton: A devout Methodist, he was Comptroller of the Royal Navy from 1778 until 1790 and

became First Lord in 1805. Uncle to James Gambier.

37 Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB, (1757 – 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the

American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars.


15

The Duke of Wellington38

; HRH the Duke of York39

; and HRH the Duke of Gloucester40

At a later period, the Duke of Wellington became President and, in 1814, HRH the Duke of York was Patron

and HRH the Duke of Gloucester was Vice-Patron. The account of the Duke of Wellington's invitation has

been preserved. At the Annual Meeting of the Naval and Military Bible Society, held in London on 9 May

1815, with His Highness41

the Duke of Gloucester in the chair, the following resolution was proposed by

William Wilberforce Esq. MP and seconded by Thomas Babington MP42

:

That under a strong sense of the distinguished services of Field Marshall His Grace the Duke of

Wellington ... the earnest request of this meeting be offered to the Duke to be permitted to place

His Grace's name at the head of the list of Vice-Presidents; and that His Royal Highness the

Duke of York be humbly requested to undertake this communication...43

38

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (1769–1852), was a British

soldier and statesman, a native of Ireland belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy, and one of the leading military and

political figures of the 19th century. In 1798, he changed the spelling of his surname to "Wellesley"; up to this time he

was still known as Wesley, which his oldest brother considered the ancient and proper spelling. His importance in

national history is such that he is often referred to as "the Duke of Wellington" instead of "the 1st Duke of Wellington".

He was twice British prime minister under the Tory party: from 1828–30 and for a little less than a month in 1834. He

oversaw the passage of the Catholic Relief Act 1829, but opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued as one of the

leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement and remained Commander-in-Chief of the British Army until

his death.

39 Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 1763–1827), was the second eldest child and second

son of King George III of the United Kingdom and a member of the House of Hanover. From the death of his father in

1820 until his own death in 1827, he was the heir presumptive to his elder brother, King George IV, both to the United

Kingdom and the Kingdom of Hanover but never became king because he died before his older brother. Frederick was

thrust into the British army at a very early age, appointed to high command at the age of 30, and commanded in a

notoriously ineffectual campaign during the War of the First Coalition, which followed the French Revolution. Later, as

Commander-in-Chief during the Napoleonic Wars, he reorganised the British army, putting in place vital administrative

and structural reforms.

40 Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (William Frederick; 1776–1834) was a great-grandson of King

George II and nephew and son-in-law of King George III of the United Kingdom. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

lived at Bagshot Park.

41 As a great-grandson of George II he held the title of Prince of Great Britain with the style His Highness, not His Royal

Highness, at birth. On 22 July 1816, he married The Princess Mary, his cousin and the fourth daughter of George III. On

that day, The Prince Regent granted the Duke the style of His Royal Highness by Order in Council.

42 Thomas Babington (1758 – 1837) was a philanthropist and politician. He was a member of the Clapham Sect,

alongside more famous abolitionists such as William Wilberforce and Hannah More. An active anti-slavery campaigner,

he had reservations about the participation of women associations in the movement. He was the eldest son of Thomas

Babington of Rothley Temple, Leicestershire from whom he inherited Rothley and other land in Leicestershire in 1776.

He was educated at Rugby School and St John's College, Cambridge where he met William Wilberforce and other

prominent anti-slavery agitators. In 1787 he married Jean Macaulay, sister of Zachary Macaulay, a leader of the anti-

slavery movement in the early 19th century. Babington was an evangelical Christian of independent means who devoted

himself to a number of good causes. He was High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1780 and MP for Leicester from 1800 to

1818.

43 NMBS 1816 report


16

It was not until 23 April 1816, in response to a reminder from Mr William Wilberforce, the following letter

was received from The Hague:

Sir,

I have received a letter from Mr Wilberforce in which he informs me that Your Royal Highness

has not received any answer to the desire expressed by the Naval and Military Bible Society

that I should be one of their Vice-Presidents. I intended to request Your Royal Highness to

express my grateful acknowledgements to the Society for the honour; and that I would do

everything in my power to forward their views; and as Your Royal Highness has not received

this request, the letter has either been miscarried, or I omitted to write it at the period, which

was during the conference at Paris ...

The 1813-1814 records reveal that the Society went a little way towards repaying its debt to the Duke by

sending "125 Bibles and 975 New Testaments to the Army serving under the Duke of Wellington." A later

entry reads: "To Hospitals in the Duke of Wellington's Army, 31 Bibles and 100 New Testaments." When he

died in 1852, the Duke of Wellington had been a Vice-President and a Vice-Patron for 36 years.

Rev William Romaine44

The name of Rev William Romaine stands out among the clergy who advocated the cause of this infant

institution. Here is a letter he wrote from Bristol45

:

To Mr Keysell at Mr Child's, Banker, Temple Bar, London.

My good friend,

I have been raising contributions in all my journeys. First at Reading £31 and then at Birmingham

£72, at Rowley £13, at Bristol £55 19s 0d. Please to inform me of the receipt for these sums I ordered

to be paid to you for use of Bible Society. God willing I shall be at Bradford, Wilts, all next week and

would esteem it a favour if you would give me a line informing me of your having been paid these

several collections. Perhaps the Bristol money may not have reached you yet because when I paid it in

to Messrs Deans, Whitehead & Co, Mr Aldridge, one of the partners, was to pay for some

advertisements in the newspapers and then to remit the remainder. I hope you will have it soon. My

Labours and Prayers were constant for the blessing of the Lord God upon the Bible Society. May

every book we give spread the sweet savour of the name and grace of our dearest Emmanuel. I think

you should choose me Chaplain of the Bible Society that it might be my duty, as well as my interest, to

work and pray for you, without fee or reward. My love to your family, and to all of the Society.

Yours,

W ROMAINE

30 August 1782

44

William Romaine (1714–1795), evangelical divine of the Church of England, was author of works once highly thought

of by the evangelicals, the trilogy The Life, the Walk, and the Triumph of Faith. William Romaine's preaching attracted

large crowds to St George's, Hanover Square; in 1755, he came under the preaching influence of George Whitfield and in

1766, he became incumbent of St Anne's, Blackfriars.

45 Original letter in Methodist Archives.


17

In view of the foregoing, it is not surprising that William Romaine became the Society's first Clerical

Secretary.46

The denominational allegiance of the actual founders has already been clearly stated although, as Romaine's

appointment shows, Anglican influence soon followed. That this was so is by no means surprising for, as the

Christian world knows, support for a Bible Society incorporates those of most denominations and indeed some

of none. Furthermore, in the early years the complete separation 'of the people called Methodists' from the

Anglican Communion was not yet an accomplished fact.47

A point of interest is that in the early days, the Society not only received donations from churches and chapels

but also from cities, boroughs and public corporations. Ely City and Cambridge Corporation, for example,

sent handsome sums, as did Cambridge University in 1794.

In 1803, we get a clue as to the Society’s progress from an unexpected source. A Baptist minister, the Rev

Joseph Hughes, who later became one of the three founder secretaries of the British & Foreign Bible Society,

advocating the establishment of the new Bible Society, described the Naval & Military Bible Society as

follows:

The Bible Society was instituted for the sole use of the Army and Navy of Great Britain. It

circulates only the Scriptures. The Committee state that they have been enabled by the aid of

subscribers and collections made at different places of worship, to distribute among the

regiments and ships specified in their printed account 30,000 Bibles and a considerable number

of Testaments. 48

In 1810, Samuel Gateshead of Newport Pagnell is reported to have a particular interest in servicemen, for he

had been a captain in the artillery before becoming a Baptist pastor. Having written to all clergy and

dissenting ministers in naval ports, one of the replies was from the Anglican minister of St John’s in

Devonport; he reported that he had a supply of Bibles from the British and Foreign Bible Society but only

soldiers, not sailors, were asking for them.

46

William Romaine: Rev C P McCarthy ' The Word and the Sword' p 19 "The very age of these documents, some of

them being seventy to eighty years old, in the original handwriting of the Venerable and sainted Romaine, the first

clerical Secretary of the Society."

47 This did not occur until 1791.

48 Joseph Hughes, a pamphlet on the excellence of the Holy Scripture, p 15


18

Chapter 3 – More about the early years

Ever since the ill-fated HMS ROYAL GEORGE sank, fully

manned49

, off Spithead in 1782 with 400 Bibles50

granted by

the Society on board, the link with the Royal Navy has been

close.

In 1812, the Rev Dr Tufton Charles Scott, twice Chaplain of

Portsmouth Dockyard, was mentioned as an annual subscriber.

In 1814, grants were made to ‘33 of His Majesty’s Ships and to

marines aboard 15 others’; and in 1820 the list of Vice-

Presidents included the Right Hon Admiral Lord Gambier

GCB51

(who chaired the 45th anniversary) and the Right Hon

Admiral Earl Northesk GCB52

.

Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier Right Hon Admiral Earl Northesk GCB

On the Committee were Vice Admiral Scott and Rear Admiral

Oliver; and the Honorary Secretary of the Naval Department

was Captain Pakenham RN.

Captain Pakenham RN

49

Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt (1718 – 29 August 1782), widely esteemed for his tactical theories and work on

signal codes, gained a reputation as a naval innovator. He is best known for his victory against the French at the Second

Battle of Ushant in 1781and for his death when the HMS ROYAL GEORGE accidentally sank at Portsmouth the

following year. He had served with Middleton (Lord Barham) and pressed strongly for religion to be included in the

requirements of the Regulations.

50 The ship sank the day after the Bibles arrived.

51 Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB (1756–1833) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who

served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty. A nephew of Lord Barham.

52 Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk GCB (1758–1831); 3

rd in Command at the Battle of Trafalgar, behind

Nelson and Collingwood.


19

Likewise, the link with the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department has

always been firm. In 1812, the Chaplain-General, the Venerable John

Owen53

, was on the Committee; he later became Life Governor. The

office of Chaplain-General54

was established in 1796 when the Society

was already over sixteen years old. On 9 March 181255

, the Chaplain-

General became head of all Naval Chaplains, though that only lasted

for four years. The Venerable John Owen

1812

Let us glance at the Annual Report:

Your Committee consigned 200 Bibles and 100 New Testaments to Lieutenant General Graham

for the wounded in hospitals at Cadiz after the memorable Battle of Barrosa.56

A

communication from the Chaplain-General added that the supply arrived most opportunely ..."

By 1812, nearly 50,000 Bibles and a great number of New Testaments had been gratuitously dispensed to

British sailors and soldiers. many testimonies had been received as to the improvements observed in the moral

character of the men by a perusal of that inspired volume which serves a chart whereby the sailor may steer

his course through the ocean of life ... and which provides the soldier with an armour that will protect him

from the shafts of the worst foes ...

It was not “until the winter of 1812 that means appear to have been adopted for exciting a general interest

among the important class of our fellow subjects, namely those who sail under the Red Ensign. Although

formed for the purpose of ministering to the Royal Navy and the Army, the Society had extended its work and,

in some ways it is surprising that the original Bible Society did not, from its earliest days, include the

Merchant Navy. However, it should not be forgotten that all seamen were subject to the press gangs for

service in a ship of the Royal Navy and, on completion of a commission in a given ship, were released without

further commitment. Many joined a merchant crew, in part to avoid another press gang but also to benefit

from improved conditions. In this way, many sailors who found conversion in the Royal Navy carried their

faith (and Bibles) forward and encouraged others in the Merchant service.

Two letters which descended on the Secretary’s desk in 1812 show the opportunities of the times:

A Lieutenant Colonel commanding a Regiment of Militia wrote:

Of the men under my command, 373 could read, fifteen of those had Bibles or New Testaments,

and of the remainder 263 desired copies of Scriptures.

The second was from a Garrison Chaplain who reported that among nearly 600 men under his care, there was

scarcely a Bible to be found.

In 1814, the distribution of Bibles and New Testaments amounted to 9,379 volumes – a considerable

achievement when the size of the establishments is considered. Also in that year, the Committee reported a

donation of £20 from the St Helena Society of which the Governor, Colonel Mark Wilks, is the Patron … this

was an acknowledgement for 120 Bibles sent to that Garrison in January 1811. 57

53

John Owen (1754-1824) was Archdeacon of Richmond, and Chaplain-General to the British Armed Forces during the

later part of the Napoleonic Wars

54 The Navy and its Chaplains in the days of sail; Dr WEL Smith, p 127

55 Ibid; p 128; His salary was shared between the Army and Navy, £700 and £500.

56 The Peninsular War 1808 – Barrosa, a large infantry battle in Portugal.

57 Governor Alexander Beatson (1808–1813) took action to reduce drunkenness by prohibiting the public sale of spirits

and the importation of cheap Indian spirits. These actions resulted in a mutiny by about 250 troops in December 1811.

After the mutineers surrendered to loyal troops, nine of the mutineers' leaders were executed. Under the aegis of

Governor Mark Wilks (1813–1816), farming methods were improved, a rebuilding programme initiated, and the first

public library opened. A census in 1814 showed the number of inhabitants was 3,507.


20

Finally, as a result of offerings in many churches and chapels on the day set apart for General Thanksgiving in

1814, £3,424 was contributed to the Society. One church, St Clement Danes in the Strand58

shows in its

accounts for 1812 a gift of £22. Who would have thought that one hundred and sixty one years later, in 1973,

a beautifully constructed Bible case containing samples of the Society’s publications would stand in that same

church, as a gift from the Royal Air Force.

Scotland

The exact number of years which passed before the Society made its first sortie across the border will

probably never be known. One thing is certain; when it did enter Scotland, it received a great-hearted

welcome. It is pleasing to record the early co-operation of the Edinburgh Bible Society which made two gifts

totalling £150. Here is a letter respecting the first:

Edinburgh 21st May 1813

Sir,

I have the pleasure to inform you that at the last Committee Meeting of the Edinburgh Bible

Society, a donation of fifty pounds was noted in favour of the Naval and Military Bible Society ...

The Annual Meeting of this institution is to be held on Monday, the 31st current. If there is any

recent interesting intelligence respecting the distribution of the Holy Scriptures perhaps you

will furnish me with a specimen for our meeting.

I remain, Sir,

Your most faithful Servant

sgd. CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON

Secretary

A second letter shows the support the Society received from north of the border in 1814:

To the Secretary of the Naval and Military Bible Society.

Sir,

I have the pleasure to inform you that, at a late Meeting of the Paisley and Eastern

Renfrewshire Bible Society, the Directors unanimously resolved to devote the sum of One

Hundred pounds sterling, as a donation to the Naval and Military Bible Society, and I now have

the honour to transmit you a bill for this amount.

The last Annual Report of the Society afforded very high gratification to all who perused it; and

we desire to join most cordial wishes for the prosperity and success of a Society whose object is

so noble, and whose labours have been so beneficial …

Sgd. ROBERT BURNS59

Secretary to P and E R B S

Paisley 27 May 1814

In addition to support from Scottish Bible Societies, a number of Auxiliaries were also established. For

instance, the Edinburgh Auxiliary was formed on 27 April 1819. Here is the 1820 report:

The friends of the Society at Edinburgh have given fresh proof of their liberality and zeal, the

remittance from that capital for the year being £250 and their distribution of the Scriptures

amounting to a little short of a thousand copies; whilst, by example, they have stimulated into

co-operation an Auxiliary at Stirling, from which the sum of £42 2s has been received as a kind

of first fruits. Your Committee cannot omit to mention the efforts of a Ladies’ Association in

connection with the Edinburgh Auxiliary to which the Society is indebted for a collection

amounting to £65 13s 6d.

58

St Clement Danes subsequently became the Central Church for the Royal Air Force.

59 Not the poet, who died in 1796


21

Chapter 4 – 1815 to 1830

Waterloo! Wellington! Napoleon! These were the names that captured the imagination in 1815.

Viscount Palmerston, then Secretary of War, became a Vice-President. The report records that the warmest

acknowledgements had also been offered by the Royal Artillery, the first and third Regiments of Foot Guards

at Brussels, for 50 Bibles and 50 New Testaments granted when scarcely a copy of the Scriptures was to be

found among a number who occasionally met for the purpose of reading the word of God. Considerable grants

were made to coastal defenders in the Martello Towers60

at Bexhill, Eastbourne and Rye as well as on the East

coast. Unrest in the West Indies was reflected in consignments needed for naval hospitals at Bermuda and

Jamaica. The British garrison on Heligoland61

was also supplied.

An officer commanding a troop of Horse Artillery wrote that the greater part of his men had

requested permission to set apart a portion of their pay for the benefit of the Society. Another

officer wrote from onboard a frigate at Spithead that most of the Seamen and the whole of the

Marines had voluntarily subscribed one day’s pay for the same purpose. At the memorable

battle of Waterloo, the Naval and Military Bible Society was not without the most striking

testimonies; the field of death and blood after the battle gave some evidence [of the Christian

motto “We fight for God and our right.”] for in the haversacs of the slain among the French

were found infidel and licentious writings, but in the knapsacks of many of the English were to

be seen the brass bound clasps and Bibles of the Naval and Military Bible Society.62

A letter which must have caused the eyes of the 1815 Secretary to open a bit wider was an application from a

military correspondent on behalf of a man, who having once served under Sir John Moore in Spain and then

under the Duke of Wellington, had a Bible that had become so dirty and worn as to be almost unreadable!

Two other instances are worthy of mention; one occurred in the garrison of Antwerp where the Military

Chaplain procured … returns from each British Regiment of the men who wished to purchase Bibles, from

which it appeared that not less than 132 private soldiers were anxious to obtain them. No sooner did this

intelligence reach the Committee than they ordered 200 Bibles and 400 Testaments to be consigned to that

Chaplain.

The second case happened at Besancon, where “prior to the peace of Paris, such a desire was excited to be

possessed of the word of God that between twenty and thirty manuscript copies of the New Testament were

actually made by our soldiers in prison.”

