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A Few Biographical Notes

Pastoral Letter by Reid re:  Ed Cooney

View Photo of Wilson Reid

Wilson Reid was born in 1881 and grew up at Carnteel (County Tyrone, Ireland).  He often spoke well of the schoolmaster, who gave him a good grounding in the 3 R’s – reading, writing and arithmetic.  This no doubt contributed to his interest in languages, especially in grammar.  He attended the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and was duly confirmed, but did not feel any the better for this.  He became a regular pipe smoker.  In the autumn of 1903, Adam Hutchison had a mission in the school.  Wilson and others of his family attended.  Wilson often repeated how Adam gave his testimony, telling of when he decided to serve God 10 years previously. (TTT Editor's Note:  This would have been in 1893, before Adam could have professed through Wm Irvine or one of his  workers).  He was on his way home from work one day when his sister met him and told him to hurry home if he wanted to see his other sister alive.  He arrived shortly before she passed away.  Afterwards he went away down the garden and knelt among the trees and yielded his life to God.  Wilson felt what a happy man he must be to be already serving God for 10 years.

After a number of meetings, Adam asked any to stand up who wished to yield their life to God, and Wilson’s sister, Bella, was one who then stood up.  Some nights later another opportunity was given and this time Wilson himself stood up.  Shortly afterwards, Adam had to go away for a while, but said there would be a meeting each Sunday evening.  When Wilson asked him who would lead the meeting, he said, “You can do so!”  The first meeting after Adam left, a number were present and Wilson guided the meeting.  Afterwards, someone asked him how he did it.  Wilson replied, “I don’t know, except that I’ve been praying all the week.” 

Wilson continued to go to church on Sunday mornings until Easter, when he felt he had had enough of it.  Afterwards, a Sunday morning meeting was started and then they were also invited to convention.  Wilson spoke of the earnest spirit prevailing there, and how, on taking a walk in the countryside one would see a person here and there praying behind a tree.  Subsequently, Wilson went in the Work and had a year or two in England in Hants, and Wilts. (abbreviations for the counties of Hampshire and Wiltshire in the south part of England.)

Towards the end of 1905, a number of workers set sail from these shores for South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  Wilson was among the group of 4 brothers and 4 sisters who were to work in South Africa.  He landed at Cape Town and stayed at first in a Salvation Army Hostel.  His companion soon moved on and Wilson was left alone.  His resources being limited, his diet consisted mainly of porridge, and to economize, he went without sugar on it, and later without salt.

Wilson was having open-air meeting in a suburb of Cape Town called Claremont, a Mr. Muller, on his way home from work, passed by and heard Wilson preaching.  He did not stay to listen then, but on reaching home, Mr. Muller said to his wife, “The Truth is on the street to-night.”  Next day, Wilson was visiting and the last house he came to was the Mullers’.  Mr. Muller recognized him and invited him in.  Within about 3 weeks, Mrs. Muller yielded to God and her husband a little while later.  A young man, Jonny Abrahams, stood with Wilson.  His daughter, Mary, is in the Work.  An old lady used to stand at her gate listening.  When Wilson moved on, he asked the sister workers to continue the mission and the old lady decided.  (I obtained this information when in South Africa and visiting Mrs. Muller’s daughter, Nunnie, and her husband).

In 1906, another batch of workers arrived among whom was Fred Alder, who then joined Wilson.  They moved up to Kimberley to the area of the diamond fields and found lodgings with one of the diggers.  To pay their board and lodgings, they used to dig each morning until midday.  In the afternoons they would go visiting and have meetings in the evenings.  One of the FIRST to become interested was George Absalom.  For a while he resisted the Gospel.  He was also digging for diamonds and Wilson would talk with him while at work, but Wilson would take care to keep above him on the slope, lest George, irritated by the Truth, would push him down the hill.  George eventually surrendered and vowed to serve God, becoming one of the FIRST South Africans to go into the Work. In those days Wilson only had one pair of trousers, which he used to wash out at 4 a.m. on Sunday mornings and hang up with his pickhead tied in them.  Within a couple of hours they were dry and pressed, and some wondered where he got his new trousers from!

Later, Wilson was one of the first workers to go to Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe).  The evening before he left, he gave Martha Skerritt and her companion his last shilling, but the next day he received a letter from Willie Hughes from New Zealand enclosing 100 pounds.

There was a period in Wilson’s experience when he was not so well, being unable to sleep.  One evening as he went to bed, he heard it begin to rain on the iron roof of the house and he thought he would never sleep with that noise, but the steady patter of the rain actually lulled him into a sound sleep, which helped his recovery.  When he left for South Africa, he never expected to see Ireland again, but in fact, he was invited home for a visit after some years, and thus saw his parents again, who had meanwhile decided to serve God.

