Wright Family Album
G E Wright - Early Years and Marriage (1873-1911)

George William Wright was born in Barnsley, Yorks. on December 17th 1873.  His father was postmaster in the town, and when only 14 George William left school having to give up the scholarship he had won to the Grammar School, much to his sorrow.  He joined the staff at the Post Office and seems to have gone through all the different departments. Messenger boy - telegraph boy - post boy - sorting clerk and serving behind the counter - sometimes his duties entailed getting up at 4 a.m. and during the winter he often had to walk through several inches of snow. Barnsley is a bleak place.

He was determined to get on and took exams which finally brought him to London in 1894 as a 2nd division clerk.  The salaries were small in those days and when first in London he could hardly make ends meet and often just had an apple for his lunch.

Promotion came in 1897 into the London Postal Service which meant an increase in his salary and more responsible work which he enjoyed.

He was always interested in Christian work and. taught in the Sunday School connected with the Church which he attended. After hearing a sermon one Sunday, from a missionary, he felt drawn to Missionary work and much to the surprise of his colleagues he offered to C.M.S. to go abroad as one of their missionaries.
CMS College, Islington
After a time of testing he was accepted and was sent for training at their College in Islington for three years. He did well in the last year. He was head student and gained a star in Hebrew, a high honour indeed. He was disappointed that he could not go to one of the Universities and only just missed a singing scholarship at King's College, Cambridge.

He was ordained in 1906 and after a few months as curate at a Church, in Derby, he sailed for Mombasa in December.

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 1909-1910

AMW as Mother's Help at St Just, before going out to Freretown to look after her father
I first met father (May always called George 'father') in January 1909. I went to E. Africa that month to look after my father (H K Binns) as mother was in Tasmania, nursing our sister Elvina who had consumption. My father met me on the ship when we arrived at Mombasa and we went to Bishopscourt for breakfast before crossing over to Frere Town. Father came out to meet us as we approached the house and I remember thinking now good looking he, was and particularly what a fine row of white teeth he had!

Father was doing a grand work, not only amongst the Africans, visiting, taking classes for enquirers, catechismen, and for those wishing for baptism, preaching in the market place and. teaching in the night school, but also amongst the Europeans, visiting and arranging Services for them on Sunday.  He became their first Chaplain, but was criticized rather sternly by his fellow missionaries.  He was told by them that he was sent out by C.M.S. to work amongst the Africans.  His reply was that if all the Government Officials and other Europeans were helped in their spiritual life, they would in their turn bring their Christian witness before the Africans.

We saw quite a bit of each other during that first year.  The missionaries had tennis together on Saturday afternoons after meeting in our house for tea.  We met at various meetings too, and sometimes father gave me a few tips about playing the organ as I was expected to play for the Services in Church on Sunday.  He was a splendid organist and I remember I thought how clever he was when he could sit down, play and sing parts of the Messiah, especially the Hallelujah Chorus. Towards the end of that year another missionary and myself used to go to Mombasa to practise carols which were to be sung in the Cathedral on Christmas Eve, arranged by father in order to help the Europeans to bring Christ into that festival.

It came as a great surprise when he proposed to me on Dec. 30th at a fellow missionary’s wedding when I was bridesmaid and he was best man. I could not give him an answer at the time but as I went to bed with fever a day or two afterwards I had plenty of time to think and pray over his proposal.  Before I accepted I remember telling my father about it.  The first thing he said was "Well, he hasn't asked my permission", a thing which isn’t often done now-a-days  And so we became engaged.

24-06-1910 marriage of GWW & AMB at Freretown Mombasa
We were married on June 24th at Frere Town and started our life together in Mombasa.  It didn't take me long to find out that I had married, a patient, thoughtful, unselfish Christlike man and we were very happy.

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