George Algernon West
Encyclopedia
George Algernon West, MM
(17 December 1893 – 25 May 1980) was a British
Anglican
missionary
who spent many years in Burma, first as a missionary for the Society for Propagation of the Gospel and then as the Lord Bishop of Rangoon. In the latter position he served for nineteen years, and gradually became active involved with the Moral Re-Armament
movement. After retiring from Burma in 1954 he became Assistant Bishop of Durham
.
and of his Labour Party
, sent the young George to St. Bees Grammar School in Cumberland
, the only public school in Cumberland and Westmorland
. There from 1907 to 1913, West "gained high repute" as a batsman, and played cricket
and football for the county side. He was part of the 1911-1912 XV which played eleven, won ten and lost only one match. Also in that team was John L.I. Hawkesworth
, who later became a corps commander in Eighth Army
during the Second World War. Out of the twelve men who comprised the 1908 Cricket XI, seven would later give their lives in World War I
. After finishing at St. Bees he went to Lincoln College, Oxford
as a history exhibitioner, where he studied until the outbreak of the First World War. Interrupting his studies, he joined Sir Ralph Paget
's Red Cross relief unit in Serbia
, and was present when the Serbian Army
was forced to retreat
into Albania
.
Afterwards he returned home to Britain and joined the Royal Garrison Artillery
(the British Army
's heavy guns). Promoted from Bombardier
to Corporal
, in 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal
for service in France. Towards the end of the war, West was sent back to England to take an Officer's Training Course. He was commissioned, but the Armistice
came into force before he could return to the front. Having been demobilised, he returned to Oxford to continue his studies, and decided to read for Orders in 1919. During Advent
the following year he was ordained as a Priest of the Church of England
on 19 December by the Bishop of Durham, Hensley Henson.
In 1921 West went to Burma, then part of the Indian Empire, to join the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) at its St. Peter's Mission at Toungoo in the south. He spent five years with the Karen people
on the Upper Salween River
. His experiences in Burma redefined the rôle of missionaries, and made him a popular figure with the Karenni. His work became known through his publication of a quarterly newsletter, Mountain Men, and later through his writing of three books on the Karenni; Jungle Folk (1933), Jungle Friends (1937) and Jungle Witnesses (1948). The work he did in Burma, latterly at Kappali, recommended him to the position of Bishop of Rangoon. On 5 April 1923 he married Helen Margaret Scott-Moncrieff, the daughter of a senior army officer. Unfortunately, two years later she died.
received news that he was to be superseded by West as Bishop of Rangoon. He was elected Bishop of Rangoon after the Church of England in India had been given autonomy, and was now the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, and was therefore answerable to the Metropolitan Bishop of Calcutta
who was technically the head of the Church of Burma. While Bishop he travelled all over his diocese, as he had while a missionary, and continued to pay especial attention to the affairs of the Karenni.
Upon reaching Rangoon to assume the bishopric, he wrote;
He continued to voyage back and forth to England, being particularly involved with the Rangoon Diocesan Association. Seemingly unaffected by the outbreak of the Second World War
, while travelling on 9 June 1941 West was involved in a serious motor car accident which left him unconscious for three weeks. Having recovered, he left for India to recuperate and was therefore absent when the Japanese
declared war and invaded Burma
.
With his Diocese overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army
, West went to the United States
. There, he became a leading member of the Oxford Group, a movement devoted to an "ideology of democracy", which later became the Moral Re-Armament
(MRA) movement. For a two-month period in 1942 West became the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
. While in America he wrote a book called The World that Works (1944) devoted to the MRA ideals. While in the United States, he married Grace Hay in Tryon, North Carolina
in April 1943. Soon after, fully recovered from his injuries, he returned to India
to do what he could. With the eventual defeat of the Japanese in Burma, West was one of the first British civilian allowed back into the country, flying in to Rangoon on 9 July 1945 to find the city in a parlous state and discovered that his Cathedral
, St. Paul's, had been fitted out as a distillery by the Japanese occupiers.
. Under his leadership the hosts of churches which had been destroyed or damaged were rebuilt or repaired. In June 1948 he underwent an operation for throat cancer
which affected his speaking. While recovering Karenni separatists marched on Rangoon, reaching a point only nine miles away from the city in January, 1949. It was partly thanks to the efforts of West, whom the Karenni respected and admired, that after a siege of one hundred and twelve days the Karen withdrew. West resigned the bishopric of Rangoon in 1949 but later withdrew his resignation, and returned to Britain in time for that year's annual meeting of the Rangoon Diocesan Association.
