| Summary: |
Comprising mainly photographic material (individual photographs and an album) with a few personal papers. The majority of the photographs (some of which are in a poor condition) were taken by Bestall but some were also taken by his colleagues (such as the Rev W R Winston & the Rev Alfred Woodward) and relate to the mission in Upper Burma [Myanmar] (mostly Mandalay and Pakokku), dating from c1888 to c1911. The photographs include images depicting local people, local buildings and the local landscape as well as the missionaries and their families, mission property (including schools and the Leper Home at Mandalay), school pupils, parishioners and European visitors.
The photograph album, probably dating from the last few years of the nineteenth century, depicts the local area including people and buildings as well as the missionaries and mission property (including the Leper Home at Mandalay) in Upper Burma [Myanmar] (mostly Mandalay and Pakokku).
Bestall's papers consist of: a few notes on 24 photographs; a notebook with many loose sheets commenting on the mission, his colleagues, events, etc, late 1890s; an undated map of Burma [Myanmar] published by the American Baptist Mission Press.
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| Admin history: |
Arthur Henry Bestall, the youngest son of the Rev and Mrs W S Bestall, was born in Tavistock, Devon, on 4th March 1863. Educated at Kingswood School he became a schoolmaster himself teaching in Gravesend and Rhyl. His ministerial training was undertaken at Richmond College and in 1887 he was sent to serve in the new Wesleyan Methodist mission field of Burma [Myanmar]. Initially, whilst learning Burmese, he served as Military Chaplain in Mandalay but in 1888 he moved to Pakokku to establish a new mission. Three years later he returned to Mandalay and, with his newly wed wife Rebe Edmeades, established a leper home in Mandalay in 1891. In 1893 he returned to Pakokku where he remained until 1897 when he returned once again to Mandalay. A year later he was made Chairman of the Burma District.
In 1910 Bestall returned to England and was posted to Wolverhampton (Trinity). In 1914 he transferred to Woking. However, in 1920, at the express request of the Missionary Committee, he returned to Burma [Myanmar] and served as Chairman of the District. Throughout both of his periods of service in Burma [Myanmar] Bestall was involved in the expansion of the mission including the provision of schools and medical facilities, most notably the Leper Home at Mandalay. Furthermore, he was involved in a great deal of translation work - particularly of the scriptures and hymns - culminating in his participation in the British and Foreign Bible Society's publication of the New Testament in Burmese in 1913.
His wife contributed to much of the work of the mission as well. In both Mandalay and Pakokku she took charge of the girls' schools whilst her medical training enabled her to assist in the Leper Home as well as to tend to the general health of her colleagues and parishioners, taking especial interest in the health of mothers and their children. In 1924 the Rev & Mrs Bestall returned to England and in the same year Bestall was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal (first class) for service to the British Empire. He spent the remainder of his career in Portsmouth (Southsea) from 1924 to 1930 and Dorchester from 1930 to 1933. In both locations he served for a time as Chairman of the District. In 1933 Bestall became a supernumerary and died three years later on 7th December 1936. His wife, Rebe, survived him and died in about 1964.
Arthur Bestall was not the only member of his family to work overseas. His eldest brother Charles served as a colonial administrator in South Africa whilst another brother, William John Gregory (1859-1934), served as a Wesleyan Methodist missionary in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] from 1882 to 1893. Two of his sisters were also involved with the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society. Florence L E Bestall worked in education in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] from 1881 to 1889. In 1891 she married the Wesleyan Methodist missionary Sheldon Knapp (1866-1951) who served in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] from 1887 to 1902. C E H Bestall (d. c1927) was married to the Wesleyan Methodist missionary George Joseph Trimmer (1856-1920) who served in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] from 1877 to 1920. Finally, and on a slightly different tangent, Arthur Bestall's son Alfred Edmeades Bestall (1892-1986), became a respected and much loved artist and illustrator most famous for his work on the cartoon 'Rupert the Bear'. |
Arthur Henry Bestall, the youngest son of the Rev and Mrs W S Bestall, was born in Tavistock, Devon, on 4th March 1863. Educated at Kingswood School he became a schoolmaster himself teaching in Gravesend and Rhyl. His ministerial training was undertaken at Richmond College and in 1887 he was sent to serve in the new Wesleyan Methodist mission field of Burma [Myanmar]. Initially, whilst learning Burmese, he served as Military Chaplain in Mandalay but in 1888 he moved to Pakokku to establish a new mission. Three years later he returned to Mandala ... View more |