The uncertain start of the seventeen eighties was speedily followed by years of powerful and influential

support but, before scanning through a few mid-century reports, let us note the structure of the society. A

quick glance at the 1815 report shows the Establishment knew how to organise. In addition to the President,

there were seventeen Vice-Presidents, including Lord Palmerston; thirty eight Life Governors and six Annual

Governors, whilst the Committee numbered thirty three. But that is not all, as the following footnote to the

report indicates:

… Also clergymen and other ministers who are members of the Society.

60

As a precaution against invasion by Napoleon in the early 19th

century, 74 small forts were built along the coast from

Folkestone to Seaford. Several of these still stand.

61 On 11 September 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, HMS CARRIER brought to the Admiralty the despatches from

Admiral Thomas McNamara Russell announcing Heligoland's capitulation to the British. Heligoland became a centre of

smuggling and espionage against Napoleon. Denmark then formally ceded Heligoland to George III of the United

Kingdom by the Treaty of Kiel (14 January 1814). Thousands of Germans came to Britain and joined the King's German

Legion via Heligoland. The British annexation of Heligoland was ratified by the Treaty of Paris signed on 30 May 1814,

as part of a number of territorial reallocations following on the abdication of Napoleon as Emperor of the French. The

prime reason at the time for Britain's retention of a small and seemingly worthless acquisition was to restrict any future

French naval aggression against the Scandinavian or German states. In the event no effort was made during the period of

British administration to make use of the islands for naval purposes. This was partially for financial reasons but mainly

because the Royal Navy considered Heligoland to be too exposed as a forward base.

62 The Word and the Sword; pp 26-28


22

Furthermore:

Members of the House of Commons, Flag Officers of the Royal Navy and General Officers of

the Army being members of the Society are Honorary members of the Committee.

As for the meetings, they were now held at 32 Sackville Street, Piccadilly, London, on the first Thursday

every month at noon63, 64

. In addition to the London headquarters, there were also well over 100 auxiliaries.

England was represented by Ashton under Lyne, Barnstaple, Bath, Beverley, Bideford, Birmingham,

Blackburn, Bolton, Boston, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brighton, Burton-on-Trent, Bury (Lancs.), Bury St.

Edmunds; and that’s only the A’s and B’s!

Ireland was represented by Belfast, Dublin and Cork; Scotland by Edinburgh; Wales by Cardiff and Swansea;

and there was even one in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Many of these auxiliaries were powerful, such as the one at

Portsmouth of which the 1820 report says:

Your Committee cannot refrain from bearing a most decided testimony: their remittance to the

parent Society has been £145 and their issues of Bibles and New Testaments to the navy and

army amount to nearly 800 copies.

At about this time, the Church ashore diverted funding from the Naval and Military Bible Society to the

British and Foreign Bible Society, with energies also diverted from the military to foreign missions.65

The 38th Anniversary

Prince Frederick, Duke of York Nicholas Vansittart (1766–1851), 1st Baron Bexley

In the year 1818, the 38th anniversary meeting was held at the King’s Concert Room, Haymarket, London.

Among the distinguished persons present were HRH the Duke of York, who was in the chair; the

Archbishop of Canterbury; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the Rt Hon Nicholas Vansittart66

).

63

Sackville Street is in central London and today is mainly composed of offices and the rears of retail premises but once

was the home to several important medical figures. James Yearsley (1805–1869), aural surgeon, once had a clinic at 32

Sackville Street. A green plaque was unveiled on 27 May 1994 which reads "Westminster City Council Dr. James

Yearsley, MD, MRCS, LRCP, 1805 - 1869, founded the Metropolitan Ear Institute here in 1838.”

64 If they had working lunches in those days, the staff must have collected a lot of headaches if, in addition to the

Committee, only one per cent of the Honorary members turned up!

65 Evangelicals in the Royal Navy 1775-1815; Richard Blake p268

66 Bexley, Nicholas Vansittart, Baron (1766-1851), English politician., called to the bar in 1791. In May 1796, he became

member of parliament for Hastings, retaining his seat until July 1802, when he was returned for Old Sarum. He became

chancellor of the exchequer in May 1812. Having forsaken Old Sarum, he had represented Helston from November 1806

to June 1812; and after being member for East Grinstead for a few weeks, was returned for Harwich in October 1812. He

resigned his office in December 1822. On his resignation, he accepted the post of chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster,

he was created Baron Bexley in March 1823. He resigned in January 1828. In the House of Lords, Bexley took very little

part in public business. He took a good deal of interest in the British and Foreign Bible Mission, the Church Missionary

Society and kindred bodies. As he had no issue, the title became extinct on his death.


23

Here is the end of the Chancellor’s speech:

I call attention to one point … the impression that, in consequence of the return to peace, the

exertions of the Society become less necessary. The diminished numbers in the Navy and

Army might appear to offer a less extensive field for its operations but in many respects they

could be carried on with greater advantage and were even more important in peace than in

war; for amidst the din of battle and the fatigue of actual warfare, few opportunities were

afforded of religious and moral instruction. It was in the leisure of peaceful quarters and

garrisons that those principles must be impressed and those habits formed which constituted

the character of the Christian soldier … A Navy and Army trained in such sentiments would

be a blessing to their own country and to every other country in which they might be placed.”

Now the words of William Wilberforce:

I must confess there is no office in which I more cheerfully engage than in bestowing my small

contribution towards the success of this cause. It has often been a matter of painful recollection

that I and others who live at home in safety might seem to derive our security from the

sufferings of others. Nor can we be insensible that, besides the personal dangers to which our

soldiers and sailors are exposed, they lie open to a set of moral dangers which are sometimes

more overlooked, and on that very account are only the more dangerous … Sir, it is not possible

for us to better show our gratitude to our heroes than by giving them that book …

Sir, all those nations who have become eminent on the great stage of human affairs, … have

endeavoured to strengthen the hearts of their soldiers … by the principles and emotions of

religion. This was the policy of the Romans, the greatest of all the military nations of antiquity;

and, in later times, by the force of religious ardour that the Mohametans achieved their mighty

conquests. But … Sir, we do not buoy up the minds of our soldiers and sailors with a false hope

which at the last would disappoint them but we give them the truth … We ought thankfully to co-

operate with a gracious Providence by … placing these blessed truths in their hands.

A general meeting was convened on 28th January 1818 at the Mansion House, the Lord Mayor of London in

the Chair, when the Merchant Seamen’s Auxiliary Society was established … But that was not the first Bible

Society to serve the Merchant Navy. Before this was the Thames Union Bible Committee, or Thames Revival

(which was itself made up of four auxiliary Bible Societies; the Southwark, City of London, Blackheath and

East London). This had its first meeting on 21 June 1813 …”67

Moving on to the Annual Meeting of 1820 and an address given by the Rev Richard Marks (1778-1844), late

of the Royal Navy68

. Speaking of his own experience – evidently prior to his ordination – Mr Marks claimed

that he had not seen a Bible or met a single character who ‘ever pretended to fear or love God’ during a period

of three years whereas in his later service, he saw ‘the beginning of better times’:

On returning from that memorable battle in which the nation lost its noble Admiral, Nelson, I by

mere accident observed an advertisement saying the Naval and Military Bible Society had once

more been enabled to distribute the Scriptures and was ready to send a portion to every ship

that applied through the medium of the Captain or the Chaplain. We had no Chaplain on

board69

; I therefore requested the Captain to allow me to apply in his name. The Society

instantly attended to the application and sent sixty four Bibles at the moment our anchor was

67

Dudley’s Analysis; Chapter 6: Marine Bible Societies and Associations

68 A former Lieutenant, he wrote “Few ships ever had a chaplain on board and several which had them would have been

better off without them; with very few exceptions they were the butt of the officers’ jokes, and furnished too many sad

objects for their contempt and ridicule.” Roald Kverndal, Seamen’s Missions: Their Origin and Early Growth (Pasadene,

1986) p.664 n.141

69 From experience, he expected such a man to ‘discredit himself and his profession, and hurl contempt on every thing

like a real religion’, and even when he found an agreeable and dignified man who obtained the respect of his colleagues,

he was profoundly disappointed in his theology – speculative and unscriptural. ‘Aliquis’ [The Rev Richard Marks], The

Retrospect, or Review of Providential Mercies (1816; 20th

edition 1842) p.208


24

weighed. During the six years this ship had been in commission, not one Sabbath had been

observed nor was there even an indication that men or officers feared God; but soon after the

Bibles came on board there was a visible change. From the day they were distributed --- up to

the time I left … four years later, I never went between decks without seeing the Scriptures in

the hands of someone, when duty allowed it. 70

Of course, the comment may be made that for every ship in which this happened, there were scores in which it

did not. No sane person could disagree but it should be remembered that not all ships carried Chaplains; not

all ships even held the odd service or respected the Sabbath but where a Chaplain was present, or where a

Service was held to mark the Sabbath, Bibles were held and read. Rev Marks continued:

It is this Society which must be considered as the parent, in the hand of God, in planting the

seed that now begins to spread its branches over the river – of commencing in the Royal Navy

that Christian work which is … influencing the conduct of the mercantile seamen in the river

Thames in this season of peace…..[He saw] something of the manner, of the coarseness and

immorality of what is called the old school … before the Scriptures were circulated or God’s

name known and revered… Yes, the great … the famous … co-operated and so did the

unknowns and the unsung. Let those years close with a tribute71

to one who surely heard her

Master say “Well done!”

To the steady exertions of a female friend, in a remote village, the Society is again indebted for

a contribution of £6 arising from small donations and subscriptions of a penny a week; but such

is the uncertainty of human life, that it becomes the painful duty of your Committee to state that,

since the remittance was received, they learn that this zealous supporter has been suddenly

removed from her sphere of active exertion.

And so God buries His workers … but carries on His work as we shall see in the next chapter.

A further clue as to the influence of the Society’s ministry in the early days must be slipped in. it comes from

an officer commanding one of His Majesty’s Ships in March 1821:

In the ship I last commanded we were fully supplied with Bibles and Testaments from the Naval

and Military Bible Society, all of which were distributed gratuitously to the men … and they

were certainly appreciated, as subsequent requests for individual donations of books were

frequently made during the whole time the ship remained in commission and, on paying off, the

crew as well as the officers were disposed to subscribe a larger sum to the Society than I

thought it right to take. The effects, as far as they could be traced, were very favourable. Before

we separated, desertion had quite ceased, as had the necessity for flogging; the habits of

drunkenness and other vicious indulgences had quite disappeared…

Lieutenant William Rhind (1794-1863) is noted as visiting HMS GENOA in Devonport to pass on Bibles

before the ship sailed for the naval Battle of Navarino, fought on 20 October 1827.72

70

Recorded in the 1820 NMBS report.

71 Recorded in the 1821 NMBS report.



25

Chapter 5 – 1830 to1880

The Military Climate

In the period between Waterloo and the Crimean War, Britain’s military organisation declined alarmingly. At

the close of the Napoleonic wars, the regular army numbered about 220,000 men; by 1820, the lowest total of

80,000 was reached; and twenty years later, the number had risen to just over 100,000 with about 46,000 of

these stationed in Britain and Ireland. So persistent was the clamour for reductions of the military budget that

the Duke of Wellington only managed to preserve a total fighting force at the cost of the non-combatant

departments. Thus even the small number of troops available gave no true indication of the nation’s

unpreparedness for war. It took the Crimean debacle to reveal the disastrous consequences of the lack of land

transport …

The pre-Crimean Army cried out for reform from every point of view. Recruits were still mostly drawn from

the lowest social class and were treated ‘alternately as a criminal to be punished with flogging and as a child

whose every action should be watched and guarded.’ Until 1847, soldiers were enlisted for life service (21

years): flogging was not completely abolished until 1881; and pay and living conditions remained inexcusably

low throughout most of Victoria’s reign.73

The Society’s Response

It was in such a climate that the Naval & Military Bible Society ministered. Eventful days! Days of change!

Days of new opportunity!

The Rev Edward Ward served in the Royal Navy from 1796 to 1802. He addressed the NMBS on

a number of occasions and spoke at the funeral of Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier in 1833.

He spoke of mutineers, knowing that they had been sentenced to death, clamouring to hear the

Bible as ‘ the messenger of glad tidings indeed’, bringing assurance of forgiveness to the

penitent and hope of eternal life beyond death.’ … He reported that ‘you might at once tell the

ship that was supplied with Bibles.’ And, in 1830, he reminded the Committee that ‘in Christ

there was neither Jew nor Gentile; neither bond nor free; and that the penitent sinner of every

colour and race and climate would be washed and made pure by the blood of Christ

crucified.’74

In 1831, the Society experienced an important change in its constitution. As the parent of Bible Societies, it

was the first to set forth the holy example of protecting itself from the inroads and encroachments of infidelity.

At the meeting on 10 May 1831, the Rev Henry Melville proposed a motion:

That an addition be now made to the laws of this Society, and that the first law do in future

stand as follows – ‘The Society shall consist of a Patron, Vice-Patrons, President, Vice-

Presidents, Treasurers, and a Naval and Military Secretary, Committee, Governors, and

Members, acknowledging their belief in the Holy Trinity.’ An amendment was proposed by the

Rt Hon Lord Calthorpe, seconded by the Rev A Brandram, Secretary to the British and Foreign

Bible Society, but this had few supporters and was lost. The original motion was then put and

carried almost unanimously. This example was followed by the formation of the Trinitarian

Bible Society. 75

Some asked why multiple Bible Societies were needed and questioned the work should be done by one. The

response:

Would the circulation of the Bible and the sacred cause of the Gospel be promoted by merging

this Society into [another]? It is the firm opinion of many that injury to this great cause would

be the necessary result of such a course of action; and this opinion is grounded upon the

following reasons:

73

Victorian Military Campaign; edited by Brian Bond, p. 11 (Introduction); Hutchinson.


75 The Word and the Sword; p 60


26

I. The Naval and Military Bible Society, having been organised especially for the Army

and Navy, possesses many Military and Naval Christian friends who would not sanction

its amalgamation with any other Society and therefore their subscriptions would be lost

to the cause.

II. A number of its supporters conscientiously withhold assistance from [another] Bible

Society on some or all of the following grounds:-

1. The non-Trinitarian character of its organisation.

2. The question of foreign translations.

3. The fact of its formerly having declined to open its proceedings with prayer, a fault

which happily has been recently corrected.

These supporters would also be lost to the cause of Bible circulation, at least to a great

extent.

III. There is a large body of generous-minded Christian philanthropists who subscribe to

both Societies, deeming each useful in its own field of labour, and acting upon that

principle of liberality which passes over the faults necessarily attached to every human

institution.

These kind friends would not double their subscriptions to the one Society did the other

cease to exist. A striking proof has been given of this in the amalgamation of two

kindred Societies in Ireland.

Thus it is evident, independent of an examination of the principle of divisional labour,

and in addition, on the part of the Naval and Military Bible Society, priority of claim,

that the cause of Bible distribution would lose a large amount of funds.

IV. There is one other class in the Church of Christ, and the opinions they hold are daily

extending. They call themselves “Home mission men;” and they think that more money

is expended in the support of foreign missions than is consistent with the spiritual wants

of thousands at home, who are sunk in ignorance and in the deepest degradation. To

this class, the Naval and Military Bible Society presents a clear and decided claim; for

there are none who more need and deserve Christian care and attention at the hands of

their countrymen than the Sailors and Soldiers of England.76

The Marquis of Cholmondeley addressed the 57th Anniversary meeting, in 1837, with these words:

To promote not only the advantage and spiritual welfare of those employed in the King’s

service but the soldiers and sailors in the service of the East India Company and also every

class of our seafaring population.

Hence there are constant references to the work among boatmen and their families on canals – some, of course,

being military canals, so the Society can hardly be blamed for grasping this opportunity.

At this time, a certain Mr Jeffery, who is described as the Society’s Agent, was a tower of strength for at the

end of several annual reports are what are termed ”Extracts from Mr Jeffery’s Journal” which, while not as

famous as that of John Wesley, shows he pursued his calling with great vigour:

Visited 37 boats and barges on the Regents Canal; Visited 28 vessels at Limehouse; Visited 22

below London Bridge; Visited 35 vessels at various wharves on the Canal and in the basin.77

In a letter written by a Mr Percival, an early Agent of the Merchant Seamen’s Bible Society, he describes his

attempt to sell New Testaments for a shilling on ships in the Port of London and of being overtaken by the

Naval and Military Bible Society agent in a four-oared boat offering them for nine pence!

76

The Word and the Sword; pp 68-71

77 See the resolution passed in 1858, which ceased distribution on the inland waterways.


27

Many grants were made to the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society78

. Here, for instance, is a letter from the

Secretary of the BFSS:

July 1837

… the Committee of the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society feel exceedingly grateful for your

former supply of the sacred Scriptures, they find that their operations in the form of Loan

Libraries would be greatly facilitated if your Society could favour them with another grant to

the number of 50 copies …

With fervent prayer for your prosperity…

At the 1837 Annual Meeting, Rear Admiral Sir James Hillyar79

announced that it was fifty seven years since

the institution of the Society and fifty seven years since he joined His Majesty’s Service. The minutes record

his speech:

The Articles of War forbid drunkenness and swearing and, in order to avoid the necessity of

punishment afloat, it were well that something more effective be done on shore. I recall a system

once pursued on a cruise round Cape Horn and then 6,000 miles north of the Cape. First I

ordered a return to be made of how many on board could not say the Lord’s Prayer – there

were sixty. So I established a system of instruction. Sand was brought on deck … but the supply

of sand in which the letters were formed was out in a short time. But it was wonderful to find the

progress made…

A further cause for gratitude was the encouragement received from the Chaplains-General of the day. Here is

an 1837 extract:

Your Committee continues to experience the kind co-operation of the Reverend W W Dakins BD

LLD80

(Chaplain-General 1830-46) and that from his department every facility is afforded for

accomplishing the object of the Society …

Later, the Chaplain-General wrote:

Your handsome communication of the 31st ultimo that 1,092 copies of the Holy Scriptures have

been furnished gratuitously for the use of the troops commands an acknowledgement from me of

great thankfulness; and I express this under a deep sense of the good you have already done in

furthering the cause of religion in His Majesty’s Army. … you refer to my ‘kind co-operation’;

this shall not be wanting at any time.

