Dorothy Purry autobiographical notes

A small notebook containing the account of a female missionary working in southern China in the 1920s and 1930s. The missionary would appear to be Dorothy Purry who was involved in Women's Work for the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society in their South China District and specifically within the...

Full description

Archive & Special Collections MMS/17/02/09/17 Open

Order number: MMS Box 1204
Date(s) of creation: post 1940
Level: Sub-series
Format: Archive           
Main author: Purry; Dorothy Jean (1886-1961); teacher; educational missionary

collection SOAS Archive
id MMS.17.02.09.17
recordtype archive
scb_item_location Archive & Special Collections
item_location Archive & Special Collections
scb_loan_type Reference only
scb_order_with MMS Box 1204
callnumber MMS/17/02/09/17
callnumber_txt MMS/17/02/09/17
callnumber-sort MMS/17/02/09/17
prefix_number 17
title Dorothy Purry autobiographical notes
scb_date_creation post 1940
scb_level Sub-series
level_sort 7/Collection/Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Sub-Collection/Series/Sub-Series/Sub-Sub-Series/File
scb_extent 1 volume
author Purry; Dorothy Jean (1886-1961); teacher; educational missionary
author_facet Purry; Dorothy Jean (1886-1961); teacher; educational missionary
authorStr Purry; Dorothy Jean (1886-1961); teacher; educational missionary
author_letter Purry; Dorothy Jean (1886-1961); teacher; educational missionary
format Archive
scb_admin_history Dorothy Jean Purry was born on 30 October 1886 and became a Methodist at an early age. She trained as a teacher and applied to serve as a missionary with the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society. Once the Society had accepted her she was appointed to work in their South China District, leaving England in October 1913. Her work, principally in and around Canton [Guangzhou], focused on providing a Christian education to children and women. She was also involved in the training of teachers and bible women who would then assist in educational and evangelical work amongst women and children. Purry also provided some help with non-medical work in the mission's hospital. Purry, like many British missionaries, was interned by the Japanese in 1943, probably at the Oriental Missionary Society in Canton. After liberation she returned to England in 1946 and died in September 1961.
scb_custodial_history Gift to Methodist Church Overseas Division from Mrs Enid Crawford Walters, 26 May 1982
description A small notebook containing the account of a female missionary working in southern China in the 1920s and 1930s. The missionary would appear to be Dorothy Purry who was involved in Women's Work for the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society in their South China District and specifically within the Canton Circuit. The first two-thirds of the notebook is an account of Purry's experiences as a missionary principally between 1929 and 1935 and focuses on her literary, educational and evangelical work. She also records the work of her Chinese colleagues, who are principally bible women and teachers. Much of the discussion of her and her colleagues work also reflects on the political situation in China in the 1920s and 1930s. The last third has general notes, the vast majority of which are extracts from Joy Homer's 1941 publication 'Dawn Watch in China'. The notebook contains three inserts: two additional dated entries from 1935 and a small copy of A J May's 1934 design for a Methodist Church on Hennessey Road in Hong Kong.
scb_related_name_code GB/SOASNAF/P999
scb_place_code 1814991
7729894
1809858
scb_access_status Open
scb_copyright Copyright held by Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes
scb_use_restrictions For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance
language English
language_search English
hierarchy_top_id_raw MMS
hierarchy_sequence MMS.0017.0002.0009.0017

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