He continued in his position as Bishop of Rangoon for another five years, commuting between England and Burma, attending to the needs of the Burmese under his care and also tended to the many services of remembrance to remember the men of XIV Army in the Burma campaign
. In 1954 he resigned as Bishop, and had no active rôle with the church until 1965, when he became for three years the Assistant Bishop of Durham. Having finally retired at the age of 74, he retired to Durham
, where he died on 25 May 1980
A brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Lethbridge West, was killed on 8 June 1944 while commanding the 1/8th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers
at the Battle of Kohima
.
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
(17 December 1893 – 25 May 1980) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
who spent many years in Burma, first as a missionary for the Society for Propagation of the Gospel and then as the Lord Bishop of Rangoon. In the latter position he served for nineteen years, and gradually became active involved with the Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament was an international Christian moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from the American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman, a Lutheran, headed MRA for 23 years, from 1938 until his death in 1961...
movement. After retiring from Burma in 1954 he became Assistant Bishop of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
.
Early life and career
George Algernon West was born on 17 December 1893, the son of the Reverend George West and Marion West. His father, also named George Algernon, despite being a staunch supporter of Keir HardieKeir Hardie
James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
and of his Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, sent the young George to St. Bees Grammar School in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, the only public school in Cumberland and Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
. There from 1907 to 1913, West "gained high repute" as a batsman, and played cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and football for the county side. He was part of the 1911-1912 XV which played eleven, won ten and lost only one match. Also in that team was John L.I. Hawkesworth
John Hawkesworth (British Army officer)
Lieutenant-General Sir John Ledlie Inglis Hawkesworth, KBE, CB, DSO and Bar was an officer in the British Army during World War I and World War II.-Early life and career:...
, who later became a corps commander in Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
during the Second World War. Out of the twelve men who comprised the 1908 Cricket XI, seven would later give their lives in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After finishing at St. Bees he went to Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
as a history exhibitioner, where he studied until the outbreak of the First World War. Interrupting his studies, he joined Sir Ralph Paget
Ralph Paget
Sir Ralph Spencer Paget KCMG, CVO, PC was a diplomat in the British Foreign Service, culminating in his appointment as Ambassador to Brazil in 1918...
's Red Cross relief unit in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, and was present when the Serbian Army
Serbian Army
-Objectives:The Serbian Army is responsible for:* deterring armed threats* defending Serbia's territory* participation in peacekeeping operations* providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief-Personnel:...
was forced to retreat
Serbian Campaign (World War I)
The Serbian Campaign was fought from late July 1914, when Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia at the outset of the First World War, until late 1915, when the Macedonian Front was formed...
into Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
.
Afterwards he returned home to Britain and joined the Royal Garrison Artillery
Royal Garrison Artillery
The Royal Garrison Artillery was an arm of the Royal Artillery that was originally tasked with manning the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division, and the guns of the siege...
(the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's heavy guns). Promoted from Bombardier
Bombardier (rank)
Bombardier is a rank used in artillery units in the armies of Commonwealth countries instead of corporal. Lance-bombardier is used instead of lance-corporal....
to Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
, in 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
for service in France. Towards the end of the war, West was sent back to England to take an Officer's Training Course. He was commissioned, but the Armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
came into force before he could return to the front. Having been demobilised, he returned to Oxford to continue his studies, and decided to read for Orders in 1919. During Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
the following year he was ordained as a Priest of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
on 19 December by the Bishop of Durham, Hensley Henson.
In 1921 West went to Burma, then part of the Indian Empire, to join the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) at its St. Peter's Mission at Toungoo in the south. He spent five years with the Karen people
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
on the Upper Salween River
Salween River
The Salween is a river, about long, that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea in Southeast Asia. It drains a narrow and mountainous watershed of that extends into the countries China, Burma and Thailand. Steep canyon walls line the swift, powerful and undammed Salween, one of the...
. His experiences in Burma redefined the rôle of missionaries, and made him a popular figure with the Karenni. His work became known through his publication of a quarterly newsletter, Mountain Men, and later through his writing of three books on the Karenni; Jungle Folk (1933), Jungle Friends (1937) and Jungle Witnesses (1948). The work he did in Burma, latterly at Kappali, recommended him to the position of Bishop of Rangoon. On 5 April 1923 he married Helen Margaret Scott-Moncrieff, the daughter of a senior army officer. Unfortunately, two years later she died.