This period was one of the busiest and the 1851 report, like most reports, records the following grants:

During the past year thirteen of our men-of-war have been furnished at Plymouth with 588

Bibles and New Testaments. These, with other grants, made a total of 923 Bibles and New

Testaments placed on 23 vessels. In addition, 100 Bibles and New Testaments were granted at

the request of the Captain Superintendent for distribution to Seamen and Marines leaving

Haslar Hospital.

78

In 1972, our Travelling Secretary was invited to speak at the Bi-Annual Conference of the British Sailors Society at

Crieff. During the final evening, he asked the Superintendent Chaplain if he had ever heard of the British and Foreign

Sailors’ Society. “Of course,” he replied, “that used to be our name! We changed it to the British Sailors Society in 1923.”

79 James Hillyar (1769-1843)-the son of a naval surgeon, he refused promotion at one stage because he could not risk

being unemployed in a higher rank. He was knighted twice and gained his flag in 1837.

80 A letter written on 26 April 1836 and recorded in the NMBS report described the Chaplain-General as the “Principal

Chaplain to the Forces”. Those who have studied the history of the modern Service Chaplains Branches are aware the

title “Principle Chaplain” is used by the Church of Scotland and free Churches Branches of the Royal Navy and Royal

Air Force but here it is in 1836! In that year, during the time of the inevitable between wars re-organisation of the army,

the title Chaplain-General was dropped and the Reverend W W Dakins was designated Principal Chaplain; at the same

time, the Army Chaplains Department was reduced from twelve to four. However, when Reverend G R Gleig succeeded

Rev W W Dakins, the title Chaplain-General was soon restored.


28

150 Bibles to the troops of the Hon East India Company81

.

Desiring to provide for the numerous European troops in India – beyond the occasional grants

made to agents at Madras and Bombay – a correspondence has been opened with influential

persons in two of the Presidencies which may extend the Society’s operations …

Here is a letter from the Admiralty to Major Sotheby in 1854:

Sir,

With reference to your letter of the 7th instant I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of

the Admiralty to acquaint you that their Lordships have no objection to the authorised agent of

the Naval and Military Bible Society going on board Her Majesty’s ships for the purpose of

placing a pocket Testament in the hands of every sailor and that their Lordships feel confident

that every Captain would give every facility for so desirable an object.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble servant,

B Osborne

Some Chaplain-General notes are worth recording here; the first from 1851 –

In this same year … 678 Bibles were distributed to the Household Brigade upon requisition

from the Chaplain-General.

The second comes from 1854 –

Major Sotheby GB

Honorary Secretary

Naval & Military Bible Society War Office

3 March 1854

My dear Sir,

The Naval & Military Bible Society have my full sanction to present to every soldier who is

willing to receive it a copy of the New Testament of the shape and size of which the Committee

was so good to submit to me at our interview and I am sure that the Army ought to feel as I do

extremely grateful to the Society for the Christian liberality which has induced you to confer

upon it this boon.

I remain, my dear Sir,

Very faithfully yours,

G R Gleig

Chaplain-General

The Annual Report of 1856 gives an unusual sidelight on the distribution:

The Committee cannot speak too highly of … Mr Hancock, the Commander of the “Swan”

cutter employed on the Thames as a floating Church: during 1856 they sold no less than 3,066

Bibles, 4,617 New Testaments.

In 1858, the Rev R W Browne put the following resolution:

That this Society, in order that it may answer the increasing calls from the Navy and the Army,

shall cease to circulate the Scriptures among persons connected with inland navigation. The

reasons for this proposed alteration are that the demands of the Army and Navy have so

increased and that the labours of other Societies would be able to fill the gap.

Clearly, those who passed the resolution believed they were doing God’s will – and well they might – for the

opportunities, as we shall see, were undoubtedly there.

81

The forerunner of the Indian Civil Government


29

A letter dated 2 March 1858 from a Chaplain to Lt Col J S Bonham (the Lay Secretary) said:

I acknowledge the receipt of 1,000 Bibles for … this garrison, and in the name of the soldiers

and especially those about to embark for India … our sincere thanks.

At the 1858 Annual Meeting, the Chaplain-General said:

I am glad the Society’s operations extend to India82

and that thousands of copies of God’s word

have been sent. This is most important, for the Army might yet be one of the greatest

instruments of God’s word among the heathen.

Now the Indian story enables us to have our one glimpse of the Rev C P McCarthy visiting soldiers. Charles P

McCarthy became the society’s Clerical Secretary in 1858 and rendered outstanding service.

The 1858-59 report states:

Large drafts of troops were ordered to India. To supply these, a depot was established at

Gravesend. The Clerical Secretary was sent down and 2,000 copies of the Scriptures were

gratuitously distributed among the soldiers – the majority of whom, but for this supply, would

have been left destitute of the word of God.

McCarthy writes:

Having arrived at Gravesend, and discovered the transports were expected to sail that week, I

hired a boat by the hour, and having placed two boxes containing six hundred Bibles in the

stern sheets, I went on board the first transport.

Many soldiers had arrived and others were hourly expected … I soon ascertained very few

possessed the Scriptures. I addressed those on deck and told them I would give each a Bible on

condition they read it on the voyage. They displayed great eagerness to procure a copy. In due

course, I was assisted by a Christian Sergeant in the Marines. As the soldiers thronged about us,

he stood on a box and held a Bible high over their heads shouting: “I know what it is to rough it.

I have been a drill-Sergeant, but I never go anywhere now but to this book for my instructions.

Come lads, take it and read it for it is the best present you will ever have.”

The effect was that many, who previously appeared careless, now accepted a copy … During

this day I went on three ships and gave out 600 Bibles and New Testaments, preaching Gospel

nearly all the time …

As eventually the tired but faithful distributor made his way homewards, perhaps he recalled

the first century words, which ever since have inspired sowers of the Word:

I have planted; but God gave the increase.83

In 1860, the Committee decided that a tribute to the Services, first printed in ‘The Times’ newspaper, should

be preserved. Hence its appearance in the Annual Report of that year;

‘The Times’ speaks

In our army, as well as our navy, there is not one who has not enlisted from preference, from a

sense of fitness, or other reason of his own. This army, the freest in the world, does also much

more work for its members than any other army in the world is in the face of more foes;

encounters more risks, and has more actual experience of war than any other army. It is spread

through every hemisphere and every zone; it fringes every continent and is scattered through a

hundred isles; it is always on the ocean; it is ever traversing some of the greatest rivers in the

world; its hosts ascend some of the most famous mountain ranges. Though the entire British

Army could be reviewed in the Camp de Mars, yet, like a drop of some brilliant and powerful

dye in a large vase of water, it largely contributes to the aspect of all human affairs.

Everywhere, in a few days’ sail, you may reach the British flag; everywhere in its protection is

82

The 1858 report records that the number of Bibles and New Testaments supplied to troops going to India since January

of the previous year was 12,489

83 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.


30

within a month’s call, and in a few months more its substantial succour or overwhelming

vengeance may be obtained.

At about that time, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office took responsibility for the supply of Bible to the Forces.

Applications to NMBS gradually diminished to nothing but the Society continued to provide Scriptures to the

Army and Navy. It was with a firm step that the Society marched on to meet the challenge of the second half

of the nineteenth century.

The Chaplain-General, Archdeacon G R Gleig, was in the Chair for the 81st Anniversary held at St James’

Hall, 6th May 1861 –

It seldom happens that the individual who is called upon to occupy the chair at a meeting of this

kind is called upon likewise to move the adoption of a resolution. But I am a mere stop-gap

today … it therefore falls upon me to propose the following:

That this meeting acknowledges with gratitude to God the success which has attended the

leaders of the Society during the past year and recommends that this report be circulated …

The Chaplain-General concluded:

I may observe that the Army and Navy have both derived great benefit from this Society and by

means of it I am able to circulate … many more copies of God’s book than I should if the

subscriptions were withheld. The copies which pass into the ranks of the Army do a vast deal

more good than the world in general supposes.

It is indisputable that much more is done for our troops than used to be but Chaplains would

labour in vain if the soldiers had not in their hands the word of God. …

In conclusion I ask you to seek to obtain fresh subscribers for this valuable Society. My

conviction of its worth is very much increased. We could get Bible elsewhere but soldiers and

sailors both long to see on their Bibles a name which indicates that English men and women

have their welfare at heart and the mere label upon your Bible has an excellent effect upon the

minds of those for whom the sacred volume is designed.

In 1861, McCarthy wrote:

To understand the nature of this religious progress, we need to know the obstacles which in

former days precluded, except in a very few remarkable cases, any very open profession of

godliness … Through God’s grace … the Navy and Army now possess among their own

members a large number of … able preachers of the Gospel.

What were the obstacles? The first, he suggests, was the fact that some Chaplains considered their duties

completed after going through the formalities of Divine Service. This, he adds, was supposed to compose the

major portion of a week’s duty. According to McCarthy, Wardroom behaviour was far from good but at least,

he says:

“the happy contrast which the present state of the Navy and Army exhibits in this respect is

proof that a gradual reform has been going on. And thus one of the chief hindrances to the

progress of religion has been quietly removed.”84

A second obstacle, says McCarthy:

“was flogging – this savage and cruel species of punishment. Where you have blaspheming

officers … you will often have a mutinous crew. Each twenty-four hours will witness the

gratings rigged and all hands piped on deck to behold the most degrading and revolting scene

that ever disgraced a Christian country, that is the lash laid on the naked back of a fellow-being

until it became a spectacle of horribly mangled flesh, too hideous to look upon, and frequently

for a trifling dereliction of duty.

84

McCarthy makes the point that it was no easy matter in those days for a Chaplain to do his duty when energy and zeal

were called enthusiasm and fanaticism and frequently, by a godless martinet in command, made the subject of ridicule

and complaint at Headquarters; The Word and the Sword


31

The former Secretary, who at one stage was a seaman, goes on:

“In times when such a debasing mode of punishment was in constant requisition for the most

trivial offences, what hope could there be for the progress of religion amongst the men or their

officers?

Yet still more evidence that the circulation of the Scriptures can produce a significant change comes later in

the book. A General Officer, who commanded the 73rd

Regiment for three years in India, stated:

During that period he had never had occasion to punish a single man; each soldier possessed

his Bible; and the regiment was not more conspicuous for gallantry in the field, than

distinguished for sober, steady conduct of the men in quarters.

The Rev C P McCarthy also records that the late Duke of Wellington, in granting permission to have the

Scriptures placed in barrack rooms, said:

I have no doubt Bibles and Testaments will do good. When I was a Subaltern, there was no such

thing; and no one but he who has been eye witness to the fact, can form a comparison as to the

moral improvements … I have no doubt a great deal may be attributed to the efforts of your

Society in circulating the Scriptures.

These years again saw British troops serving in theatres near at home as well as in the far-flung outposts of the

empire and the world. This comes through in the 1862 report:

In the last three years, 100,000 Bibles and 13,000 New Testaments have been issued to our

home military depots. And also to the following stations:

Bengal, Madras, Bombay, Canada, Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, Hong Kong, Barbados,

Newfoundland, New Zealand, and military schools on the Gambia.

As already indicated, many overseas battle areas jostle to claim our attention. However, first you must see a

letter which sheds a ray of light on the home front distribution in 1862.

A London City missionary (who laboured especially among the troops quartered in London – at a time, to

quote the report, when it was alleged on high authority that immorality prevails to a most alarming extent in

our camps) wrote to C P McCarthy:

Reverend Sir,

On behalf of the soldiers of the several Corps but especially the Guards and Marines, I thank

you for the supply of Scriptures … your efforts have been blessed to the conversion of many.

Recently a Corporal-Major of the 2nd

Life Guards told me that they had not had a prisoner in

the guard-room for the last five months! He believed it to be the effect of the Scriptures.

He goes on….

While visiting troops in Windsor, I called on a Christian lady who said she remembered the

time when the Guards were looked upon as a pest by the inhabitants of Windsor, but now they

were setting an example of morality … She believed it was, in great measure, due to the

distribution of the Scriptures …

1867 was the year in which HRH the Duke of Edinburgh KG consented to become Patron and Field Marshal

HRH the Duke of Cambridge KG, Commander in Chief of the Forces, became Vice-Patron. This is an extract

from a Chaplain’s letter from Aldershot…..

Allow me to mention that although by Queen’s regulations each soldier is served with a Bible

once in ten years as part of his kit, yet he can hardly lend it to his wife or children, having to

exhibit it without damage. Unless, therefore, the wives, daughters and boys are provided from

some other source, they virtually possess no Bible, nor is there any class to whom a grant of

Bibles may be more profitably made.


32

The appeal would meet with a quick response today, as it did then! Entries in the 1867 report85

show that a

lively interest was taken in the dependents of Navy and Army personnel.

Finally, a glance at an extract from 1868 throws light on the circulation:

Since the institution of the Society in 1780 the number of Holy Scriptures issued amount to

1,025,905. When we consider the small, the very small, beginning, we can only echo the words

“Who shall despise the day of small things?86

”

In addition, new entries were not forgotten: the 1872 report shows 50 New Testaments to boys entering the

Royal Navy at Torquay.

In 1875, the Society again gathered encouragement from the Chaplain-General when Bishop Piers Claughton

accepted the office of Vice-President.

85

25 Bibles to Girls’ School, Royal Marines, Gosport; 50 New Testaments to the Sunday School, Royal Military Asylum,

Chelsea; The Sailors’ Sunday School at Lowestoft 24 Bibles and 82 New Testaments; The Sailors’ and Marines’ Sunday

School at Plymouth 24 Bibles and 49 New Testaments.

86 Zechariah 4:10 Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the

earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel? (NIV)


33

Chapter 6 – Battle Areas

This chapter will cover just four of the many battle areas that unfold in the records.

Crimea

This war came about in 1854 as a result of what was described as ‘The Eastern Question.’ The 1855 report

says:

Many Militia Regiments are being embodied for permanent duty; enlistment is going on for the

Cavalry, Artillery and Regiments of the Line; a hundred ships and vessels of war will float in

the Baltic Sea alone irrespective of the Black Sea Fleet, and numerous vessels in every quarter

of the globe …

At this point a letter can be slipped in which comes from a Field Officer of the Royal Artillery who wrote:

I greatly rejoiced when I received the munificent supply of 1,000 New Testaments for the supply

of Artillerymen ordered to Turkey … they have been distributed … other Battalions and two

additional Companies for the Battalion train are being got ready for embarkation --- the

strength will be rather less than the first force and I would be grateful for 1,000 New

Testaments.

The second 1,000 were sent!

Tucked away in C P McCarthy’s book is a further sidelight on the Crimean distribution. The Secretary writes:

The Society’s circulation is for the most part undertaken by Protestant Chaplains in both

Services. In the Navy, many of our Post Captains undertake this duty. Captain Harris, who

commanded ‘The Illustrious’ at Portsmouth, told me he was enabled by the grants received to

supply every sailor who left his ship for that seat of war, with either a Bible or New Testament

and therefore felt deeply grateful for the existence of such an Institution.

However, the day dawned when the last shot had been fired in the Crimea. The Chairman’s

(Rear Admiral F Vernon-Harcourt) opening remarks at the Anniversary of 1856 portrayed the

event:

A year ago, the din of war was heard on every side. Now rejoicings for peace resound

throughout the land.

The China Wars

Of these, there were three although only the first deserves such a name. But as usual, wherever the British

fighting man went, the Naval & Military was quick to follow. At the 1863 annual meeting, Captain

Fishbourne announced that supplies had been sent for distribution to various hospital ships and to places on

the Chinese Station. Again, the 1874 report states 9,000 portions were sent to the China Squadron.

The Ashanti Expedition

The 94th report records:

Free grants given during the year and among the special destinations were … the ‘Victor

Emmanuel’ and ‘Sarmatia’ carrying troops for the Ashanti (1873-4) Expedition …87

Ascension Island

At the 94th anniversary meeting with the Marquis of Cholmondeley in the Chair, the Rev Hugh McSorley RN

said:

Twenty years ago, while living on the Island of Ascension, I was much struck with the need of

Bibles and New Testaments. That need was amply supplied by the Naval-Military Bible Society.

Elsewhere, Mr McSorley lifts the veil and enables us to see him in action. He says:

87

The Third Anglo-Ashanti War lasted from 1873 to 1874.


34

I was sent in 1859 as Naval Chaplain to the Island of Ascension. In the following year an

African King came to the Island with his Queen and a retinue of seven male servants and three

female. I thought this was an opportunity to try the materials on the African mind. I took two of

the King’s male servants and taught them the alphabet. They succeeded so well that the other

five joined. I was happy at their success but in difficulty for suitable books. I believed the

Gospel of St John was as simple a book as any I could put into their hands, but where was the

supply? On rummaging through some books, I found to my great delight a parcel of upwards of

twenty New Testaments (which it was subsequently discovered had been sent out 27 years

earlier!) marked ……Naval & Military Bible Society- not to be taken off the island

I hope your Committee will not be angry with me for violating that rule! I gave a copy to each

of my pupils … I watched with the greatest pleasure the development of these poor people’s

minds as they read your New Testaments, and I thought that even though none was a soldier or

sailor, I was not doing wrong … ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters’88

was truly exemplified in this

case.

88

Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.


35

Chapter 7 – 1880 to 1910

The 100th anniversary report gave cause for thanksgiving as those present reflected how God had used the

years to enable thousands of copies of His Word to be placed in the hands of those who served their country.

Yet it was at the 101st Annual Meeting on 25 May 1881 that three speakers lifted the veil, enabling those who

follow later to glance back through the arches of the years.

The first was the Chairman, Major Sir Harry Verney, Bart, MP. Before taking us back to the earliest days, he

commenced with a personal reflection:

A great impression was made upon me when I was a boy by seeing Mr Wilberforce coming to

my father, who then lived at Kensington, to ask him to endeavour to persuade the Duke of York

to take the chair at a meeting of the Naval & Military Bible Society. I can recall exactly the

scene. You are all probably aware that Mr Wilberforce89

was a man of singular appearance

and I well recollect my feeling at seeing his curious distorted figure90

coming to my father with

that request.

