Heroes from the Chapel

Stroll into the MLC Chapel and take the time to look around. On its walls, high above the pews, you will see the names of some inspirational people. Learn more about them here.

DR DAVID LIVINGSTONE 
Missionary & Expolorer

Born: 13 March 1813, Blantyre, Scotland
Died: 30 April 1873, Africa
David Livingstone was trained for theology and medicine. He served in Africa for the London Missionary Society from 1841-1856. David established medical stations in South Africa and from 1851 to 1856 began a series of remarkable explorations (for establishing trade routes and missionary activity across the continent). By 1856 David was regarded as a great explorer and in the following year led an expedition to attempt to discover the source of the River Nile. He also attempted to end the Arab slave trade in Africa.

EDITH CAVELL
Nurse & WWI HEROINE

Born: 4 December 1865, Swardeston, England
Died: 12 October 1915, Brussels, Belgium
Edith Cavell was a nurse who became a WWI heroine. She was trained at The Royal London Hospital, gaining appointment as matron at the Berkendael Institute (a training school) in Brussels in 1907. She worked with the resistance movement in France during WWI and helped more than 200 soldiers escape from occupied Belgium to the Netherlands before she was arrested and tried by a military court. Edith was executed by firing squad sparking outrage. She became a martyr and a British heroine. Her case was highlighted in British propaganda during the war years.

CATHERINE BOOTH
Mother of the Salvation Army

Born:17 January 1829, Ashbourne, England
Died: 4 October 1890, Clacton-on-Sea, England
Married to William Booth, Catherine was one of the founders of The Salvation Army, a denomination of the Christian church known for its social welfare. The couple belong to the revivalist and evangelical tradition for social reform in mid-19th Century England. Catherine became know as Mother of The Salvation Army, which began in London's East End in 1864 as the Christian Mission. Catherine was know for the Food-for-the-Million Shops where the poor could buy hot soup and a three-course dinner for sixpence.

CHARLES GEORGE GORDON
 British General

Born: 28 January 1833, Woolwich, England
Died: 26 January 1885, Khartoum, Sudan
Charles George Gordon was a British General who became a national hero for his exploits in China and his ill-fated defence of Khartoum against Sudanese rebels. Known as Chinese Gordon, the son of an artillery officer was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in 1852. During the Crimean War (1853 to 1856) he distinguished himself by his reckless bravery. General Gordon also set up a number of orphanages for young boys in England and India and encouraged their education.

EARL ANTHONY SHAFTESBURY
 Evangelical social reformer

Born: 28 April 1801, London, England
Died: 1 October 1885, Folkestone, England
The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, was an evangelical social reformer and politician in the House of Lords. He campaigned for factory legislation, initiating an act which made it illegal for children under the age of nine to work in textile factories. While Chairman of the Ragged Schools Union he helped establish over 100 schools for poor children. With William Wilberforce, The Earl helped to end slavery in England establishing the Abolition Committee 1787. The slave trade was abolished in 1807.

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE
 Lady of the Lamp

Born: 12 May 1820, Florence, Italy
Died: 13 August 1910, London, England
Known as the Lady of the Lamp, Florence is credited with beginning the style of modern nursing (recognising the need for high standards of hygiene). Following many troop deaths due to cholera during the Crimean War (1853 to 1856), Florence volunteered her services, taking 38 nurses to Turkey. She returned to Britain in 1857 as a heroine. Next, Florence campaigned to improve nursing in military hospitals, establishing London's Nightingale School and Home for Nurses. She defended women's rights, arguing for the removal of restrictions which stopped women from pursuing work.

ELIZABETH BARRETT-BROWNING
Poet

Born: 6 March, 1806, Durham, England
Died: 29 June, 1861, Florence, Italy
Elizabeth was a friend and wife of Robert Browning, the American poet with whom she famously exchanged hundreds of letters. Elizabeth, who was bed-ridden for most of her adult life, became known as one of England's greatest poets. She published her first poem anonymously when she was 14, with her collection of love sonnets entitled Sonnets from the Portugese later becoming one of her most famous works. She is known for her courage in the midst of suffering chronic illness.

JOHN WESLEY
Founder of Methodism

Born: 28 June 1710, Epworth, England
Died: 2 March 1791, London England
John Wesley was the founder of Methodism as a movement. One of nineteen children to Susanna and Samuel, he is known to have begun the class meeting system of helping Christians to develop in their spiritual life and it has since been copied all over the world. He travelled over 250,000 miles on horseback in his life - holding open air services in the new industrial cities of England - and brought Christian revival to Christianity. He wrote, translated or edited more than 200 works including sermons, commentaries, hymns and a Christian library of 50 volumes. His brother, Charles, is famous for many popular hymns.

FRANCES HAVEGAL
 Composer of Hymns

Born: 14 December 1836, Worcestershire, England
Died: 3 June 1879, Swansea, Wales
Frances Havergal was known as a prolific composer of hymns in the Methodist tradition who is well represented in the Methodist Hymn Book. These were the best selling and popular songs of the music halls and brought story telling into hymns (during the 19th Century). Frances was educated at home and in private schools in Worcestershire and trained as a pianist and singer. She wrote mostly on the themes of faith, consecration and service. Another Year is Dawning; Lord, Speak to Me and Golden Harps are Sounding are some of the hymns she penned.

HORATIO NELSON
British Naval Admiral

Born: 29 September 1758, Burnham Thorpe, England
Died: 21 October 1805, at sea (off Cape Trafalgar), Spain
Regarded as one of Britain's greatest naval heroes, Admiral Nelson was involved as a commander in the French Revolution wars of 1793 (in command of the Agamemnon) and awarded Knight as a member of the Order of the Bath. As a result of conflict he lost one eye and one arm. Before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he was killed, Admiral Nelson is said to have inspired his troops by declaring: "England expects that every man will do his duty."

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE
 British Politician, Philanthropist & Abolitionist

Born: 24 August 1759, Hull, England
Died: 29 July 1833, Mill Hill, England
William was elected into Parliament at 21 and became a key supporter of Prime Minister Pitt. During the 1790s William continued to bring issues of the slave trade before Parliament, mobilising public opinion on the issue. The Slave Trade Act received Royal Assent some 20 years later in March 1807. William also worked to promote the idea of Christian missionaries in India and helped to found the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Slavery Abolition Act, providing all slaves in the British Empire their freedom, was passed by Parliament one month after William passed away in 1833.