| Order number: |
MMS/Special Series/Biographical/India/FBN 21 (fiche 932-933)
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| Summary: |
9 letters from Rev Sawday, Mysore City, to Mr Tho[ma]s Gould in Torquay, Devon, mostly discussing personal matters such as the health and welfare of friends and colleagues. However, Sawday also mentions missionary work (especially medical), WWII, local politics, hunger strikes and the Indian independence movement. With a copy of the 1943 Holdsworth Memorial Hospital report, an address from staff and students at the Methodist Mission High School in Mysore City re the unveiling of his portrait (14 January 1944) and a forwarded letter from Ethel [Tomlinson], 18 March 1944.
6 brief communications (including poems) from Sawday to Gould, c1928-c1930.
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| Main author: |
Sawday; George William (1854-1944); ordained, educational and medical missionary |
| Extent: |
18 items
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| Admin history: |
George William Sawday was born in Sidmouth, Devon, on 10 March 1854, and attended Horton Grammar School and Binfield House at Clapham, Surrey. He was accepted for the Wesleyan Methodist ministry in 1873 and trained at Headingley College. He was posted to India and began work in 1876 in the Mysore District, initially at Tumkur. Within a year of his arrival the Mysore District suffered a severe famine leaving many children parentless. Sawday took some of these children in and established an orphanage where many of them were trained in agriculture, with a few becoming evangelists. After a year at the High School in Mysore he returned to Tumkur as superintendent for the circuit and remained there until 1894 (excluding a brief furlough in England in 1887 & 1888). During this period he and his wife (Sara Curnock, daughter of the Rev George Curnock) enthusiastically encouraged education. Rev Sawday oversaw both girls' and boys' schools with his wife assisting in teaching the girls, supervising bible-women and running mothers' meetings. Newly created schools included Forts Girls' School and the girls' schools at Sira and Tumkur. Both were also heavily involved with the work of the orphanage. Much of the couples work was amongst 'out-castes'. Rev Sawday also oversaw the reading rooms & places of worship, supervised the construction of housing for Indian ministers and founded Christian villages in the Mysore District (including at Betheluru) often being comprised of those parentless children who survived the famine of 1877 & 1888.
By February 1894 the Rev and Mrs Sawday were both suffering from serious health problems (they had also lost two children whilst in India) and were forced to return to England. Rev Sawday worked initially in South London (where his wife died on 4 July 1895) and subsequently Essex. In 1900 he returned to the Mysore District working in Mysore City (excluding 2 furloughs) until 1932. During this period there was a significant expansion in both the church infrastructure and the number of worshippers. Sawday became involved with medical work and was instrumental in the building of the Mary Calvert Holdsworth Hospital which opened in 1906. Subsequently he became its superintendent supervising further expansion (notably a maternity wing). He was also involved with the opening of a number of schools and a few chapels including at Hunsur and Idah. His work was officially recognised in 1923 when he was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal (First Class) for public service in India. In 1932 he became a supernumerary and returned to England briefly. By 1933 he had returned to Mysore and whilst retired was still very active in the district's affairs, particularly with regard to the Mary Calvert Holdsworth Hospital. He died in Mysore on 16 September 1944. |
George William Sawday was born in Sidmouth, Devon, on 10 March 1854, and attended Horton Grammar School and Binfield House at Clapham, Surrey. He was accepted for the Wesleyan Methodist ministry in 1873 and trained at Headingley College. He was posted to India and began work in 1876 in the Mysore District, initially at Tumkur. Within a year of his arrival the Mysore District suffered a severe famine leaving many children parentless. Sawday took some of these children in and established an orphanage where many of them were trained in agriculture ... View more |
| Custodial history: |
Papers received by the MMS from Mrs Dick, June 1968. |
| Access status: |
Open
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| Access conditions: |
Only to be viewed on microfiche
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| Copyright: |
Copyright probably held by Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes |
| User restrictions: |
For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance |
| Language: |
English
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| Related material: |
Also within the records of the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society is the official correspondence for George William Sawday (MMS/India/Correspondence/Mysore/FBN 33-37). Further information on Sawday's work, as well as the work of his colleagues, will be contained in the relevant Synod Minutes (MMS/India/Synod Minutes/FBN 2-8 & MMS/India/Synod Minutes/South India/FBN 12-17).
Rev Sawday contributed a significant number of articles regarding his missionary work to 'The Harvest Field'. Copies of (or extracts from) a few of his and his wife's letters appear in missionary magazines.
A couple of images of Rev Sawday can be found in MMS/Home/Photographs/Box 2. |
Also within the records of the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society is the official correspondence for George William Sawday (MMS/India/Correspondence/Mysore/FBN 33-37). Further information on Sawday's work, as well as the work of his colleagues, will be contained in the relevant Synod Minutes (MMS/India/Synod Minutes/FBN 2-8 & MMS/India/Synod Minutes/South India/FBN 12-17).
Rev Sawday contributed a significant number of articles regarding his missionary work to 'The Harvest Field'. Copies of (or extracts from) a few o ... View more |
| Format: |
Archive
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