Leonard Sharland
Encyclopedia
Leonard William Chapple Sharland LTh MA (1904–1978) was a pioneer missionary amongst the Dinka people with the Gordon Memorial Mission of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in southern Sudan in the middle of the 20th century.
, Devon
. He was from a Devonian family which for many generations lived in Morchard Bishop
. His parents William and Ethel Sharland moved from Exeter to Exmouth not long before Leonard was born. They then moved to a terraced house in Clifford Road, Wallasey
on Merseyside
in 1911. Leonard left school at 14 years old during the 1st World War to work as an office boy for an estate agent.
Despite leaving school so young, Leonard studied in the evenings and was admitted to St Aiden's Theological College, Birkenhead
where he obtained a Licentiate of Theology in 1929. He then went on to complete a Master’s Degree at St John’s College
, Durham
. He was the first member of the family to go on to further education.
. He was curate of Christ Church Macclesfield
from 1930. During this time he was very active in work with youth, and followed his calling to become a missionary.
Leonard joined the Gordon Memorial Sudan Mission of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and left for Sudan in 1934. His first station was at Malek, on the banks of the River Nile where he served a sort of apprenticeship under the original pioneer missionary of the mission in Sudan, Archdeacon Shaw
. He spent a time acting as headmaster in Nugent School Loka, but his main work was amongst the cattle keeping Dinka people. He worked at the mission stations at Akot, Gel River and Panekar, finally ending his time with the mission in Rumbek
, where he saw the rapid changes as Sudan
gained independence. As an ordained minister he had a central pastoral ministry, but was also very involved in education, and a certain amount of building. He was described as "one of these rare men who can be appointed to educational, eveangelistic or pioneer missionary work and generally combines the three together". He was made a Canon
of Khartoum
Cathedral in 1951. Leonard returned from leave in England in 1951 with a wife and when he left in 1958 had three sons.
From 1946-1955 Leonard was the field editor of the ‘Southern Sudan Mailbag’ which brought news, mostly in the form of letters, from members of the Gordon Memorial Sudan Mission.
, Surrey
working on manuscript of the Bible translated into the Dinka language
. At the end of 1959 he took up the post of Vicar at St Faith’s, Maidstone
, a busy town centre church. After ten years there he moved to a country parish as Rector of St Mary’s, Hardington Mandeville
, near Yeovil, Somerset
.
When he retired in 1976 Leonard returned with his family to his roots in Devon to Lympstone
, just outside Exmouth
where he was born. He died on 5 Feb 1978 at a mission conference at Lee Abbey
, Lynton
, North Devon.
Kent
. She was also a missionary with the same mission in Sudan and came from an old Kentish family. Two of her aunts had also been missionaries in Uganda
and China
.
Leonard and Faith had four sons, Peter (born 1952), Roger (born 1953), Andrew (born 1956) and David (born 1959). Two of the sons, Roger and David, and his grandson Emmanuel have been missionaries in Sudan.
His eldest son Colonel Peter Roland Sharland, late of The Light Infantry
was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in The New Year Honours 2006.
Early Life
Leonard Sharland was born on 30 August, 1904 at Camperdown Terrace, ExmouthExmouth
Exmouth is a town in Devon. It may also refer to:Places*Exmouth Peninsula in Southern Chile*Exmouth, Western AustraliaPeople*Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth , a British naval officerShips...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. He was from a Devonian family which for many generations lived in Morchard Bishop
Morchard Bishop
Morchard Bishop is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 975, and contains a primary school, two churches, and a playing field with tennis court. Notable past residents include Ernest Bevin....
. His parents William and Ethel Sharland moved from Exeter to Exmouth not long before Leonard was born. They then moved to a terraced house in Clifford Road, Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
on Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
in 1911. Leonard left school at 14 years old during the 1st World War to work as an office boy for an estate agent.
Despite leaving school so young, Leonard studied in the evenings and was admitted to St Aiden's Theological College, Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
where he obtained a Licentiate of Theology in 1929. He then went on to complete a Master’s Degree at St John’s College
St John's College, Durham
St John's College is a college of the University of Durham, United Kingdom. It is one of only two 'Recognised Colleges' of the University, the other being St Chad's. This means that it is financially and constitutionally independent of the University and has a greater degree of administrative...
, 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...
. He was the first member of the family to go on to further education.
Ordination and Curacies
Leonard was ordained a deacon 1930, and ordained Priest in 1931 in ChesterChester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
. He was curate of Christ Church Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
from 1930. During this time he was very active in work with youth, and followed his calling to become a missionary.