Although the following extract has already been partly quoted, perhaps it should now be shown in full:

I now hold in my hand (exhibiting a book of timeworn appearance) the very earliest minutes of

its proceedings, minutes having been kept ever since November 1779. Here too is a list of the

earliest subscriptions: here is a request for a Bible from a private soldier: here is a request

from the 3rd

Guards, another from the 1st Guards: another from soldiers at Portsmouth: another

from some officers at Portsmouth on board the ship VICTORY: another from persons belonging

to the Royal Academy. Here too, I find the names of Captain Cartwright, Captain Cox and

others. And here is a letter written at Clapham by John Thornton …

The second speaker was Major Cooper Gardiner, who bore his testimony to the blessings resulting from the

Society’s operations, adding:

Being a military man I have attended many religious meetings held for the benefit of soldiers in

the neighbourhoods of Buckingham Palace Road91

. I have met there with a great number of the

Guards, privates and non-commissioned officers. And I have never seen any men who appeared

to be more impressed with the great truths of religion …

The third speaker was the Rev R C Halpin92

, formerly Chaplain to the Guards. He said:

The report of the free grant of 25 Bibles to the 7th Dragoon Guards reminded me of

something that occurred about 20 years ago when I was connected with that same

Regiment.

Every Tuesday morning, after the services on Sunday, I received an anonymous

letter, not criticising my remarks as the preacher but attacking Christianity, and

denying the very existence of Almighty God. At last it was discovered that this

atheistic correspondent was the notorious Mr Charles Bradlaugh (see image), who

was so zealous in propagating his lamentable views that he used to get up at night

to address the soldiers in the barrack room in atheistic orations. At last he became

89

H E Fosdick “The power to see it through” p. 66

90 Boswell on Wilberforce: I saw what seemed a mere shrimp mount upon the table; but, as I listened, he grew and grew

until the shrimp became a whale.

91 The hall near Buckingham Palace Road is almost certainly the one previously built on the same site as the Society’s

former headquarters at Radstock House, 5 Eccleston Street! Research has established that the only hall then in the area

was Eccleston Hall (built in 1884).

92 Robert Crawford Halpin attended Trinity College Dublin and, having abandoned a military career, went on to become

military chaplain at Arbour Hill Barracks in Dublin. He ended up as Chaplain to the Forces and personal chaplain to the

(next) Duke of Cambridge, living in Belsize Square, London.


36

a little too energetic for his own purpose. Attention having been called to what he was doing,

the thing was crushed and soon after Mr Bradlaugh left the service93

.

Join the Army and see the world!

If the above statement was true in the twentieth century, it was no less true in the nineteenth. To find out

where the British military fought, it is only necessary to read the Society’s reports!

In a recent Chapter, mention was made of the Crimea; India; China; Ascension Island and the Ashanti

Expedition but now a new set of names appear.

The 100th report recalls the opportunities presented by the First South African War

94, and Afghanistan

95 while,

in 1881, Bermuda96

and Egypt97

are in the news, while India continued to claim attention.

Egyptian Campaign, 1882

The campaign of 1882 was a striking success for Sir Garnet Wolseley … It was short, with less than two

months elapsing between the decision to send a British expeditionary force to Egypt in July 1882 and the

‘crowning mercy’ of Tel-el-Kebir in September. The British forces suffered no appreciable check from start to

finish. Compared with the preceding Zulu and Afghan campaigns … the Egyptian Campaign went so

smoothly that public opinion was overjoyed and Wolseley himself always looked upon the campaign as the

best managed expedition in British military history.98

Egypt continued to claim attention in 1888 and 1889; in the former year, 200 New Testaments were sent to the

King’s Own Scottish Borderers.

Bishop Taylor Smith

A former President of the Society

Appointed Bishop on the command of Queen Victoria herself for bringing back a death-bed

message from Prince Henry of Battenburg to Princess Louisa, Taylor Smith had been Cannon

of Sierra Leone and accompanied General Wolseley’s forces against the Ashanti forces. This

was his sole military experience before being appointed Chaplain-General by the Queen, in

1901. He held the appointment for 25 years and, when from time to time it was suggested he

should retire, he hurried to his safe and drew out the Royal warrant! “It was not the Army,” he

retorted “which made me Chaplain-General but the Queen!”

93

Charles Bradlaugh MP (26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was a political activist and one of the most famous

English atheists of the 19th century. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866. He enlisted as a soldier with the

Seventh Dragoon Guards hoping to serve in India and make his fortune. Instead he was stationed in Dublin. In 1853, he

was left a legacy by a great-aunt and used it to purchase his discharge from the army. He went on to become a Member of

Parliament for Northampton, an event which resulted in new laws covering oaths and affirmations in Courts and

Parliament. Charles Bradlaugh was the last MP to be detained in a locked room in the Clock Tower at the Palace of

Westminster (now known as the Elizabeth Tower and housing Big Ben), after he refused to leave the Chamber of the

House of Commons, in 1880. The desk which Bradlaugh used to pour out his atheistic literature became the property of

the Naval & Military Bible Society! It came as a gift from Mr Mark Nutter of Winchester, an energetic lay visitor to

Army personnel during the first and second World Wars, and that same desk is the one on which this history was

originally written! Unfortunately, the current whereabouts of the desk is not known.

94 1050 New Testaments and 650 Portions to the Royal Marines embarking for Zululand. 280 Portions to the troops at

Natal and 215 Portions to the Royal Artillery at Natal (1880 report)

95 280 Portions to the 1

st Rifle Brigade embarking for Afghanistan (1880 report)

96 150 New Testaments to the 99

th Regiment proceeding to Bermuda (1881 report)

97 377 Bibles and New Testaments for seamen, marines and troops; 200 New Testaments to 4

th Dragoon Guards; 300

New Testaments to Army Scripture Readers; 100 New Testaments to 74th

Regiment; 140 Portions to 4th

Dragoon Guards;

500 Portions to seamen and marines; 100 Portions to the Royal Marine Artillery – in each case being marked “for troops

proceeding to Egypt.” (1882 report)

98 Mr J Williams, Victorian Military Campaigns, p. 243


37

Difficult years for the Society

If it is true that a straw tells the way the wind is blowing, then an unbiased chronicler must admit that the

slowing down of the Society’s activities should have come as no surprise to its early twentieth century

supporters. The scanty annual reports sound forth their own warnings:

1901 - … The Committee regret that the Balance Sheet does not shew [sic] an increase of

income, it is however satisfactory to know there has been no necessity for encroaching on the

limited invested capital of the Society.

1902 – The income of the Society for the year was £3 more than it was in the previous year; it is,

however, much too small to admit of any great extension of the Society’s work.

1903 – The Committee regret that, owing to circumstances over which they have no control, the

work of the Society has fallen far short of its former magnitude; nevertheless, they confidently

believe that, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, much good may still be done by the slender

means at their disposal…. The Committee have regretfully to report a falling off of £17 in the

receipts, as compared to those of the previous year, while the expenditure was £78 more. This

excess of expenditure over income will necessitate the sale of some of the invested capital to

meet the demands which will arise before the year closes, unless help from other sources is

received.

1904 – There was a falling of in the income of the Society as compared to that of the preceding

year of £9 1s 7d, at the same time the expenditure was less than the income by £12 7s 3d. The

receipts only amounted to £313 3s 8d, a sum altogether out of proportion to the work that might

be accomplished, were the means placed at the disposal of the Committee of a more liberal

quantity.

1905 - …. The year commenced with a debit balance of £107… close the year with a balance in

hand of £130…

1906 - … an excess of expenditure over income of £57…

Although in 1906 the Hon Secretaries were Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock and Colonel Finch White, the

powerful auxiliaries of earlier years have almost disappeared; the strong Anglican representation seems to

have belonged to the past and, not surprisingly, the financial support was but a pale shadow of the days when

the Rev William Romaine travelled the length and breadth of the country, or in the mid-nineteenth century

when the energetic Charles P McCarthy was very much alive. However, among the many uncertainties, one

certainty remained: it was that if God wants a Society to carry on – carry on it will!

Ups and Downs

Or should it be downs and ups? Be that as it may, few Societies have it all plain sailing. As already indicated,

it was in the late nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth that the Society struck it’s most

difficult patch. There was practically no income other than dividends upon investments and the Secretary and

few remaining Trustees were elderly. However, if man had lost his interest, God’s over-shadowing remained.

Thus it was that in the year 1910, the Naval & Military Bible Society was entrusted by the Charity

Commissioners to the care of the Scripture Gift Mission; a mission founded in 1888 to spread the Scriptures.

This proved to be a God-inspired decision for hundreds of thousands of pounds were given by its Council to

sustain this ministry.


38

Chapter 8 – The First World War

The First World War99

Someone has said the Society has a vested interest in Wars! One fact is certain: war provides a great

opportunity for any organisation serving HM Forces and the 1914-18 war was no exception. What is more, the

revitalised Navy and Military Bible Society thought so too. Although 1910 was one of the Society’s least

effective years, there were still close links with the Services. For instance, in 1907, Admiral Sir Leopold

McClintock KCB was the Hon Secretary and Archdeacon HS Woods, Chaplain of the Fleet, was on the

Committee and thus contact was maintained with the Royal Navy.

A feature of the First World War distribution was that messages, commending the reading of the Scriptures,

were printed on the fly leaf of many editions. This idea actually had its origin two years earlier, in 1912, when

the Rev Francis Brading wrote to the Secretary of HM King George V. In due course, the following reply,

written at Windsor Castle, was received:

Dear Sir,

I have had the honour of submitting your letter to the King and I am directed to inform you, in

reply. It is quite true that he promised Queen Alexandra as long ago as 1881 that he would read

a chapter of the Bible daily and that he had ever since adhered to his promise.

Yours very truly,

Knollys

In 1914, this letter was printed on the fly leaf of the Gospels. As the result of this Royal message, other

messages were given.

Lord Roberts, Commander in Chief of the British Army, gave in his own handwriting, the

following message:

I ask you to put your trust in God. He will watch over you and strengthen you. You will find in

this little book guidance when you are in health, comfort when you are in sickness and strength

when you are in adversity.

Roberts F M

The New Testament for soldiers was followed by a special pocket edition for sailors, embossed with the crest

of the Royal Navy and containing an introductory message from Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who wrote from

the flagship HMS IRON DUKE:

Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God

is with thee withersoever thou goest. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour

the King.

Yours very truly,

J W Jellicoe

As the conflict proceeded, women offered their services and there were organised groups known as the

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) to undertake suitable duties for the Army. The women’s branch of

the Navy was known as the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS). For both of these, a special edition of the

New Testament was provided, with the appropriate crest. Later, when the Royal Air Force was constituted as a

separate arm of the British military forces, its women’s branch became known as the Women’s Auxiliary Air

Force (WAAF). Queen Mary showed personal interest in these publications, particularly for the members of

the WAAC and expressed this in a letter to the Secretary.

As the British Navy and Army increased in strength and equipment, the sailors and soldiers were sent to far-

flung stations; some to the frozen North of Canada; others to guard the Khyber Pass to Afghanistan; still

others to the mountains of Greece and the steppes of Russia; while others fought the Turks in the Gaza desert.

For these, selected books of the Bible were prepared which held special interest to those engaged in operations.

99

Much of the information contained in this chapter comes from “The History of the Scripture Gift Mission” – limited

edition for private circulation, 1960


39

For instance, the Epistles to the Thessalonians were printed together in one book and distributed to the troops

in Greece to which the Chaplain-General, Bishop Taylor Smith, wrote an introduction:

I heartily commend to your careful and prayerful reading these two Epistles – the earliest of St

Paul’s writings. They form an assuring link between those who have fallen asleep in Jesus and

those who await His call or His return. ‘Hope’ is the keyword to both letters.

J Taylor Smith

Bp CG

April 20, 1917

A second volume, prepared for troops in Palestine, was the Book of Joshua and the Epistle to the Galatians –

with a map of Palestine – to which Bishop Handley Moule, a former President of the Society, wrote a

foreword:

Here is a sheaf from the cornfield of Scripture. When thought and prayer have made it into

bread it will feed faith and courage. Joshua tells of a Palestine Campaign; it records deeds of

destruction, for Palestine then was a moral cancer and had to be cut out. But it tells of glorious

deeds of faith too, and see chapter six for a splendid story of faithful keeping of a compact, no

‘scrap of paper’ business. Galatians and Hebrews take us straight to Christ, our secret for all

that is good, our pardon, purity and power in the war with devil, world and flesh.

Handley Dunelm

November 19, 1917

In summary, it is clear that World War I presented the Society with great opportunities, thanks to the co-

operation of high-ranking Church and Service personnel and hundreds of faithful distributors.


40

Chapter 9 – 1938 and the Second World War

1938

That was the year the war clouds, which had for long threatened on the distant horizon, forced the

Government to make some additional preparation. The Militia and volunteer force outside the Territorial

Army, having no peace time commitment but who guaranteed to mobilize in the event of war, was formed.

Although the activity in this section cannot be compared with that which so speedily followed, one fact

remains beyond dispute, namely that the raising of the Militia helped to stir ‘the old lady’ of Britain’s Bible

Societies in to action and prepare for the tragic and arduous years which lay so near at hand. Editions were

produced which paved the way for the many that were soon to be carried on the battlefields of Europe, Africa,

the Far East; as well as above, below and on the oceans and seas. They were carried to the fighting fronts by

aircraft, submarine and warship. They were even dropped by parachute to Colonel Wingate’s Chindits in the

Burmese jungle.

It was about this time that the Rev J R Walkey, Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force (1934-1940), came

to the Society’s headquarters with two of his colleagues to ask the Committee to produce a selection of daily

Bible readings which could be bound into the back of each New Testament. In 1945, the Rev J R Walkey

became the Society’s first post-war Chairman. He is regarded as one of the best loved Service Chaplains ever

to wear uniform and a story originally told by the then Chaplain-in-Chief, the Venerable F W Cocks, at his

Memorial Service at St Clement Danes is retold here:

A young Chaplain who used to enter Mr Walkey’s office each morning in the days when the

latter was Senior Station Chaplain, said: ‘When I went into his office, I never knew whether Jim

Walkey would be down on his knee in aid of his Spiritual health, or standing on his head in aid

of his physical health.’100

The Second World War

In 1939, King George VI issued the following message which was printed in all of the Society’s editions:

To all serving in my Forces by sea, land or in the air and indeed to all my people engaged in the

defence of the Realm, I commend the reading of this book. For centuries the Bibles has been a

wholesome and strengthening influence in our national life, and it behoves us in these

momentous days to turn with renewed faith to the Divine source of comfort and inspiration.

Demands soon reached the Society from many quarters for crested editions. As well as those for the Royal

Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, there were editions for the Allies such as the French and Polish, as

well as the WRNS, the ATS and the WAAF. Indeed, it was not long before requests were received for Fire

Service, Police and ARP crested editions, to name but a few! Sir Winston Churchill said:

If the people of this island are not all in the firing line, they are all in the line of fire!

Thus the Society served all the services, armed and unarmed.

However, printing the editions required paper and this commodity, like many others, was in short supply.

Indeed it was hardly there at all. At this point, representations were made to the Staff Chaplains who

succeeded in obtaining supplies. One name in particular should be mentioned in this regard: Rev Bunny

Davies (Staff Chaplain at the War Office), later to be tragically killed in a car accident.

On 6 June, 1944 the Allies returned to Normandy prepared to do battle with the forces of Hitler. During the

months prior to the invasion, supplies had been prepared for what was to become, for Service Chaplains, a

great opportunity. One who accompanied the invading Force wrote from the Normandy beaches:

While we were on the barge waiting to make the great landing … the copies of the New

Testament you gave me were being read. No man was ashamed to be seen reading the word of

God during those hours of suspense.

100

See The History of the Scripture Gift Mission (Limited edition for private circulation, 1960) and early post Second

World War Annual Reports


41

A Second World War prayer found on the body of an American soldier in a shell hole on the battlefield of

Tunisia:

Look God,

I have never spoken to you.

And now I want to say: “How do you do?”

You see, God, they told me you didn’t exist

And like a fool I believed all this.

Last night from a shell hole I saw your sky

I figured right then they had told me a lie.

Had I taken time to see things you made

I’d have known they weren’t calling a spade a spade.

I wonder God if you’d shake my hand?

Somehow I feel you will understand.

Funny, I had to come to this hellish place

Before I had time to see your face.

I like you lots, this I want you to know.

Look now, this will be a horrible fight.

Who knows? I may come to your house tonight.

Though I wasn’t friendly to you before

I wonder God if you’d wait at your door?

Look, I’m crying! Me, shedding tears.

I wish I’d known you these many years.

Well, I have to go now God, Goodbye!

Strange, since I met you – I’m not afraid to die.

At the close of the Second World War, the Society was serving about 2,000 Chaplains and Lay Workers. A

former Chaplain of the Fleet, Bishop John Armstrong CB OBE, wrote:

The Church in the Royal Navy has every reason to be grateful to the Naval and Military Bible

Society for its spontaneous offer of help during World War II. In peace time, the need for an

intelligent understanding of the Bible is very great. I wish the Society every success …

In 1939, the Chaplain of the Fleet, the Venerable Archdeacon Thomas Crick, made known to all Naval

Chaplains the good news that copies of the New Testament and portions of the Holy Scriptures were available

from the Society on request. This generous offer was gladly accepted by the Chaplains of HM Ships and shore

establishments, and of the Royal Marines. Many young men at sea, protected only by the steel hull of their

ships, found it tremendously helpful to be able to put on the whole armour of God through the reading of the

Scriptures in their quieter moments. In a Destroyer Flotilla of eight ships, for instance, the Flotilla Chaplain

was able to distribute the Scriptures provided by the Society, thus making a valuable point of contact with his

scattered parishioners. The Society’s publications were also of great value in the various formations of the

Royal Marines under training in isolated camps in Scotland, Wales and the West Country. Men in hospitals,

who had been wounded in action, were always grateful for a gift of a New Testament as a mental stimulus to

recovery and revelation of God through His Divine Son, Jesus Christ.

