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Barnes in Commonthe magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
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The story behind the pictureby Marion Perkins
Back in June 2006 I received a telephone call from one Elizabeth Jones. Elizabeth and I were at that time complete strangers. She was over in London from New Zealand and taking the opportunity during her visit to find out if anyone at Barnes Baptist Church remembered the Rev. George Shaw and his wife Louisa who had had connections with the church. Enquiries with archivists at the Regents Park Baptist College had revealed that the Shaws came to Barnes in 1939 and ministered in the Baptist Church through the war years. Before that they had served for many years as missionaries in India. At a personal level I could tell Elizabeth that I remembered the Shaws very well. I was thirteen when they came to the church and remember them being a very friendly couple. On Sunday evenings, after the main service, we 'young people' were invited round to their home for a 'sing-song' around the piano. We also heard about their wonderful experiences in India: of the missionary and Bible translation work they undertook together with their friends and fellow missionaries, Harry and Nell Jones. Harry and Nell's son Gordon - together with his wife Elizabeth - had followed in their footsteps, also serving as missionaries in India. During her last period of service in India Elizabeth had been sorting through some old files and letters when she came across this particular photograph of Mahatma Gandhi with a pretty little girl. Written on the back of the photo were the words, 'Shaw 1925'. But there was nothing to indicate the little girl's identity. Who was she? Elizabeth was intrigued. So began the detective work that eventually led her, via the archivists, to me. I agreed to do what I could to help solve the mystery. Over the years I had kept in touch with the Shaws' five children but now only their daughter-in-law, Cynthia, remained alive. I phoned Cynthia and eventually she was able to identify the mystery girl as being Joan, Mr and Mrs Shaw's youngest daughter. Although Joan had now passed away her own daughter, Susan, was now living in Zimbabwe. Susan was thrilled to receive the photograph of her mother, and to learn a little more about her grandparents. The Shaws, like many other missionaries, had to make big sacrifices in order to follow their calling, one of which was having to send their children back to England for their education. Long were the partings and many of their children's 'growing-up years' were missed. Gaps inevitably appeared in the family history. It's been a long - and as you will have guessed - complicated enquiry, but at last the mystery has been solved and the picture has found its rightful home. Copies of the photo were soon on their way to Susan's own sisters and their children in Australia, America and London. After 72 years a little piece of one family's lost history has been restored to them.
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