Material relating to the Arton family

Prayer letter, photographs and slides of Betty and Jon Arton, and their daughter Heather. The letter is written from their mission station at Stanleyville [Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo], October 1963, and reports on mission work. Both the letter and many of the images appear to relate...

Full description


Date(s) of creation: 1960s
Level: Collection
Format: Archive           

Reference number: MS 381332
Summary: Prayer letter, photographs and slides of Betty and Jon Arton, and their daughter Heather. The letter is written from their mission station at Stanleyville [Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo], October 1963, and reports on mission work. Both the letter and many of the images appear to relate to the period shortly before the death of the family in the massacre at Stanleyville in 1964.
Extent: 5 items
Admin history: Betty and John Arton were missionaries with the Unevangelised Field Mission [now United for Mission], stationed at Stanleyville [Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo]. They were killed at Stanleyville along with their daughter and a number of other hostages in 1964, during the the Simba Rebellion ("Simba Revolution").
Custodial history: The papers formerly belonged to the donor's grandmother, Mrs Bessie Buck (1900-1976), who was a friend of the Arton family and a committed supporter of overseas missionaries. She hosted many missionary families at her home in Preston when they were on leave.
Acquisition: Donated to SOAS Library in June 2018 by the grand-daughter of Mrs Bessie Buck.
Access status: Open
Copyright: SOAS
Language: English
Scripts: Latin
Format: Archive           
Subjects:
Missionaries
Access Points - Places:
Place Code Place Name
203312 Democratic Republic of the Congo
7729886 Central Africa