From the Church of Scotland and Free Churches Branch, a former Principal Chaplain, the Rev R G Williams

CBE BA RN, wrote:

Early in the Second World War I was serving in a Naval New Entry Training Establishment when the Naval and

Military Bible Society made their very generous offer to supply New Testaments in attractive navy blue binding

with a naval crest on the front, for distribution among the sailors. Of course, we Chaplains were very happy to

accept, and we tried to ensure that every man going off to sea took with him a copy. In this way thousands of

copies were distributed, and, although we made it a condition that those who accepted a New Testament should

undertake to read it, such were the times that I cannot remember a trainee refusing a copy. With their owners,

the Testaments went into all parts of the World and were a source of inspiration, comfort and strength in all

sorts of difficult circumstances – on the Russia and Malta convoys, in various Naval battles and the Normandy

landings. They were read at a daily service in an open boat under a tropical sun by men whose ship had been

torpedoed and who, as day succeeded day, found strength ebbing and hope fading. They were read by men who

had been wounded and were gravely ill. They were read by men who had seen a comrade killed before their eyes,

and by men who had been informed of the death, by bombing, of a loved one at home. They were read in

Prisoner of War camps in Europe and the Far East …


42

Chapter 10 – 1946 – 1950

Before delving deeper, space must be found to answer an important question; namely, was the opportunity

among HM Forces to be fully grasped in the days immediately ahead or was the Society to be allowed to slip

quietly away only to be resurrected again when fresh war clouds assembled? Fortunately, there was little

doubt about the answer. The 1945 Committee, headed by the Rev J R Walkey CBE MA KHC, decided that

the opportunity must be grasped.

In 1946, a Travelling Secretary was appointed and immediately set out on the first of his many journeys –

which in thirty years covered one million miles – to make the word of God available to HM Forces as much in

the days of an uneasy peace as it had been in the noisier and more dangerous days of conflict. It has been said

that the Travelling Secretary began at a very good time and also at a very difficult time. This was undoubtedly

true for, on the one hand, nearly every other Chaplain contacted was what was called “Group Happy”101

and

who could blame them after years of war service and family separation; on the other hand, to begin in 1946

was a good time for it meant that the Society’s representative was meeting some Chaplains who were to

remain in the services long after main demobilisation was over.

At this point, circumstances greatly favoured the Society. First, the Chief Staff Chaplain and the Staff

Chaplain at the War Office, Reverends W D C Williams and James E Sexton, both gave every possible

support. Indeed it is very difficult to over-estimate the part they played. Second, a meeting was soon arranged

with the Chaplain-General, the Rev Canon F Ll Hughes, whose rise to fame in the Royal Army Chaplains’

Department was almost as dramatic as that of Field Marshall Montgomery himself. Indeed, Canon Hughes

owed much to the famous Field Marshall for everywhere “Monty” went, he demanded that Freddie Hughes, as

he was affectionately known, should be his senior Chaplain. “Come in” beamed Canon Hughes, and “Come in”

was more than a welcome to his office or even to the Royal Army Chaplains’ Depot, which had just opened at

Bagshot Park. It was a “Come in and help the Chaplains’ Department”. The doors then opened have remained

open ever since. A clue to the third circumstance has been given – the establishment of the Royal Army

Chaplains’ Depot at Bagshot Park.

At this point, it should be mentioned that the same welcome was extended to the Society’s peace-time

activities by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. As already indicated, all through the war years every

possible help had been forthcoming, thus it was by no means surprising when an invitation was received to

speak at RN and RAF Conferences. Visits to the Royal Air Force Chaplains’ School at Dowdeswell Court,

near Cheltenham, and later to Amport House, near Andover, became and have remained a regular occurrence.

Again, these were the days when Padres’ Hours – which commenced in the days of conflict – were highly

organised. Some ‘hours’ were so large they were held in hangars holding 500 plus, others were so small there

were less than a dozen present.

At the request of the Chaplains, the Gospel of St Mark was produced in paragraph form. This was called by

the Rev V J Pike, at that time Assistant Chaplain-General of Western Command and later Chaplain-General,

‘a sprat to catch a mackerel’. How many mackerels were caught will never be known but hundreds of

thousands of ‘sprats’ were distributed.

The paragraph Gospel approach gave a fillip to Bible reading. A Naval Chaplain wrote:

My deep thanks for the further gift of Gospels of St Mark. They are extremely popular and I find

that the men take them and read them … some have requested copies of the New Testament and

the Bible following the introduction through the separate Gospels.

Of those days, the Travelling Secretary wrote:

I shall never forget a conference of Royal Air Force Chaplains held soon after the war at Ridley

Hall, Cambridge. It was the night that paragraphed Mark, complete with RAF crest, made its

first public appearance. At the end of the talk, questions were invited. As far as I can remember,

there was only one question. It was: ‘If we give the Gospels out as you say – won’t there be a

large wastage?’ The idea was to give a Gospel at the end of Padre’s Hour to any who promised

101

Demobilisation from the Services was by Groups and these groups included Chaplains.


43

to read it. It was pointed out that St Mark’s record would take about 40 minutes to read through

at one sitting. This would ensure that the Serviceman could, if he so desired, go away with a

portion of the Scripture and, while there was a risk that the promise would not be kept, it was

‘discriminate distribution’ compared with the idea of some (although not this Society) of giving

out Bibles and New Testaments to all and sundry. But back to the question, or rather the answer

which forty odd Chaplains were demanding: “Gentlemen,” I began “Did you preach last

Sunday?” The answer was “Yes.” Next question, “Gentlemen, will you all be preaching next

Sunday?” I think they smelt a rat because they were not so quick to reply. Third question, “If

you knew the wastage in your Sermon last Sunday, would you …?” I did not need to go on! I am

delighted to report that most of those present queued to order Gospels – the only time I can

recall that happening in nearly thirty years!

A tribute must be paid to the Chaplains’ Branches of the three services for the courtesy received, not only at

this time but since. This can hardly be better illustrated than in the story of the Chaplain who, in the late

nineteen forties, heard the Travelling Secretary’s lengthy talk FIVE times! The latter says:

“It so happened, I went to BAOR102

and in due course arrived at RAF headquarters. My talk

was timed for immediately after lunch but during lunch I spotted this Chaplain. he waved

enthusiastically. My spirits sank! ‘Look,’ I pleaded when eventually we met, ‘You are not

coming in to my talk.’ ‘I am,’ he announced firmly.’ ‘oh, don’t!’ I pleaded again. But I could see

it was of no use. ‘Well, if you must come, please sit right at the back.’ ‘I shall sit where I like!’

he answered. ‘And where will that be?’ I asked. ‘In the front row.’ ‘Whereabouts in the front

row?’ ‘Right in the middle and while you are speaking, I am going to look up into your face!’

‘Are you going to do anything else?’ I asked in desperation. ‘Yes, when you forget, I shall

prompt you!’

It was in the latter part of this decade that the TWO KINGS PLAQUE was produced. This consisted of

photographs of Kings George V and VI together with their messages as to the value of the word of God. Like

the Coronation Plaque – so soon to follow – it was used extensively by Service Chaplains and Laymen.

It was about this time that the Chaplain-General wrote a foreword to the Society’s information booklet:

The War Office

LONDON W1

1 December 1950

The Naval and Military Bible Society has been one of our very best friends. Chaplains have

been enabled to give Bibles, New Testaments and separate Gospels to soldiers all over the

world. What these have done is beyond all estimation. I do urge all Chaplains to make full use

of this most generous offer to provide copies of the Holy Scriptures, for us to give to men who

desire to read them.

F Ll Hughes

Chaplain-General

Opportunities like the First and Second World Wars pass but others, such as National Service and the 1952

Mission to the Royal Air Force, rise to take their place.

102

British Army on the Rhine – British troops stationed in Germany


44

Chapter 11 – 1951 to 1960

National Service

The outstanding opportunity of the nineteen fifties was undoubtedly National Service. This was the

compulsory call up of all young men of eighteen to serve for a period of two years, although at one time it was

only eighteen months, in the Army or the Royal Air Force. It began in 1947 and ended in 1962.

It will at once be realised that this presented the Chaplains’ Departments, which apart from times of war had

never been so big, and the Society with a unique opportunity. These were the days when the youth of the

nation was required to serve in the Armed Forces and to hear the word of God. What happened? The full story

will never be told but the Rev J Winn Haswell, a Methodist Chaplain serving at the Royal Air Force station at

Cardington, wrote:

“A Padre with pilot’s ‘wings’ from the Royal Corps of Flying days, with medal ribbons from

two World Wars, yet still little over fifty and frequently seen on the football field, must have

seemed a strange sight to the glazed eyes of young National Servicemen in 1954, though I was

far too busy at the time to give the matter a thought! Each week, several hundred new entries

arrived at the Reception Centre on the first of their 730 days of compulsory membership of the

Royal Air Force. Their mood was resentful; at the entrance gates they had read (in

imagination!) ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here.’ They stepped into this strange new world

obsessed with thoughts of interrupted careers, separation from home and the seeming eternity

of two ‘wasted’ years. It was interesting to notice the shock they received when ‘The Padre’

(Who’s he?) was one of the first lecturers they were required to hear; his theme that some of the

lessons they would learn would be remembered with gratitude all their lives was perhaps heard

somewhat cynically. However, then came a reminder that thousands of their predecessors had

come this way in recent years knowing that the service required might terminate only when war

ended or, if earlier, by injury or violent death.

I recall vividly a heart-warming response to such a challenge and, since I was privileged to

make closer, though brief, contact with about one-third of their number (those attested Free

Church personnel), I was able to follow this initial word with a more fundamental testimony to

the Faith which has sustained me along a similar road, though far longer, more arduous and

perilous!

As far as possible, my ‘flock’ were met on arrival, pursued into their huts in leisure time (of

which there was little!). They chiefly discovered my pastoral interest and availability at their

initial lecture and the Church service to which I invited them.

Now, as I recall those desperately busy two years, I remain convinced that some 30,000 young

men heard my words of welcome, warning and encouragement; that a similar number

worshipped – with sincerity – on that first Sunday of their strange new life; and that the

majority prized the Bibles and New Testaments – mostly the latter – which they bought at low

cost by the generosity of the Naval & Military Bible Society. What is more, I am certain many

parents, wives and girlfriends heard something about heart-warming discoveries unexpectedly

made.

Scores of letters reached the Society’s headquarters during these years but here are extracts from two:

From RAF Biggin Hill 1958

The Gospels have been used to great effect at this Station. Some who received them have never

read the word of God before. It is a joy to see how eagerly they read.

From Transit Camp, Dovercourt 1958

The Scriptures are being distributed personally to those in the nearby camp. It is encouraging

to notice that some who received booklets at their previous camps take them out of their pockets,

thus showing they treasure them as personal possessions.


45

Mission to the Royal Air Force

This unique evangelistic effort took place in 1952 when Canon Leslie Wright – who later became a member of

the Naval & Military Bible Society Committee – was Chaplain-in-Chief. He had sought, and readily secured

from the Air Ministry, the necessary authority to hold the Mission. This support was maintained by the Air

Officers Commanding, e.g. Air Vice Marshal T Pike of the British section of the Allied Forces HQ at

Versailles attended each session of the Mission.

This resulted in small teams of missioners living for one week on almost every RAF Station in the United

Kingdom and overseas. Not surprisingly, the Society was privileged to share in the Mission. The Travelling

Secretary was invited to be a member of the RAF Mission Publications Committee and thus was able

personally to convey the message of its Chairman that the Society would be delighted to offer, free of charge,

a special Mission edition of 50,000 Gospels. This offer was immediately accepted and a special message for

insertion was prepared by the Chaplain-in-Chief and Principal Chaplains:

In this year of the Mission to the Royal Air Force, we commend to you this copy of the Gospel. We can think

of no single activity which would advance the cause of the Mission, or help you in your personal life more

than a regular and prayerful reading of the Bible.

HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Plaque

It will be remembered that 1953 was the year of HM Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. To mark the occasion, for

it presented the Society with a unique opportunity, several hundred copies of a colourful plaque were

produced.

THE ROYAL LAW

These were well received by Chaplains and by canteen workers; and the invitation to apply for a copy of the

word of God resulted in many requests.


46

Pitcairn testimony

In 1955, Neil MacDonald was a crew member onboard the Blue Star Line ship MV English Star. The ship

called at Pitcairn Island to offload supplies on the way to New Zealand. The islanders were very friendly and

were well known for their trustworthiness whereas, in other ports, portholes had to be closed and deadlights

screwed down to prevent pilfering. The islanders sang Psalms as they unloaded the stores. Neil later informed

the Society that he was not a Christian at the time but had been challenged by hearing the Gospel through the

open portholes. Listening to God’s word in the Psalms sung by the Pitcairn islanders was just the catalyst

needed to help bring about his conversion in New Zealand later that year.

If the ‘Bounty Bible’ had not come into the hands of the Pitcairn people 160 years previously, would the

islanders have been singing Psalms whilst unloading the ship? Would the crew of the MV English Star have

left their portholes open? Would Neil have become a Christian at the end of 1955? Only God knows. The

witness of Christ in us, the hope of glory, is our greatest gift (Colossians 1:27).

Death of the Rev J R Walkey

1960 opened on a very sad note. The beloved J R Walkey, who became Chairman in 1945, passed away

before the year was one month old. How much the Society owes to his wise leadership and Christ-like

approach to each problem will never be fully known. As we wended our way with sad hearts from his funeral,

we reflected on those oft-heard words:

God buries His workers but carries on His work.

A Destructive Fire103

The Society’s headquarters during this period was at Radstock House but the building had not always been so

named.

Eccleston Hall was built by the third Baron Radstock, Grenville Augustus William Waldegrave, in 1884. He

was born in 1833 and died in 1913. During the First World War, the Radstock family opened the premises as a

rest centre for sailors and soldiers passing through that part of London. Thousands found a night’s sleep on the

forms which had previously been filled with listeners to Lord Radstock’s ministry. The other rooms were used

as canteens and places for quiet and prayer. Soon after the war, this hall became the headquarters of the

Scripture Gift Mission and, therefore, of the Naval and Military Bible Society; in view of the war-time

activities, a fitting home for the Society.

On Monday, 23 April 1956, two men came to service the gas cocks in the pavement outside Eccleston Hall.

Without warning, there was a shattering explosion and almost immediately the whole building was ablaze.

The gas, having percolated into the roof of the large assembly hall which was lined with pitch pine, carried the

flames from end to end. The loss was incalculable for almost everything in the building was destroyed by fire

and water, including some of the Society’s oldest records. Although all employed staff escaped, one visitor

was killed and her escort was burnt so badly, she did not return to work. A passing BBC Television unit

filmed the blaze. This became a news item in the evening and, within 48 hours, was shown in Canada and

subsequently New Zealand, annotated by the statement that this was largest day-time London fire since the

war.

In 1960, Eccleston Hall was re-built and re-named Radstock House. The Society, supported by the Radstock

family104

according to the 1836 report, moved in to the building bearing that honoured name.

103

From the History of the Scripture Gift Mission by C A Baker

104 Lady Dowager Radstock and the Rt Hon Lord Radstock


47

Chapter 12 - 1961 to 1970

A New Name

In 1961, as a result of representations from Senior Officers in the Royal Air Force, the Society's name was

changed to the "Naval Military & Air Force Bible Society". Thus the Service which, since 1945, had supplied

its two Chairmen was officially recognised in the title.

A New Chairman

In July 1961, the Rev Gerald Groves CBE, a former Principal of the Royal Air Force Chaplains' School and

the first President Chaplain of St Clement Danes when the famous "Oranges and Lemons Church" became the

Central Church of the Royal Air Force, accepted the unanimous invitation of the Committee to follow in the

steps of Bishop Taylor Smith and the Rev J R Walkey and became the Society's Chairman. The wisdom of the

Committee's decision was proved by events. Only those who worked closely with Gerald Groves know the

full value of his Chairmanship.

Three New Opportunities

In the sixties, three new opportunities knocked at the Society's door.

Pre-Service Units

The first was the open door to the Pre-service units. When National Service ceased, the work among the Sea

Cadet Corps, the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps really got under way. During the nineteen

fifties, there had been spasmodic attempts to get this section on the move but with the many calls from

National Service, time was always a limiting factor. However, when at length attention could be given, the

needed help was speedily forthcoming.

In the case of the Sea Cadet Corps, the Senior Chaplain was the Rev K N J Loveless RNR and together with

the Chaplain of the Fleet, the Venerable Archdeacon R W Richardson, played his part in opening the door. A

large SCC Chaplain's Conference was to be held at the RN College, Greenwich and the Travelling Secretary

decided this was an opportunity too good to miss and contacted the Chaplain of the Fleet. The following was

the Archdeacon's reply:

The Senior Sea Cadet Corps Chaplain is running the conference; the programme is full but

come along, stay the night and, when it comes to speaking, you shall have some of my time!

Many thousands of specially crested Gospels and other productions were freely granted to the 300 Chaplains

who bring the word of God to those who wear the Sea Cadet Corps uniform. Here are the words of one West

London SCC Chaplain:

We are deeply grateful to the NM&AFBS. Some of the booklets are being given to West Indians

and Asians in our unit. The Sikhs, of whom we have quite a few, are especially keen. The 250

Gospels and booklets arrived last week. The boys are especially keen on those bearing the Sea

Cadet crest. You are invaluable to us.

The Army Cadet Force section took much longer to organise, as the ACF in each County is autonomous, but

when things looked hopeless, two gentlemen came to the rescue. The first was Major J H East of the Army

Cadet Force Association in London and the second was the Rev W G Burns, Senior ACF Chaplain in Scotland.

The former opened door after door in England and the latter those North of the border. Since those days, visits

to ACF Conferences at Frimley Park and Edinburgh have been annual occasions and the ACF crested edition

and other supplies have found their way into many hands. Major East, also Secretary of the Army Cadet Force

Religious Advisory Panel, wrote:

The panel wish to record their thanks to the NM&AFBS for the help given to ACF Chaplains

over many years. In particular, Gospels and character training booklets distributed free of

charge are much appreciated.