A Missionary in Sudan
In 1932 Leonard’s brother, Charles, who was a cabinet maker, went out to southern Sudan to Loka and to start a trade school in Lainya, west of Juba. Two years later Leonard followed him.Leonard joined the Gordon Memorial Sudan Mission of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and left for Sudan in 1934. His first station was at Malek, on the banks of the River Nile where he served a sort of apprenticeship under the original pioneer missionary of the mission in Sudan, Archdeacon Shaw
Archdeacon Shaw
Archdeacon Archibald Shaw was a pioneer missionary amongst the Dinka people with the Gordon Memorial Sudan Mission of the Church Missionary Society in southern Sudan in the first half of the 20th century.-An Englishman by origin:...
. He spent a time acting as headmaster in Nugent School Loka, but his main work was amongst the cattle keeping Dinka people. He worked at the mission stations at Akot, Gel River and Panekar, finally ending his time with the mission in Rumbek
Rumbek
Rumbek is a town in South Sudan.-Location:The town of Rumbek is located in Rumbek Central County, Lakes State in central South Sudan. This location lies approximately , by road, northwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in that country. Rumbek sits at an elevation of above sea level...
, where he saw the rapid changes as Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
gained independence. As an ordained minister he had a central pastoral ministry, but was also very involved in education, and a certain amount of building. He was described as "one of these rare men who can be appointed to educational, eveangelistic or pioneer missionary work and generally combines the three together". He was made a Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
Cathedral in 1951. Leonard returned from leave in England in 1951 with a wife and when he left in 1958 had three sons.
From 1946-1955 Leonard was the field editor of the ‘Southern Sudan Mailbag’ which brought news, mostly in the form of letters, from members of the Gordon Memorial Sudan Mission.
A Clergyman in England
After returning to England from Sudan in 1958, Leonard spent a year in LimpsfieldLimpsfield
Limpsfield is a village and parish in the east of the county of Surrey, England near Oxted at the foot of the North Downs. It lies between the A25 to the south and the M25 motorway to the north, near the Clackett Lane service station...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
working on manuscript of the Bible translated into the Dinka language
Dinka language
This article is about the language, for the ethnic group see Dinka.Dinka, or , is a Nilotic dialect cluster spoken by the Dinka people, the major ethnic group of South Sudan. There are five main varieties, Ngok, Rek, Agaar, Twic / Tuic East, and Bor, which are distinct enough to require separate...
. At the end of 1959 he took up the post of Vicar at St Faith’s, Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, a busy town centre church. After ten years there he moved to a country parish as Rector of St Mary’s, Hardington Mandeville
Hardington Mandeville
Hardington Mandeville is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 598.-History:...
, near Yeovil, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
When he retired in 1976 Leonard returned with his family to his roots in Devon to Lympstone
Lympstone
Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 1,754. There is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia...
, just outside Exmouth
Exmouth
Exmouth is a town in Devon. It may also refer to:Places*Exmouth Peninsula in Southern Chile*Exmouth, Western AustraliaPeople*Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth , a British naval officerShips...
where he was born. He died on 5 Feb 1978 at a mission conference at Lee Abbey
Lee Abbey
Lee Abbey is a nationwide ecumenical Christian organisation which has a vision of "sharing Christ through relationships". Its original and largest site is Lee Abbey Devon, a Conference, Retreat and Holiday Centre located on a estate near Lynton, North Devon...
, Lynton
Lynton
Lynton is a small town in Devon, England. It lies on the northern edge of Exmoor and is located at the top of a gorge above Lynmouth, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway...
, North Devon.
Family
Leonard Sharland married Faith Streatfeild (1915–2001) in 1951 in her home town of WesterhamWesterham
Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, in South East England with 5,000 people. The parish is south of the North Downs, ten miles west of Sevenoaks. It covers 5800 acres . It is recorded as early as the 9th century, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book in a...
Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. She was also a missionary with the same mission in Sudan and came from an old Kentish family. Two of her aunts had also been missionaries in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Leonard and Faith had four sons, Peter (born 1952), Roger (born 1953), Andrew (born 1956) and David (born 1959). Two of the sons, Roger and David, and his grandson Emmanuel have been missionaries in Sudan.
His eldest son Colonel Peter Roland Sharland, late of The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a "large regiment" by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade:...
was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in The New Year Honours 2006.