Francis William Fielding White
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[edit] Growing Up
Francis William Fielding White was born on the 13 September 1911 in the eastern Brisbane, Queensland suburb of Norman Park, the son of Francis White and Jane Eliza White (nee Fielding). He spent most of his childhood on the White Family farm of Mount Carmel Orchard in the Queensland town of Redland Bay, by the shores of Moreton Bay.
His childhood consisted of working on the family farm, which produced such fruits as avocadoes and custard apples. Growing up by the water, he spent much of his free time in activities such as fishing and boating. Francis attended Redland Bay State School for his primary school education.
For his secondary schooling, Francis was sent to live with his cousins in the Brisbane suburb of Norman Park and he attended the prestigious Brisbane Grammar School. He thrived in this environment and was especially fond of English and Geography, but also loved to play sport. He participated in Rugby Union, Cricket, Gymnastics and Wrestling.
FWFW was always called Frank. His maternal grandparents called him Willie after their only son who drowned while attempting to save the life of a family friend Elsie Atthow.
[edit] Adult life
[edit] Life in Australia
Upon his graduation from Brisbane Grammar School, Francis took up a job as a clerk in a bank in the southern Queensland cane town of Beenleigh. During this time, he continued to be active in sport, participating in Wrestling and Surf Lifesaving. He was heavily involved at the Currumbin Surf Lifesaving Club, being Club Champion at one stage. He was also training for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin in the sport of wrestling, but he did not follow through with this.
But Francis was not satisfied to remain in Australia. So he decided to leave the life he had always known, and head to China as a missionary. His grandfather, Redland Bay pioneer William Fielding was so horrified at the prospect of his grandson heading for China, that he offered Francis a large slab of his own land at Redland Bay, in attempt to dissuade him from leaving. But Francis still decided to go, and the land was donated to the Girl Guides.
[edit] Life in China
Francis arrived in China as a missionary with the China Inland Mission (CIM), the forerunner of the modern-day Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF), in the late 1930s. However, while in China, World War 2 broke out. Francis tried to return to Australia to enlist to fight for his country, but his passage was blocked. So he enlisted in the British Indian Army, in the 6th Gurkha Rifles Regiment, as an officer. In his capacity as a Gurkha Officer, Francis was required to go on many dangerous missions and assignments, in China and various areas of South East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.
Once the war was over, Francis sought to be discharged from the Army. However, because of his fine skills in the languages of Mandarin Chinese, Hakka and Urdu, as well as having a working knowledge of Cantonese and Japanese, the army refused to discharge him, but kept him on to round up any enemy soldiers who remained unaccounted for.
At one stage, Francis was asked to drive a truck into a remote region of China, to a hospital. As he arrived at the hospital, a young missionary nurse named Isabella Marion Davidson walked out. It turned out that she too was from Brisbane, Queensland. Francis was utterly taken by her, and a week later they were engaged to be married. Francis had proposed to Isabella on the Great Wall of China. They were married in 1947 in Shanghai.
[edit] See also
- List of China Inland Mission missionaries in China
- List of Protestant missionaries in China
- Christianity in China
- Religion in China