Another Chaplain wrote from Lancashire:


48

Recently, you sent me 100 copies of St Luke's Gospel. I took these to our Cheshire ACF Camp at

which there were four Chaplains. We took the opportunity of distributing Gospels as we went

down the lines between 9.30 and 10.45 pm. The lads really clamoured for a copy. Much to my

surprise, no one seemed to think it funny that lads wanted to read God’s word.

A name that will always be connected with the Air Training Corps is that of the Rev Canon F H Woolnough,

the Corps Chaplain for over twenty years. In 1969, the Committee welcomed the Canon to its quarterly

meeting and the Chairman presented him with an ATC crested Bible bound in red covers. Both the Rev L W

Goulding, who followed the Canon as Corps Chaplain, and the Rev Canon J H Armstrong, who took over on

Mr Goulding's retirement, were very supportive. Mr Armstrong wrote:

Each year, a greater interest is being taken in the material produced by the NMAFBS. Many

ATC Chaplains are now taking supplies of booklets and Gospels to Annual Camp, where they

are used to support their Sunday services, daily prayers and Padre's discussion periods. The

'Good News' for Modern man translation is popular for Squadron work and the Easter and

Christmas booklets have gone well under their attractive covers. Crested New Testaments are

often given to new recruits when they are officially enrolled by their Chaplains.

A Chaplain in Sussex reported:

I find your publications excellent for my ATC work. In many cases, the contact the lads have

with me is the only real contact they have with the Christian faith. The response I receive from

the NM&AFBS is always 'express'. It is a source of tremendous encouragement to know the

Society - whose productions are always first class - stands solidly behind ATC Chaplains. I

sometimes wonder what we would do without you! I shall most certainly seek to interest my

congregation in your work.

In this period, a special booklet was produced for the Air Training Corps called "Let's Ask the Padre". This

also had an excellent reception and is still available in 2015!

Ghanaian Armed Forces

The second opportunity to be grasped in this decade resulted, not for the first time, in special editions being

prepared in English for an overseas nation – Ghana. Supplies of crested RSV Bibles, as well as crested

Gospels and other supplies were eagerly received by the Ghanaian Chaplains. Although this originally came

about as a result of visits to the United Kingdom by Ghanaian officers, the work was greatly helped in 1967

by the visit of Mr E A Cook to Ghana. He reported:

I was delighted but not a little apprehensive when, at the invitation of the Ghana Army, I was

asked to undertake a short tour yet little could I have guessed what a magnificent reception

awaited me. I visited each camp and conferred with Chaplains of all denominations. In

arranging the visit and, in the succeeding years, the fullest co-operation was received from

Ghana’s then Chaplain-General, the Rev J Kweku-Kyereboath, which laid the foundation for

the increasing distribution of the word of God among the Ghana Armed Forces.

That these editions were appreciated can be seen from the Rev J Kweku-Kyereboath’s letter on his retirement:

May I seize this opportunity to thank the Society for the friendship and service to the Ghana

Armed Forces. There is always a large demand for the crested Bibles. I wish you God’s

guidance in distributing Scriptures among the Armed Forces of the World.

Once again, links with Ghana continue in 2015.

Character Training Booklets

The third outstanding event was the production of character training booklets. During a visit to the Committee

in 1968 by the Chaplain-General, the Venerable Archdeacon J R Youens, the character training scheme was

mentioned. Immediately, the Chairman offered every possible support and within a few hours, the Travelling

Secretary visited Bagshot Park for consultation with the Deputy Warden, the Rev D B Dougall. Shortly

afterwards, a Joint Committee, consisting of representatives of the Royal Army Chaplains Department and the

NM&AFBS, was set up under the Chairmanship of the Rev Canon Frank Colquhoun. Some of the booklets


49

proved to have a far wider appeal than could possibly have been envisaged when the first series was

considered. They were distributed to Army and Army Cadet Force Chaplains initially but, in 2015, are

distributed to all three Services and their associated cadets.

Here are two letters received as the result of this widespread distribution:

A soldier from Yorkshire wrote:

I have completed a Padre’s course on how religion affects my Army career. During this course,

I experienced a sudden interest in this subject; it seemed to be changing my whole attitude to

life. Before, I had nothing to build on but now I have something I can build on. I was given a

character training booklet and I notice there are others … will you please give me information

as to how I can obtain these.

Rev James Robson of Falkirk reported:

We made the first character training booklets the basis of our prayers, talks and sermons during

the fortnight of Annual Camp. There is no doubt that many of the boys – particularly those

without any close connections with the church – were visibly impressed by the booklets’

message. The two officers who went with the Lake District party were amazed at the interest the

booklets aroused in their group and in the wide-ranging discussion of the different aspects of

the Faith that followed.

The Chaplain-General’s willingness to help the Society and the Society’s desire to help the Royal Army

Chaplains Department are clearly demonstrable. The first is shown in the Archdeacon’s commendation which,

during his period of office, was in the Bible case standing in the hall of the Royal Army Chaplain’ Depot at

Bagshot Park, Surrey:

Ministry of Defence

Lansdowne House

Berkeley Square

London W1

29 April 1970

The Army and its Chaplains have good reason to be very grateful to the Naval Military & Air

Force Bible Society. For nearly 200 years they have made it possible for Servicemen down

through the years to be handed the written word of God. And now the Scriptures are available

in the most recent translations. Furthermore, the Society has supported our character training

project by the provision of booklets giving Scriptural backing to the subjects chosen.

It is literally impossible to estimate the spiritual impact on the lives of perhaps millions of

Servicemen who have “received the word of God” through the sustained generosity and devoted

work of the Society.

John Youens

Chaplain-General


50

Chapter 15 – More about the Nineteen Seventies

It is the Society’s privilege to serve Missioners from several Societies; here are two tales from those who go

down to the sea in ships to witness. Mr Walter Burrell of the Seamen’s Christian Friend Society105

wrote:

Thanks to the co-operation I always receive from the NMAFBS, I have distributed Scriptures to

men from all over the world. Indeed, when one thinks of the many lands now closed to the

Gospel, the potential of this work is enormous. Sometimes, the crew of one ship is made up of

ten nationalities! I continually see God’s word come alive in the hands of seamen as they read

the Scriptures. The opportunities abound on the docks; each gangway is an open door. It was

great to see a Spanish seaman on deck engrossed in reading a Gospel well over half an hour

after receiving it.

A Chaplain at the Mission to Seamen tells of the distribution at a sea training school in Gravesend:

The booklets have stimulated much thought. At Easter, nearly all the lads received ‘Three days

that shook the world.’ There are many stories I could tell here but they would take far too much

paper but you will realise I have found the booklets of great help --- I have also found them

useful in a Sunday morning service as part of the reading and the lads have taken the booklets

away.

Two booklets were produced early in the seventies – ‘Ten minutes before Watch’ and ‘I had to come back’. In

these productions, the Society was helped by the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen106

, who

provided the photographs. At the same time, every Christian worker knows there are frequently occasions when the situation calls for

what may be described as the hard slog. Perhaps it was while pondering such a situation that the Apostle wrote:

“Be not weary in well doing”.107

But then the clouds lift; the sun peeps through; the shadows recede and one

enters a period when blessings abound.

Yet such experiences have been few as far as those who served the Society in this decade were concerned. In

the words of those who sail the seas, it was a happy ship. Doors were opened that no Society of itself could

unlock and there were two unexpected opportunities.

The first was in 1973 – in connection with the overseas work. This consisted of 30,000 copies of the popular

Easter booklet ‘Three days that shook the world’ in Korean. These were eagerly welcomed by Chaplains in

the South Korean Army. The second was in connection with the tragic happenings in Northern Ireland. As the

world knows, no British military activity was more publicised at the time. The Rev Brian Wright, Chaplain to

the Forces, was stationed in Londonderry during a particularly difficult time. He wrote:

Days of danger can be days when men think more readily of spiritual truths. This cannot be due

to cowardice, for those same men show tremendous courage as with cool cheerfulness they go

about their duties. It is as if, when death is seen as a present possibility rather than a distant

certainty, God is more relevant. This has been the mood of many a platoon; Company or

Battery; or Squadron serving in this area. Chaplains have always accompanied their soldiers

on these tours of duty, and in their ministry have found the Scriptures sent from the Naval

Military & Air Force Bible Society a tremendous help. I have found it so meaningful to be able

to leave a copy of Today’s English Version of the New Testament in each location for which I

was responsible. This copy would then be used by the lesson reader at each Service.

Again, the booklets – prepared originally for the Army’s character training scheme – came as a useful aid in

pastoral work:

105

http://www.scfs.org/supporters/history/

106Now known as the Fishermen’s Mission http://www.fishermensmission.org.uk/

107 Galatians 6:9

http://www.scfs.org/supporters/history/

http://www.fishermensmission.org.uk/


51

Furthermore, Northern Ireland provided an opportunity for the Chaplain and soldier to enter

into a relationship that does not always happen elsewhere. In my kit, I always kept a supply of

former issues of the booklets and the conversation frequently turned in the direction when a

booklet could usefully be offered. One thinks of soldiers who had been killed or had a

remarkable escape in a bomb attack: on all such occasions a ‘word from the Lord’ is especially

relevant.

In addition to these dramatic occasions, there are many other opportunities for serious conversation. In

Northern Ireland, a soldier talks more readily to his Chaplain – ‘I was glad I met you. My wife and I regularly

read the Bible you gave me and I have now had to get one each for the children.’ So run a few lines from a

letter written by a soldier on returning from service in Londonderry. The seed often falls on good ground.

At this point it might be opportune to slip in a few extracts that reached the Society in 1975. The Rev George

L Cordiner, Officiating Chaplain to the Royal Air Force at Lossiemouth:

Your literature is well suited to meet the needs of those I serve. Let me express my gratitude for

your attention and concern for the spiritual well-being of our boys. The need is great and it is

encouraging to have a Society like yours behind us as we seek to present Christ.

The Rev W M Ritchie, Perthshire Army Cadet Force:

The supplies will be a great help. What a blessing the Gospels were at the Annual Camp. I

based my talks on incidents in the life of our Lord and offered Gospels to those who asked. I

was amazed at the number who came. Frequently, when I went into the barrack room the lads

were actually reading them in bed … I repeat, the boys were very responsive.

Mr Frank Crofts (Miss Daniell’s Soldiers’ Home, Aldershot108

):

Recently, a soldier came to our tea on a Sunday afternoon. He was a happy looking chap,

married with two children. I asked him if he was a Christian. ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘I am now. When

in Germany I met a Scripture Reader who told me of Christ’s power to save, but it was reading

the booklet ‘Crucified on Friday’ that really clinched the matter for me …’

St Clement Danes

During a visit by the Travelling Secretary to the then Chaplain-in-Chief (1969-73), the Venerable L J Ashton,

the latter suggested that a Bible Case, containing samples of the Society’s publications, be placed in St

Clement Danes109

, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force; an offer which was accepted by the Committee

with much enthusiasm. In due course, an illuminated case, itself the gift of RAF Cosford, was presented110

.

The result has been that many copies of the Scriptures have found their way into the hands of many former

Royal Air Force personnel.

Not surprisingly, this resulted in invitations being received to place Bible cases elsewhere. For instance, one

was placed in Dover Castle and as a result the following arrived on the Secretary’s desk:

Two years ago, during a visit to Dover Castle I saw copies of your News Sheet in the Chapel. I

had not heard of your work before but I have since sought to pray for you. I enclose £10

towards the work.

108

Miss Daniell's Soldiers' Homes (SASRA) Founded in 1863 to provide an alcohol free alternative to public houses

109 St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on

the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current

building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren. Wren's building was gutted during the Blitz and not restored

until 1958 when it was adapted to its current function as the central church of the Royal Air Force. The church is named

after St Clement, patron saint of mariners!

110 Sadly, there is no trace of this Bible case at St Clement Danes in 2015.


52

195th Anniversary Meeting

During a visit by the Chairman to meet the then

Deputy Chaplain-General, the Rev R John Cribb

QHC at the Ministry of Defence, the Chairman was

invited to hold the 195th Anniversary meeting at the

Royal Army Chaplains’ Department Centre at

Bagshot Park111

, on 12 June 1975.

To such an invitation, there could only be one

answer! Thus it was that on a glorious June

afternoon, a company of people gathered to give

thanks. Extracts of the Meeting Report follow:

The celebrations were divided into two.

First was the Report Meeting, which

was held in the unique Indian Room112

.

After a welcome by the Chairman (the Bagshot Park c. 1880

Rev Gerald Groves), on behalf of the Society, and by the Warden (the Rev Frank Johnston), on

behalf of the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department, the first speaker was the Chaplain-in-Chief of

the Royal Air Force, the Venerable J Hewitt Wilson. He said:

Since the foundation of the Royal Air Force, our Chaplains have always been splendidly served

by the Society. When I joined the RAF, I speedily saw the worth of your work. It was a great

help to have freely provided copies of the Gospels to pass on to the young men … When the RAF

Mission was held in 1952, the Society presented a special Mission edition of 50,000 crested

Gospels. I am delighted that the co-operation given then has continued and I know it will

continue.

The Rev John Creber, the Principal Church of Scotland and Free Churches Chaplain to the

Royal Navy, followed. After bringing birthday greetings, he spoke of the value of the work in

connection with the ministry of Chaplains in the Royal Navy and Sea Cadet Corps. He went on

to speak of the work carried out in the Naval Detention Quarters, where through reading copies

of the word of God, supplied by this Society, the lives of several young men have been

completely changed:

Recently, one of my Chaplains in the West Country told me of a recruit who committed an

offence. In due course, he confessed to the Commander. Asked why he had so confessed, he

explained that the Chaplain had given him a New Testament, the reading of which had

compelled him to change his way of life! He quoted the verse in 2 Cor. 5:17…

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away, behold all things

have become new.

111

The original Bagshot Lodge (not the present Lodge, visible on the public road at the entrance to the drive) was built

between 1631 and 1633. The original house was demolished in 1877-78, to make way for a new building with 120 rooms,

completed in 1879. From 1880 this was the principal residence of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, a

son of Queen Victoria. The Duke died at Bagshot Park in 1942 and the house was thereafter the regimental headquarters

and depot of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, who famously placed a notice by the pond reading "Please do not

walk on the water". They vacated the building shortly before the Earl and Countess of Wessex took over the tenancy

from the Crown. The original sign was removed when the chaplains left but a new one has replaced it.

112 A remarkable monument in the history of Indian taste in Britain: an Indian billiard room wing, which inspired the

more famous Durbar Room at Osborne House, was prefabricated in India and installed in the 1880s. This was a result of

the Duke of Connaught's Indian tour, when the Duke met John Lockwood Kipling and asked him to design and oversee

the installation of a billiard room in Indian taste. The Indian craftsmen who assembled and installed the room at Bagshot

were housed in a tent in the grounds.


53

The Commander phoned the Chaplain asking ‘What has brought this about?’ The Chaplain

explained it was what is called conversion.

The third speaker was Canon J H Armstrong, Chief Chaplain of the Air Training Corps. He

spoke of the value of the Society’s productions in the ATC field in which there were over 44,000

adults and boys. The crested New Testaments and Gospels are of great value, as were the

Christmas and Easter booklets. He went on:

On the first night, at one camp, the Chaplain went into the lads’ billets and distributed Gospels,

there was remarkable interest and on the fourth night, they cleared the Common Room and the

boys crowded in for a Bible study!

The final speaker was the Rev D Brian Dougall, who is now the Deputy Chaplain-General and

a valued member of the Committee. With typical Irish humour, he said he was quite willing to

give free publicity to the Royal Navy. He then spoke of the early grants which, so the first

minutes record, were despatched to some gentlemen officers in HMS VICTORY. He then went

on:

During the intervening years, the Society has grasped its great opportunities. This is illustrated

by the provision of character training booklets, which were first produced in 1968 – and are

still being issued to back up the work of Army Chaplains.

Before closing, he reminded those present that it is a faith work; the Society never appealed for

funds. Nevertheless, he did appeal to those assembled to speak about the Society to others – and

ask their friends for remembrance in their prayers. “A happy birthday and thank you for all the

Scriptures you have passed on to the Services for nearly 200 years.”

And so ended a greatly enjoyed meeting. It was with hearts full of expectation that we made our

way into the lovely Memorial Chapel for the 195th Anniversary Service.

The Anniversary Service

The Presiding Minister, the Rev Gerald Groves, opened the Service which began with the

singing of the much loved hymn:

Praise to the Lord, the King of Creation

After which the Rev Kenneth Darbyshire, Principal Church of Scotland and Free Churches

Chaplain to the Royal Air Force, led the congregation to the throne of Grace. After the Lord’s

Prayer, the Rev W G Burns, Senior Army Cadet Force Chaplain, Scotland, who had travelled

well over one thousand miles to be present, read from Psalm 119, verses 89-105i No more

fitting lesson could have been chosen for a Bible Society Anniversary for it ended with the

words

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path

This message was underlined by the hearty singing of John Marriott’s hymn:

Those, whose almighty Word

Chaos and darkness heard

And took their flight

After prayer, led by the Venerable C C H M Morgan , Chaplain of the Fleet, and the singing of

the 15th century prayer

Come down, O love divine

Seek thou this soul of mine

And visit it with Thine own ardour glowing

The Venerable Peter Mallett, Chaplain-General to the Forces, gave an inspiring address. After

reminding us that the Society was nearly 200 years old he suggested its longevity could be

attributed to the fact that it had always preserved its link with the unseen reality. Again, the


54

Society had always exercised faith. He then made reference to the story of two men who, in the

earliest days, sought to give the word of God to the troops. “These men,” he declared, “like

Latimer and Ridley and like William Carey possessed insight plus daring!”

Finally, the Chaplain-General went on to say that he knew from personal experience what had

been true from the eighteenth century days, that the Society had never neglected the gift of

generosity.

“I know,” he concluded, “that many Chaplains of the Fleet, Chaplains-General and Chaplains-

in-Chief of the Royal Air Force have thanked God for the Society, for what it has been in the

past – and I know it will be our great supporter in the future.

