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Randle Manwaring, 1912-2010

Obituary

Randle Manwaring was one of many Christians who fought in WWII and subsequently vigorously supported the cause of Christ and encouraged the post-war growth of evangelicalism.

He was born in 1912, the son of a famous naval historian, and attended private schools in South London. He said: ‘I gained my first interest in Christian matters by singing school hymns’. He came to Christ through Crusaders (now Urban Saints), it seems sometime around the age of 20. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force Reserve in 1939, being called up the following year to become a founder member of the RAF Regiment which specialised in defending and capturing airfields.

He was involved in active combat in Burma, where he attained the rank of Wing Commander, and was present at the surrender of the Japanese generals in Rangoon, being personally responsible for relieving them of their swords. He wrote following this: ‘Hundreds of Christian navy, army and air force personnel joined together in a Songs of Praise service in Rangoon and I had the honour of being invited to lead it.’

Insurance, cricket & poetry

After the war he had a successful career in the insurance industry, being appointed to several positions, including President of the Society of Pension Consultants. He was a lover of cricket and an accomplished poet. He lived at Ditchling and, as a student, I can remember him speaking at the Sussex University Christian Union during the 1960s. He wrote A History of Evangelicals in the Church of England 1914-1980, published by Cambridge University Press, and an autobiography entitled On the Road to Mandalay, published in 2006 by Pen and Sword.

During the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Britain, he gave an article to EN remembering the conflict and stressing ‘the grace of God and his sheltering hand’ which preserved our nation at that time. For many years he served as a reader for the diocese of Chichester and was a long serving member of the Bishop’s Council.

He went to be with Christ on New Year’s Eve and the notice of his death in The Times read: ‘His “innings” closed on 98 in full assurance of his Christian faith’.

In an article for the Urban Saints website, he wrote: ‘I hope I have learned many vital truths of Christian experience, one of which is that all things work together for the good of those who love God. Further we must hand over all our anxieties in prayer. Above all, we depend on God’s grace, his free, unmerited favour.... He who has begun a good work in us will complete it. The fuller the commitment in this service, usually the higher the yield, remembering that our disappointments are God’s appointments’.

John Benton