Bishop of Rangoon
On 4 December 1934 the Right Reverend Norman Henry TubbsNorman Henry Tubbs
Norman Henry Tubbs was an eminent Anglican clergyman in the mid-20th century.Norman Henry Tubbs was educated at Highgate and Caius. Ordained in 1903 he was initially a Curate at Whitechapel Parish Church before moving to India as a CMS missionary, eventually becoming Principal of Bishop’s...
received news that he was to be superseded by West as Bishop of Rangoon. He was elected Bishop of Rangoon after the Church of England in India had been given autonomy, and was now the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, and was therefore answerable to the Metropolitan Bishop of Calcutta
Bishop of Calcutta
The Bishop of Calcutta exercises episcopal leadership over the Diocese of Calcutta of the Church of North India. The diocese was established in 1813 as part of the Church of England and the first bishop was Thomas Fanshawe Middleton and the second Reginald Heber...
who was technically the head of the Church of Burma. While Bishop he travelled all over his diocese, as he had while a missionary, and continued to pay especial attention to the affairs of the Karenni.
Upon reaching Rangoon to assume the bishopric, he wrote;
He continued to voyage back and forth to England, being particularly involved with the Rangoon Diocesan Association. Seemingly unaffected by the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, while travelling on 9 June 1941 West was involved in a serious motor car accident which left him unconscious for three weeks. Having recovered, he left for India to recuperate and was therefore absent when the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
declared war and invaded Burma
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
.
With his Diocese overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, West went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. There, he became a leading member of the Oxford Group, a movement devoted to an "ideology of democracy", which later became the Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament was an international Christian moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from the American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman, a Lutheran, headed MRA for 23 years, from 1938 until his death in 1961...
(MRA) movement. For a two-month period in 1942 West became the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, with jurisdiction over middle and north Georgia. It is in Province IV of the Episcopal Church and its cathedral, the Cathedral of St...
. While in America he wrote a book called The World that Works (1944) devoted to the MRA ideals. While in the United States, he married Grace Hay in Tryon, North Carolina
Tryon, North Carolina
Tryon is a town in Polk County, North Carolina, United States. According to the 2000 Census the population of Tryon was 1,760. The area is a center for equestrian activity and fine arts....
in April 1943. Soon after, fully recovered from his injuries, he returned to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to do what he could. With the eventual defeat of the Japanese in Burma, West was one of the first British civilian allowed back into the country, flying in to Rangoon on 9 July 1945 to find the city in a parlous state and discovered that his Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
, St. Paul's, had been fitted out as a distillery by the Japanese occupiers.
After the war
West devoted his energy to help rebuild his diocese. While working with the MRA he had come into contact with several Buddhists who would assist his understanding of dealing with them in Burma, helping to lower barriers which existed between them and ChristiansChristianity in Burma
Christianity in Burma has a history dating to the early 18th century.-Roman Catholicism in Burma:There is a significant Roman Catholic minority among the churches of Burma.-Protestantism in Burma:...
. Under his leadership the hosts of churches which had been destroyed or damaged were rebuilt or repaired. In June 1948 he underwent an operation for throat cancer
Head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
which affected his speaking. While recovering Karenni separatists marched on Rangoon, reaching a point only nine miles away from the city in January, 1949. It was partly thanks to the efforts of West, whom the Karenni respected and admired, that after a siege of one hundred and twelve days the Karen withdrew. West resigned the bishopric of Rangoon in 1949 but later withdrew his resignation, and returned to Britain in time for that year's annual meeting of the Rangoon Diocesan Association.
He continued in his position as Bishop of Rangoon for another five years, commuting between England and Burma, attending to the needs of the Burmese under his care and also tended to the many services of remembrance to remember the men of XIV Army in the Burma campaign
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
. In 1954 he resigned as Bishop, and had no active rôle with the church until 1965, when he became for three years the Assistant Bishop of Durham. Having finally retired at the age of 74, he retired to Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, where he died on 25 May 1980
A brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Lethbridge West, was killed on 8 June 1944 while commanding the 1/8th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers
Lancashire Fusiliers
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
at the Battle of Kohima
Battle of Kohima
The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive into India in 1944 in the Second World War. The battle was fought from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima in northeast India. It is often referred to as the "Stalingrad of the East".The battle took place in...
.