The Venerable J H Wilson pronounced the Benediction.

After a really wonderful birthday tea, provided by the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department, we

wandered among the rhododendrons and azaleas thanking God for an inspiring Anniversary.

In the peacefulness of such beautiful surroundings, it almost seemed ‘the fever of life was over

and our work done.’ Yet, lest we were in danger of growing slack, the distant hum of traffic

reminded us that, beyond the restfulness of Bagshot Park lay a world of Servicemen and their

dependants; a world which needed God’s message; a world that not only embraced the United

Kingdom but all who served beyond the seas; on the seas; under the seas; and above the seas.

Perhaps it is fitting to close with some lines of that outstanding First World War Army Chaplain,

Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy113

, whose great hymn, “Awake, awake to love and work”,

concludes with this inspiring verse…

To give and give and give again,

What God hath given to thee,

To spend thyself, nor count the cost,

To serve right gloriously,

The God who gave all worlds that are

And all that are to be.

113 Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, MC (27 June 1883 – 8 March 1929), an Anglican priest and poet, nicknamed

'Woodbine Willie' during World War I for giving Woodbine cigarettes along with spiritual aid to injured and dying

soldiers.


55

Chapter 16 – 1980s through to 2004

By 1981, the Committee had reduced in size, numbering the Chair, plus two, with a small number of

additional attendees by invitation. In October 1981, the Venerable R H Roberts (Chaplain of the Fleet), the

Venerable W F Johnston (Chaplain-General) and the Venerable H J Stuart (Chaplain-in-Chief) attended the

Committee meeting at Radstock House and were each presented with a copy of the New International

Version114

of the Bible in appreciation of the help and co-operation the Society had received from them. The

meeting was also attended by members of the Council of the Scripture Gift Mission, in recognition of the

continuing link between the two organisations. However, the meeting was informed that distribution of

material was reduced due to a cash flow problem although demand remained very high. The January 1982 minutes record:

[The travelling Secretary] reported on his meeting with …, Executive Director of Gideons

International in the British Isles115

,. A frank and helpful discussion had taken place and … [the

Executive Director] had agreed … that work in this specialised area be left to the Naval

Military & Air Force Bible Society….

The May 1982 meeting took place during the Falklands’ Conflict and included the following report:

The Travelling Secretary gave details of distribution to Chaplains serving with the South

Atlantic Task Force and this included Bibles and New Testaments to Naval Chaplains on board

HMS HERMES and the Hospital ships, and Army Chaplains sailing with the Force. New

Testaments had been sent to the Royal Sailors Rest, Plymouth, where Sailors’ wives were

invited to collect a copy to send to their husbands at sea. …. A donation of £5,000 for the

purchase of New Testaments for use especially with the Task Force had been received from a

sympathetic trust.

Meanwhile, the Travelling Secretary was invited to the Annual Conference and Training Course for the

British Army on the Rhine; the major part of the British Army was serving in Germany.

In September 1983, the Committee was discussing the placement of Bibles in the Duty Officer’s Room on

Service Establishments, this having been requested by the Officers’ Christian Union; and a weekend

conference to include teaching sessions and a presentation on the work of the Society, to stimulate interest and

support within the Royal Navy. The Conference was planned for February 1986.

The September 1985 meeting agreed to present a lectern Bible to the newly commissioned HMS ARK

ROYAL, together with pew Bibles for use in the ship’s chapel. It was also agreed that the Society would make

similar offers at the commissioning of future major ships.116

The September 1986 meeting agreed to reduce the Committee meetings to two per year with a separate visit to

an MoD establishment in between, in order to see the work of Chaplains and the needs of Service personnel

first hand.

At the start of 1988, the Committee noted the order of 40,000 crested Good News New Testaments bearing the

NMAFBS imprint and Service crests. The following year, the Committee agreed to the purchase of 20,000

NIV Bibles and 40,000 New Testaments, as stock. In addition, it was agreed that the Travelling Secretary

should be given discretionary powers to provide Bibles containing the Apocrypha on special occasions; the

Society had not agreed to requests for Bibles with Apocrypha previously.

In early 1991, the Committee was informed that the NIV New Testaments had arrived and 4,000 had been sent

to Chaplains in the Gulf. The meeting also learnt that distribution was increasing due to extremely heavy

114

This being a new version of the Bible, recently published at that time and not yet available through NMAFBS.

115 The June 2002 minutes reveal that the Gideons were born within Scripture Gift Mission, the organisation which

hosted NMAFBS from 1910 to 2004.

116 50 Pew Bibles have been ordered for HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (2015).


56

demand for Bibles, New Testaments, etc. for use in the Gulf; the production of an Anniversary booklet for the

ATC; and the Christmas booklet, of which 80,000 copies had been distributed.

In 1992, the Chaplain-General selected NMAFBS as his special project, a regular opportunity for Chaplains to

raise funds in the Garrison churches over a twelve month period for a specific project. The Committee was

told that the Royal Navy ran a similar fund-raising scheme. The project was subsequently reported to have

raised £10,000 with a further £11,000 being separately donated from Army churches. This was repeated in

2001.

The Travelling Secretary attended the 1995 World Conference of the Association of Military Christian

Fellowships, in USA, gaining many new contacts and orders. He also attended the AMCF 1996 Europa

Conference in Austria and the 2002 European Conference in Poland and the West Africa AMCF Conference

in Nigeria.

Changes within Scripture Gift Mission meant that, by 2003, the NMAFBS Committee was considering a

move away from their host organisation, physically and financially. The Travelling Secretary had announced

an intention to retire in 2004, so there was a definite timescale for decision-making. The October 2003

meeting notes:

The ‘Objectives’ were drafted as follows:

The distribution free of charge or by sale of copies of the Bible, New Testament and Psalms

and illustrative material to United Kingdom armed forces personnel and their associates, to

the forces of the Commonwealth and other nations, all merchant seafarers, United Kingdom

cadet forces and United Kingdom police, fire and rescue services and others.

The number of Trustees was agreed and Trustees were appointed, to serve for up to two 3 year terms in

succession followed by a mandatory year off before being eligible for re-election. It was also agreed that the

Society should become a ‘Registered Company limited by guarantee’, to take affect at the same time as

becoming an independent Charity. A new office location was agreed at the December 2003 meeting, with a

view to move to Portsmouth during early 2004, and the January 2004 meeting took place in Castaway House.

Distribution

1989 1990* 1991* 1992 1993 1994 1995

Bibles 7132 8498 7995 5875 4104 4440 3225

NTs 20128 45767 26904 20182 15920 22996 26190

Booklets, Gospels &

Handbooks

89330 241873 186133 154680 78370 136209 118617

Leaflets 96713 43350 72989 70453 80064 53756 48312

Posters 150 602 390 585 325 623 287

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Bibles 4008 3223 - - 1134 607 778

NTs 36457 29923 - - 12404 6676 10886

Booklets, Gospels &

Handbooks

13889

6

127556 - - 52363 27123 34108

Leaflets 87496 66942 - - 13414 6418 7809

Posters 577 299 - - - - -


57

Chapter 17 – 2004 through to 2015

The Charity moved to Castaway House, Portsmouth, early in January 2004.

Distribution

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Bibles 1500 1150 2675 4941 4580 6878

NTs 21000 17071 20120 24880 21212 25600

Booklets, Gospels &

Handbooks

75000 32990 48429 35271 52761 39756

Away from Home

Seamen’s Christian Friend Society Port Chaplain (Pembroke Dock), Hugh Michael, informed the Society:

I was onboard MT Overseas Aquamar at the Chevron refinery. After spending some time with

the master, I went to the mess room. I spoke to the crew and handed out a couple of copies of

the booklet Away from Home in the Filipino language, Tagalog. The ship was loading refined

petroleum products before a voyage to New York. As the booklets were being passed around, all

of a sudden there was a hubbub of excited voices as someone recognised a man in a photograph

[in the book]. It is always encouraging to see the ready acceptance of NMAFBS literature

among the crews. At times, ship visiting is ministering to the Lord’s people onboard but, more

often than not, it is casting bread on many waters. Thanks for the continued supply of Gospel

literature, so well produced and containing the message of Life.

Alaska, Sydney and Southampton connected

In Alaska, a Sri Lankan chef onboard the Cunard cruise liner Queen Victoria asked the Alaska

Seamen’s Mission for 30 Bibles. They passed the request to Seamen’s Christian Friend Society

in Sydney, where the Queen Victoria was due to visit. The request was then passed to the

NMAFBS office in Portsmouth and, rather than send the Bibles to Sydney, [they were taken]

onboard the ship in Southampton later in the year. On handing them over to the chef, together

with a quantity of booklets, he invited us to join the Christian group’s worship and Bible study.

He said they usually started about 12 midnight when they finished work! So we worshipped and

studied the Scriptures with the Christian crew members from midnight until the early hours of

the morning, such was their desire to worship God after a long day’s work.

Sydney (again)

NMAFBS resources sometimes end up in unexpected places. Some Seafarer’s NIV Bibles were

provided to a Papuan seafarer and taken, initially by ship then for six hours by launch and then

for a further five hours by canoe, to a remote village in Papua New Guinea. There, they were

given to the pastor of a small church for use by his congregation at The Boluada Uniting

Church on Fergusson Island.

The Netherlands

A sailor named Edmundo used NMAFBS seafarers’ Bibles for his study group onboard his ship

and, because of this study, the ship’s cook, Dionisio, became a Christian. Dionisio later joined

another bible study group. He signed a new contract on a ship in Antwerp and asked for 6 more

Bibles.

[The Port Missionary] had a good conversation with the master of a gas tanker and convinced

him to start a bible study onboard once a week, giving him three NMAFBS Seafarers’ Bibles as

well.


58

On another occasion, [The Port Missionary] met a Chinese officer, a Christian, who was really

happy with the booklets that were provided. He immediately began to give the booklets to his

crew. The captain said that because of this, he also started reading the Bible as did both the

Second and Third officers. The captain also said that he has never worked in such a good

atmosphere onboard ship.

These stories were from just a couple of days of ministry to sailors on their ships berthed in Ghent. You can

imagine that it would not be possible to relate all of the testimonies of the sailors who have received Bibles.

Portsmouth

I would like to add a note of thanks and admiration for the friendship and support the Society

has given over recent years. It has been a great source of comfort that most of the resources

needed for our work visiting merchant seafarers arriving in Portsmouth Harbour have been

readily available just a few miles away. There has always been a warm welcome at Castaway

House.

The Solent team of SCFS workers has also benefited by the excellent range of booklets available

from NMAFBS. There is no doubt that all the resources available to us were also much

appreciated by the recipients and will continue to be a source of blessing in declaring the Way

of Salvation to the seafarers and their families. Over the years, I have received several reports

of response to the gospel message following the distribution of Bibles and booklets from

NMAFBS.

Manila, Philippines

With great blessing from God, my sincerest thanks and appreciation for the work of NMAFBS,

making a reality of the needs of seafarers to have their own Bibles that will lead them and their

families to greater fellowship with God. Thank you for making SCFS Manila a beneficiary of

your great vision of reaching out to Filipino seamen through the English/Tagalog Bible. It

really helps a lot and gives us an easy way to share the living word of God.

Teeside

We can only say how much we have really appreciated what the Society has done in support of

our work with SCFS. Receiving booklets and Bibles, especially the Tagalog-English New

Testaments, has been a great help to us. When a Filipino seafarer asked us if we had a Tagalog

Bible, it was a real blessing to see his joy and surprise when presented with one. In giving him

the Bible, we said, jokingly, “You must read it!”

Brisbane and Gladstone

I have been using the NIV seafarers’ Bibles and Tagalog-English New Testaments in my work

with both the Mission to Seafarers and SCFS. The Bibles are always well received. I

particularly like the way they are styled to be attractive to seafarers with the ship’s pictures and

different seamen’s mission logos on the covers.

In 2009, the public Mission Statement was updated as follows

“To supply Bibles and Christian literature to the uniformed services, seafarers and to

associated organisations.”

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Bibles 5220 3963 4610 3014 2273

NTs 20032 20878 17568 12980 15728

Booklets, Gospels &

Handbooks

33323 28484 29247 1534 62912


59

Iraq

On arrival….

I got the two boxes of Bibles, New Testaments and booklets you sent. On the first night we

arrived here, we were hit by a rocket, one tent was completely destroyed but, thanks to God, no

deaths only two injured. Next night a rocket fell three tents away from mine, hitting one tent –

again no deaths. Thanks be to God. I go quite often to the hospital to visit lads injured, some

from blasts, others from heat related illness and also some due to car accidents. It is amazing

that they take the initiative to look for me and ask for Bibles and crosses.

Later…

NMAFBS literature was an indispensable part of my ministry in Basra. There was a great

demand for Bibles and New Testaments among the soldiers during the first weeks. Some

soldiers were using full Bibles in their pockets under their body armour as extra protection! I

also gave the Bibles to the interpreters who gladly received them.

Another Padre reported that he had prayed with a young soldier in his regiment to receive Christ into his life;

that soldier has subsequently undergone a dramatic change in his personality. Prior to his conversion, the man

had been generally miserable and unpopular, which was in total contrast to the happiness he now exuded. His

popularity had gone up and some of the soldiers in his unit have been visiting the Padre to discover what it

was that the re-born soldier now had that had caused such a change.

A Lieutenant Colonel said how reading “The Moral Compass” had effectively raised moral in individual

soldiers. A senior Iraqi officer sat in on an Alpha course and took away a copy of the same booklet.

An RAF Padre, having returned from Basra, stated that a member of the Armed Forces on deployment was no

longer ridiculed for reading the Bible in public.

From my experience in Iraq, I can testify that Bibles are rather more in demand among soldiers

than enthusiasts for a secular society might imagine. I would never visit a forward operating

base without a few Bibles and booklets in hand. Christian literature offered freely at our base

chapel needed to be replenished at least once a week.

Catterick Infantry Training Centre

A recruit always took his Bible on exercise with him and his Sergeant wanted to know why. The

recruit had answered that it gave him strength.

After Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry VC received his Victoria Cross, he was presented with a desert

camouflage covered NIV Bible to replace the one which he had lost on the battlefield.

HMS NELSON

Amazing opportunity. Last week a young army trainee nurse on placement in NELSON came to

departmental prayers with her colleagues from the medical centre. She told me she loved

church. I asked if she had a Bible – coincidentally, I had received a delivery from NMAFBS of

camouflage covered Bibles 2 days before – she took one and was thrilled with it. When

something like that happens, we thank the Lord for these occasions & look to Him in faith for

more.

Ghana

Grace and peace from God and our Lord Jesus Christ to you. Thank you very much for the New

Testaments. I will share them among the Police Christian Fellowship and the Military Christian

Fellowship.

Ukraine

I was very glad to meet you at Global Interaction 2014. From your table, I picked up a copy

each of ‘Combat the Stress’ and ‘In touch on Operations’. These two booklets would be

excellent resources for our soldiers today, for those serving now in the eastern part of Ukraine,


60

or those who have served there already, or are preparing to deploy to eastern Ukraine. We

believe these booklets would be tremendous spiritual help to our military members as soon as

they can become available.

This request led to an agreement for these booklets to be translated and published in Ukraine, under licence

and using local pictures, in order to reduce costs and increase the speed of distribution.

Birmingham, Alabama

I am in the process of researching my father’s and uncle’s World War Two military service.

Both served in …. [the] Royal Artillery. … in my research papers I have a .. copy of a

publication that was given to all service men and women in 1939. Under magnification, I have

managed to determine the words Name…… and a warning not to include the name of their unit.

The other cover was much more difficult to read but I was able to make out that the daily

reading was published by the Naval and Military Bible Society. Would I be correct in assuming

that your organization is the updated version of this society? I would like to include reference to

this publication in my narrative, are you able to let me know the full wording on the covers?

Cameroon

The news that you send me gives my day a special brightness. I cannot find words to thank God

for all these marvels. My prayer is that God will bless you abundantly and that he fills with his

Grace all who participated in one way or another to the printing and sending of these New

Testaments [1000 in English and 2000 in French] and Bibles [1500 in French].

Winchester

One of the lads came across the room, showing me a New Testament that had been left behind

by a previous trainee. Another lad asked what was the use of it? I spoke to him of an old soldier

who had said that the Scriptures were a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path. In other

words, he found help and guidance for his daily life from reading the Bible. I also said that in

reading the New Testament, we are shown the way of salvation. I then pointed out to him the

help notes found written in the front. One lad said he intended to read it all, another said he

could do it in a couple of days. I told them of a lad in the Medical centre who had read the

complete Bible in 9 days! Needless to say, he had had time on his hands. It really encourages

me to see soldiers reading the Scriptures for themselves; it brings to mind that faith comes by

hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

Commando Training Centre, Lympstone

Dear God, I’m not really a religious person and this is probably the first time I’ve ever brought

myself to a church. I’ve come here to think to myself about what lies ahead of me. I’m only 17

and am going to pass out this Thursday. I have found training really hard, that’s probably

because I have the smallest legs in NATO. It’s such a relief to be at the end after 32 weeks of

training and such a great feeling to be still with the same Troop. .. but something was bugging

me that someone had helped me through training and I didn’t know who. I was packing all my

kit when I came across my NMAFBS camouflage covered New Testament & Psalms that the

Padre had presented to me. I flicked through it and it made me realise that it was God who

made me stand here today. So I wanted to write a note and say thank you for getting me this far.

I promise that I will be the most professional soldier I can be for the rest of my career as a

thank you for getting me through this nightmare.

A trainee Royal Marine Bandsman was challenged by a Corporal during a kit inspection, as to

why he kept his Royal Marine New Testament, issued by his Chaplain, in his kit locker rather

than with his personal possessions. The Bandsman tactfully replied that corporals should know

that New Testaments with the Globe & Laurel on the cover are indeed part of a marine’s kit.


61

Afghanistan

I have spoken to no-one who has struggled with their faith or who has rejected God. On the

contrary, more and more people are talking of spiritual re-evaluation of their lives. More are

praying and reading the Bible. The saying from previous wars was that there are no atheists in

foxholes – this still remains true.

