William Henry Aldis (1871 – 16 June 1948) was an English

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

missionary who served as Chairman of the

Keswick Convention The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of Conservative evangelicalism in the United Kingdom, conservative evangelical Christians in Keswick, Cumbria, Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria. The Christian theological tradition of High ...

from 1936 to 1939, and again from 1946 to 1947.

Life and career

W. H. Aldis was born in 1871 to Henry S. Aldis, a confidential clerk to a business firm in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, and Sarah Kitchen. His grandfather John Aldis was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

pastor of King's Road Chapel in Reading (now renamed Abbey Baptist Church). He grew up in the milieu of

Children's Special Service Mission Children's Special Service Mission was the original name, from 1867, of the organisation now called Scripture Union. Begun by Thomas 'Pious' Hughes and Josiah Spiers in Islington, London, this evangelicalism, evangelical Christian movement was l ...

. In 1895, while worshipping in a church of the

Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For many years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist ...

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

, Aldis learned of the Kucheng massacre of Western Christians and missionaries that took place at Kucheng (now Gutian), China, which aroused his interest in China missions. This led him to join the China Inland Mission (CIM), an

interdenominational Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

missionary society. Despite his Nonconformist background, he committed himself to CIM's

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

branch. He left England for

Great Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and ...

on 8 October 1897. After spending some months at a training home in

Anqing Anqing ( zh, s=, t=安慶, p=Ānqìng, l=, also Yicheng, Nganking and formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province of China, province, China, People's Republic of China. Its popu ...

(Anking), he left for the Baoning (Paoning) district of

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

("West China" or "Western China"), on 28 April 1898, which he reached on 24 May. In 1899, the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

prompted Aldis to join missionaries who moved to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, where he was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

by Bishop Cassels at the city's Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1900. He was one of the sub-editors during the initial years of ''

The West China Missionary News ''The West China Missionary News'' (''WCMN'') was a monthly news magazine published in Chengdu (Chengtu) from 1899 to 1943 by the West China Missions Advisory Board, and printed by Canadian Methodist Mission Press. It was aimed at Protestant mi ...

'' first published in 1899. While working for the Anglican Diocese of Western China, Aldis felt the need of a school on Western lines (i.e.

Western education Western education is the form of education that mainly originated in or is characteristic of the Western world. History Ancient era Medieval era Modern era Pre-contemporary history outside of the West The introduction of Western ...

) for sons of Christians, and in the beginning of 1902 the schoold opened with about twenty boys, about half being boarders. Early in 1903 several were converted and baptized, among them James Yen, who in the 1920s founded the Mass Education Movement and in the 1940s the Sino-American Rural Reconstruction Commission. Aldis's "loving ministry to these lads has been abundantly rewarded", remarked Rev. C. B. Hannah. This subsequently led to the establishment of West China Diocesan College (), of which Aldis became the

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

. At the end of 1906, Aldis left Sichuan for furlough in England. He returned in 1908 and remained at his post until 1916. During this time, Ku Ho-lin, a convert from

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and the future

Assistant Bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

of East Szechwan, became a constant associate of Aldis's, who was going to be the first Chinese to be ordained deacon. Back in England, Aldis became Secretary of the Youth Department of the China Inland Mission in 1919. According to his biographer

Andrew MacBeath Andrew G. W. MacBeath, a Scottish preacher associated with the Keswick Convention, was younger brother of John MacBeath; studied at the University of Edinburgh, the Baptist College in Glasgow, and New College, Edinburgh. MacBeath spent 15 years ...

, "his work as Secretary for Youth had paved the way for the success of the great enrolment of recruits from 1929 to 1931." At this time he came into contact with "He-Evelyn" (

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

) and "She-Evelyn" ( Evelyn Gardner), who found him "ridiculous"; but "young people found him warm and understanding, yes, admiring, too", as specified by MacBeath. On 27 June 1928, Aldis conducted the wedding service for the Evelyns at St Paul's Church,

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It mar ...

. Shortly after the Evelyns' marriage, in 1929, he succeeded John Stuart Holden (1874–1934) as Home Director of the China Inland Mission. He had also been active in the

, he was made leader of its morning missionary prayer meeting, then Chairman of the Missionary Meeting, and finally Chairman of the Keswick Council. He chaired the conventions from 1936 to 1939, and again from 1946 to 1947. Aldis died on 16 June 1948, his

funeral service A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

was held the following Monday (21 June) in St Stephen's Church,

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

, and a memorial service in St Paul's Church, Portman Square on 29 June.

Personal life

W. H. Aldis married Lottie H. Carver of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

in Baoning (Paoning), the service was conducted in the Paoning Church by Bishop Cassels on 28 May 1902. They had a daughter died in infancy in 1904; their first of three sons, Gordon, was born in 1905.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldis, W. H. 1871 births 1948 deaths English Anglican missionaries English Protestant missionaries Anglican missionaries in Sichuan 20th-century Anglican deacons Diocese of Western China Keswickianism

Life and career

Personal life

See also

References

Bibliography