When Ben Boles lost his leg in an accident in 1916, Wilson was asked to take the oversight in Scotland, but he was not too happy to be away from his beloved Africa.  In the early 1920’s, he went to Holland and studied Dutch, but did not stay long, as he could leave things in the hands of Frank van de Merwe and Willie Smeenk.

While in South Africa, Wilson said he felt as though he was staying in one room of a large house, without exploring the other rooms. So in 1931, he and Paul Scholtz visited Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania) and Kenya, thus opening the way for the Work to start in these countries. He then proceeded to Egypt, where, with Willie Brown and Eddie Lowe, he began studying French, which was widely known there at that time.  Subsequently, Fred Quick came to Egypt and started the Work among the Greeks there.  Wilson moved on to Lebanon, where he left Willie and Eddie.

Sometime later Wilson was asked to take the oversight of the Work in Ireland, but agreed to this only on the condition that he share it with some other.  In fact, Wilson was not in favour of the principle of one worker alone being responsible for a country.  He said he would like to live in such a way that when he came to die, he would not be missed.  I believe he meant that he would delegate sufficient authority that there would be someone fitted and experienced enough to take his place.

In 1946, Wilson was the first elder worker to visit West Africa, where the Work had begun in 1931 in Sierra Leone, and he found the situation there unsatisfactory.  From that time Wilson took an interest in West Africa, and began to get other workers out there.  I heard Wilson in 1938, but it was in 1951 that I first met him, as it had been arranged for me to go to Nigeria.  I asked Wilson whether I would need to take anything particularly with me, and he replied, “Just a shirt and a pair of trousers!”  Subsequently, the Work was extended to Gold Coast(now Ghana)in 1953; East Nigeria in 1954 and later to British Cameroons (now parts of Cameroon and Nigeria) in 1958, where Wilson was one of the first to make a start.

In the early 1950’s Wilson became interested in Madagascar and tried to get workers in there, but visas were refused.  The Workers he had destined for there were then diverted to West Africa.  Wilson also visited The Gambia, but the way did not open there.  Wilson was the first worker to go to Ethiopia, where he stayed with a Canadian family and held some meetings in their home. This start was short-lived, as the authorities later cancelled the Canadian’s contract.  Nevertheless, one man professed there, and later emigrated to America.  Wilson was not a fluent linguist, but studied languages in order to encourage younger workers to do so, as they would be able to put them to good use.  He sometimes said that everyone had the right to hear the Gospel in his own language, but, faced with the multiplicity of languages in Africa, he seemed to come to the conclusion that this would only be possible in the Millennium.

I last saw Wilson at a convention in Kenya in 1966.  He was very fond of that country and even said it was where he would like to die.  In 1968, Wilson attended convention at Lusaka (Zambia) and Salisbury (S. Rhodesia) (now Harare, capital of Zimbabwe) but was not feeling so well.  He went on to attend convention at Cape Town (2), Pretoria and Umtwalumi,* but was taken ill and stayed at Chris Aller’s home, tended by an old friend of his, Mrs. Hope Middleton.  As he got worse, he was taken to hospital in Durban.  He had an operation, which was not successful and he passed away soon afterwards** in December.  The inscription on his grave reads, “A Pioneer of God.”

Author unknown

P.S.  *where he spoke on the 65th anniversary of the night he decided
**during the last afternoon of Durban convention

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TTT Editor's Notes: From Fannie Carroll’s Story: “There were eight workers going to South Africa at this time.  One of the older ones, Mary Moody, came around to comfort me.  I wanted to be alone, but I appreciated her kindness to me. It was three weeks’ journey from London to Cape Town, and eight workers got off there.” Eldon Tenniswood wrote a letter dated December, 1983 to "My dear family, fellow-workers and friends" about his trip to Africa.  He stated: "The first workers came to South Africa in 1905 and were Walter Reid, Alex Pearce, John Cavanagh, Joe Kerr, Mary Moodee, Martha Skerrit, Lilly Reid and Barbara Baxter.  In 1906, Hugh McKay, Jim Dunlop, Jack Godding, Fred Alder, Jean Allen, Nellie Taylor, Cissie Maughan and Edith Easy came."1905 Workers List shows Wilson entering work in 1904 and his sister, Bella in 1905.

Wilson Reid died at 87 years of age, in South Africa at the last convention there, per some notes.From "When the Gospel Came to Oregon:" "After this convention (1915-Oregon) Bella Reid left Oregon and went to South Africa."