Often we don’t hear of the impact of God’s word but, during my travels in Afghanistan, I have

been pleased to discover that the guys have been dipping into God’s word from time to time. On

occasion, when I have led a forward operating base service and asked a soldier to do a reading,

they have brought their own New Testament to read from. Of most note, a Staff Sergeant and his

Troop were having daily Bible studies with their combat Bibles! He told me ’We’d run out of

things to read and I just gathered the guys around and read a bit from the Bible and we all just

talked about what we thought it meant!’ They continued to do this until the Staff Sergeant left.

Over the length of the deployment, he was struck by the number of Bibles that were taken [from

the free supply made available] and by the number of troops who told him they were reading

the Bible and came to him with questions resulting from their reading. This was really

encouraging to see and showed that sometime, when people are taken out of the comfort of their

normal home routine, their minds turn to asking bigger questions about life and a quest for

information and meaning.

A former soldier with post traumatic stress disorder wrote that he had picked up some of our

booklets on his last visit to the headquarters of Combat Stress. He had found them useful as he

sought peace for the things he saw and did during his Army service. “I can’t thank you enough,

because of your booklets I am seeing the Scriptures in a different light and finding a certain

amount of solace in doing so.”

Repatriation of the fallen

Meeting with families of the repatriated dead was the task of the Chaplains at RAF Lyneham

and now at RAF Brize Norton. Senior Chaplains receive the coffins from the aircraft before

conducting a short service at the base chapel. Camouflage covered Bibles are offered to the

next of kin, inscribed with a brief tribute to the fallen service man or woman, the Unit collect

and insignia. The extended family of one Irish Guardsman asked for, and received, no fewer

than 27 Bibles inscribed for their fallen relative.

Service, then and now

Before he was sent to the front in 1916, the Naval and Military Bible Society presented an

Active Service New Testament to the great, great grandfather of a soldier who recently served

in Afghanistan. It was passed to the soldier’s great grandfather when he served in the Second

World War and then to his grandfather, who never spoke of his capture and time as a prisoner

of war in Korea. Throughout his time in Korea, the New Testament stayed with him and gave

him some degree of comfort and hope, despite the horrors he endured. The soldier’s uncle also

served and took the Bible with him to Northern Ireland. The soldier now has a new NIV

camouflage Bible, presented to him while he was serving in Afghanistan.

Army Cadet Force

The Army Cadet Battalion Regimental Sergeant Major, at Summer Camp, had a battered Air Training Corps

New Testament on his desk. When asked what an Army Warrant Officer was doing with an ATC New

Testament and being offered a replacement with the ACF badge, he responded that he had received his ten

years previously and it was not the cover that mattered but what was inside.

Air Training Corps

A Squadron CO asked the Padre to talk to a cadet who was sitting on his own, looking very

withdrawn. When asked what was wrong, the cadet replied that he had seen his best friend run

over and killed the night before. The Padre turned to the help pages in the NMAFBS New

Testament. Under ‘Bereaved’, he read the cadet a scripture from John’s Gospel, which ended


62

“I am the one who raises the dead to life! And everyone who has faith in me will live, even if

they die. And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die.” The cadet was

hugely comforted by this passage and, the following week, volunteered to read the lesson during

the parade service.

Scotland

A friend, who always has a copy of the newsletter from me, told me that she read the middle

pages when unable to sleep at 4am this morning. She said that they had been an enormous

encouragement to her. So, thank you!


63

The Bibles and New Testaments


64


65


66

The Booklets

Some of the booklets have already been mentioned and they are ordered and read in their thousands. The

booklets are there to strengthen the moral codes used by the military and cadet forces; and to provide support

to those in specific need or with specific concerns. Many of the booklets have been written in-house, others

are purchased to meet demand. Most of the books are available in a range of languages, including French,

Portuguese, Chinese, Tagalog and more.


67

Conclusion

At the time of writing, the Society is about to celebrate its 235th anniversary. It continues to provide Bibles,

New Testaments and Scriptures to the armed forces, cadet forces and merchant seafarers across the globe, as

demonstrated by the circulation numbers above. Indeed, new orders have been received from a number of

African countries amounting to 15,000 English New Testaments; 3,000 Portuguese New Testaments; 8,000

French New Testaments; and 2,000 French Bibles.

As stated in the early pages, ‘The Naval and Military Bible Society was founded in 1780 to flourish for many

years’ and it continues to do so.


68

Appendix 1 – A timeline of events 1775-1781 18 April 1775 – The Revolutionary War

117 or American War of Independence started at Lexington, with “the shot heard

‘round the world”.

4 July 1776 –American Declaration of Independence

Late 1977 – General Howe settled the British troops at Philadelphia for the winter, with General Washington’s American

troops nearby at Valley Forge.

1778

18 Jan Captain James Cook stumbles over Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands).

18 Jan HMS SUPPLY, first ship of Britain's "First Fleet" to Australia, reaches Botany Bay (Sydney).

20 Jan The first American military court martial trial begins, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

5 Feb Articles of Confederation ratified by 1st state, South Carolina.

6 Feb France recognizes US, signs treaty of aid in Paris (First US treaty). England immediately declares war

on France.

14 Feb The Star and Stripes (U.S. flag) makes its first appearance at a foreign port, flying aboard the ship

Ranger, as it arrives in France with Benjamin Franklin onboard.

28 Feb Rhode Island General Assembly authorizes enlistment of slaves.

7 Mar Captain James Cook sights Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay.

7 Mar Continental Navy frigate Randolph (32 guns) engages HMS YARMOUTH (64). Randolph explodes and

sinks with the loss of all but 4 men.

15 Mar Captain James Cook reaches the west coast of Vancouver Island with his ships RESOLUTION and

DISCOVERY, on the way to search for a North West Passage from the Pacific; names the site Friendly

Cove after a warm reception from local Nootka people.

22 Mar Captain Cook sights Cape Flattery, in Washington state.

17 Apr Sloop-in-war Ranger captures British brig.

22 Apr Captain John Paul Jones of Ranger led landing party raid on Whitehaven, England.

1 May American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.

18 Jun American forces enter Philadelphia as the British withdraw during the Revolutionary War.

19 Jun Washington's troops finally leave Valley Forge.

28 Jun Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey (General George Washington beats Clinton).

3 Jul British forces massacre 360 men, women & children in Wyoming, Pennsylvania.

8 Jul Allied French fleet under Comte d'Estaing arrives in America.

8 Jul George Washington headquarters at West Point for his Continental Army

10 Jul Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.

9 Aug Captain Cook reaches Cape Prince of Wales and passes through the Bering straits.

31 Aug British kill 17 Stockbridge Indians in the Bronx.

17 Sep 1st treaty between the US & Indian tribes signed (Fort Pitt).

19 Sep The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the United States.

3 Oct Captain Cook anchors at Alaska.

11 Nov Iroquois Indians in New York state kill 40 in Cherry Valley Massacre.

26 Nov Captain Cook discovers Maui (Sandwich Islands [now Hawaii]).

29 Dec English troops occupy Savannah, Georgia.

1779

17 Jan Captain Cook's last notation in DISCOVERY ship's log.

14 Feb Captain Cook killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii, aged 50.

24 Feb George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes, Indiana, from British.

16 Jun In support of US, Spain declares war on England.

18 Jun French fleet occupies St Vincent.

8 Nov 1st meeting of The Bible Society at The Exeter Hall, London.

117

Not to be confused with the later French Revolutionary War


69

1780

16 Jan Battle at Cape St Vincent: Admiral Rodney beats Spanish fleet

1 Feb British Major John Graves Simcoe leads 200 of his Rangers in a foray into New Jersey.

1 Mar Pennsylvania becomes first US state to abolish slavery (for new-borns only).

12 May British troops occupy Charleston, South Carolina.

2 Jun Anti Catholic demonstration attacks parliament in London (The Gordon Riots)

23 Jun Battle of Springfield fought in and around Springfield, New Jersey (including Short Hills, formerly of

Springfield, now of Millburn Township).

9 Jul Denmark declares neutrality.

1 Aug Sweden declares neutrality.

16 Aug British decisively defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, South Carolina.

22 Aug RESOLUTION returns to England, without Captain Cook.

7 Oct British defeated by American militia near Kings Mountain, South Carolina.

16 Oct Royalton, Vermont, and Tunbridge, Vermont; last major raid of the American Revolutionary War.

20 Nov Britain declares war on Holland.

20 Dec Britain declares war on Netherlands.

17 Oct 1781 – General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington, ending the American War of Independence.


70

Appendix 2 –The Word and the Sword (by Rev Charles P McCarthy)

Rev McCarthy was Clerical Secretary of NMBS. He gave a lecture118

in London and other towns, entitled The

Word and The Sword. The lecture covered the topic of the progress of religion amongst soldiers and seamen

of England, interspersed with recollections of African and Seafaring Life. The subsequent publication of the

lecture, in 1860, raised funds for the Society through sale at 1s (5p), or 1s 6d (7.5p) for cloth covered editions.

To quote from the Introduction, provided by Rev. James McConnel Hussey MA:

The title of the pamphlet is well chosen, for it expresses an [sic] union most important, “The

Word and the Sword.” The sword is the soldier’s weapon, and in the hand of power and skill

can accomplish much. What devastations it has caused in the earth, and yet it cannot be wholly

sheathed, however earnestly we might desire it. The desolations of war are not only seen on the

battle field of blood and death, but also in the homes of those who have to mourn over the fallen.

What comfort can be communicated to the broken hearted sorrowers? Surely the conviction that

the noble and valiant soldier who perished had been enlisted in the army of the Great

Conqueror who overcame death and who confers, on all who love and serve him, the crown of

life, the reward of those who are faithful unto death…. Surely it is the connection of the Word

with the Sword, which whispers in his ear “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain

mercy”…”Trust in him at all times” … “If God be for us, who can be against us?” The Sword

without the Word may be grasped in an unrighteous cause … but connect the Sword with the

word of God and we may hope to see its evils lessened and those that hold it remembering the

responsibility allied to it. The Sword of Man directed by the Sword of the Spirit, which is the

word of God…

The lecture received wide acclaim and was reviewed in a number of contemporary newspapers, two of which

are shown below:

THE CONSTITUTION

… Our author has not hesitated to open up ancient records which testified to the origin,

progress and success of that movement for supplying Bibles to British soldiers and mariners …

and here an important fact comes out, namely, that the Society was the first of all Bible

Societies in England,. This is a fact of which all its friends may well feel proud.

THE (SURREY) COUNTY HERALD

It appears the Naval & Military Bible Society was the first Bible Society registered in this

country, that the other Societies have followed in its train and although many may have a larger

field of action, yet the importance of one, having for its special labours the diffusion of Bible

truth amongst men who brave war and storm in defence of our country, can be second to none.

January 12th 1861

In the early pages, Mr McCarthy says:

The rapid progress of true religion among the seamen and soldiers of England during later

years is one of the most promising features of our time. The annals of the Society proclaim that

the Navy and Army always possessed a company of earnest-minded followers of Christ, the

catalogue of whose names presents to the student of history the mightiest warriors of whom a

nation could proudly boast.119

118

The contents of the lecture have been absorbed into the chapters of this history but are available in full through the

Society’s website http://www.nmafbs.org/downloads/

119 How right he is confirmed by the fact that the Hon. Captain Maude records the names of distinguished naval officers

who applied for Bibles for the purpose of distributing to the men under their command. These included the Rt Hon

Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth; Lord de Saumarez; Sir A Cochrane; Lord Gambier; Lord Collingwood; and Sir James

Hillyar. – Annual Report – Meeting 1830

http://www.nmafbs.org/downloads/


71

He continues:

The author has carefully studied the documents 120 containing its history, and has been able

from many living witnesses to obtain much information of a most valuable character respecting

its career….It is a remarkable fact that the first effort made in this or any other country by

Christian men to establish a Bible Society… was that which produced the Naval and Military

Bible Society.

The Naval and Military Bible Society was not many years established before it produced results

in the Army as marvellous as any of the modern revivals about which so much has been said

and written, although unaccompanied by those symptoms of physical ecstasy which would be

especially objectionable to both sailor and soldier …

I could multiply proofs of this religious progress, but here is one selected from a host giving cumulative

evidence of the same gradual, but gratifying change in the religious condition of the Army. A second object in

choosing this communication is because it proves that as far back as 1791 the Naval & Military Bible Society

was well known and appreciated in our colonies:

To the Members and Subscribers of the Bible Society

St John’s

Newfoundland121

21 October 1791

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Herewith I present you with the names of such of the Army as received the last donation of

Bibles … It was with great delight I saw every person receive not only the Bible, but also my

weak admonitions … and they requested me to accompany their address with my testimony of

their gratitude. Although there are several who have not yet responded, yet there is a wonderful

reformation among them in general. Between twenty and thirty have been united to the Church

in close fellowship … The officers …encourage … the men towards piety, and much admire the

change for the better that has taken place in some of the most profane. I only lament the want of

ability more suitably to acknowledge how much I feel myself affected with a sense of your

goodness in the several former helps in the work I am engaged …

I remain, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your very grateful & obedient servant

John Jones

Chaplain

“This letter,” comments McCarthy, “written so many years ago, when the Naval & Military Bible Society was

eleven years old, acknowledges that at the early period, through the circulation of its Bibles, the troops in

Canada were beginning to feel the Divine power of the Scriptures.”

Here is another letter written by Charles McCarthy dated 17 February 1885, which came into

the Society’s possession via America:

My dear Mrs Thomas,

I now send you my first instalment to your collection of autographs. I rejoice this letter is

passing into your hands as it is historic and worthy of a prominent place in a collection which,

through your influence and skilful discrimination, is destined to endure.

In 1858, I resigned the incumbency of the Workingmen’s Church and the curacy of Birkenhead,

Cheshire, having been selected from one hundred of my brethren to become the Secretary of the

120

He held in his hand a document….It stated.. that the British and Foreign Bible Society, now so important an

Institution, was its child, having sprung out of it in 1804.

121 The fact that Newfoundland was the home of Chaplain Jones should occasion no surprise as Rear Admiral H F Pullen

OBE CD RCN says: “I doubt if many people are aware of the wonderful contribution made by the Royal Navy to

Newfoundland, especially by its Chaplains” – See Foreword, “The Navy and its Chaplains in the Days of Sail” by Dr

Waldo E L Smith


72

Old Bible Society of which the Reverend Romaine was the first Secretary. He was a remarkable

man.

When I became the Secretary, the official documents passed into my hands and with them this

letter which I was permitted to keep as my own as a partial acknowledgement of my service

under the title “The Word and the Sword”. This work had a very large sale in England, India

and elsewhere throughout the British Colonies. I have not now got a single copy but I came

across opinions of the press concerning this book which I enclose and which, when you have

read them, you will kindly return to me as it is the only memento I have got of that labour of

love for the dear Master, now that I am old and stricken and my course fast coming to a close

on this lower plain of life.


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Appendix 3 - Donations

Form of Bequest

I give and bequeath unto the Naval Military & Air Force Bible

Society, of Castaway House, 311 Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth

PO2 8RN, the sum of ………………. Pounds /

a …………………… part of the residue of my Estate , and I

declare that the Discharge of the Secretary or Treasurer for the time

being of the said Society, or other person properly authorised to

give receipts, shall be a sufficient discharge of the said Bequest,

and shall effectually exonerate my Executors or Trustees from

seeing to the application thereof.

Covenant Scheme

The Society also operates a Covenant Scheme and the appropriate

form can be obtained on application to the Secretary:

[email protected] ; or via the address given above.

Donations

Other donations can be made through the Society’s website:

www.nmafbs.org ; or by cheque to the Society, made payable to

NMAFBS, and forwarded to the address given above.

mailto:[email protected]



74

Appendix 4 - Contact list

NMAFBS http://www.nmafbs.org

Naval Chaplaincy Service http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/skills-and-specialisations/chaplaincy

Royal Army Chaplains’

Department

http://www.army.mod.uk/chaplains/chaplains.aspx

Royal Air Force

Chaplains’ Branch

http://www.raf.mod.uk/chaplains

Armed Forces Christian

Union

http://www.afcu.org.uk

Aggie Weston’s Pastoral

Workers at Royal Navy &

Royal Marine bases

http://www.aggies.org.uk

Naval Christian

Fellowship

http://www.navalcf.org

Sandes Soldiers’ and

Airmen’s Centres

http://www.sandes.org.uk/welcome.asp

SASRA Scripture Readers

at Army and RAF bases

http://www.sasra.org.uk

Apostleship of the Sea http://www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk

Mission to Seafarers http://www.missiontoseafarers.org

Sailors’ Society http://www.sailors-society.org

Seamen’s Christian Friend

Society

http://www.scfs.org

London City Mission https://www.lcm.org.uk

The Salvation Army Red

Shield Defence Services

http://salvos.org.au/rsds

Association of Military

Christian Fellowships

http://www.amcf-int.org

Military Missions

International

http://www.mmi.org.uk

Alpha for Forces https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpha-For-Forces/159011977487370

The Cornelius Trust http://thecorneliustrust.org

Flame International http://www.flameinternational.org


http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/skills-and-specialisations/chaplaincy

http://www.army.mod.uk/chaplains/chaplains.aspx

http://www.raf.mod.uk/chaplains

http://www.afcu.org.uk/

http://www.aggies.org.uk/

http://www.navalcf.org/

http://www.sandes.org.uk/welcome.asp

http://www.sasra.org.uk/

http://www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk/

http://www.missiontoseafarers.org/

http://www.sailors-society.org/

http://www.scfs.org/

https://www.lcm.org.uk/

http://salvos.org.au/rsds

http://www.amcf-int.org/

http://www.mmi.org.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpha-For-Forces/159011977487370

http://thecorneliustrust.org/

http://www.flameinternational.org/


75

i Psalm 119, verses 89-105 KJV

LAMED

89 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.

92 Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in my affliction.

93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.

94 I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.

95 The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.

96 I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

MEM

97 O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are all my meditation.

100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.

102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.

103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

NUN

105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path


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