Dr. Gurnos King
Gurnos King was born to William and Mary King at Bedwas in Wales, United Kingdom, on September 6, 1890.
King studied at the University of Wales where he graduated with a B. A. degree. He spent a short time teaching at the high school he once attended and afterward went to university to complete preparation for the teaching profession. His further education included his enrolment in the University of London as a student of Regent’s Park College, London, where he was awarded a Master’s degree in Theology. After this, he was admitted to the degree of Ph.D. at the University of London.
In 1921, he exchanged marital vows with Eleanor Gertrude Herrera, a nurse. The wedding took place at Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. Over several years, Eleanor had been a friend of Mrs. Davis, the wife of Calabar tutor, David Davis, and her coming to Jamaica offered opportunity for a renewal of that friendship.
King completed eighteen years of service as a Baptist minister in three pastorates in North London, Reading and Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. During this period, he gained administrative experience in his service as Secretary of the Free Church Council of Kingston upon Thames and District Secretary of the Home Counties’ Baptist Association, a position which enabled him to serve on the Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The BMS Committee unanimously accepted the Board’s nomination of Dr. King for the Calabar appointment. Subsequently, King confirmed his acceptance of the appointment.
In the afternoon of September 7, 1937, Calabar chapel was the venue for the installation of King as president of Calabar Theological College and headmaster of Calabar High School. Rev. Thomas Powell who, with Mr. Seymour Price, comprised the deputation from Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) to Jamaica, conducted the service of installation which included Holy Communion in which all Christians were invited to participate.
Powell explained that, when the BMS Candidate Board set out to select the Calabar head, they kept in mind the Jamaica Baptist Union request for them to exercise the greatest care in making the new appointment. The Committee identified the aim of finding a person who had had adequate pastoral experience which would prepare him to serve the churches of Jamaica, and who, at the same time, possessed the academic qualifications and administrative experience and training necessary for the presidency of the College and headship of the School.
In the evening of September 7, 1937, a large crowd gathered in the East Queen Street Baptist Church to welcome Dr. and Mrs. King to Jamaica. Apart from the leaders and pastors of the Baptist Union, the gathering included Rev. W. G. Hardie, Anglican Bishop of Jamaica, Rev. Armon Jones, Superintendent of the Methodist Church in Jamaica; Colonel H. Hodgson, Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army in the West Indies; Rev. Frank Nichols of the Congregational Church and Rev. J. F. Gartshore, representing the Presbyterian Church in Jamaica. Letters of apology for absence were read on behalf of the Custos of Kingston, Rev. H. Hughes, President of the Provincial Elders’ Conference of the Moravian Church in Jamaica, the acting Director of Education; and from Rabbi Silverman.
After that auspicious start to King’s time in Jamaica, much was expected of King’s leadership at Calabar. In fact, he began to endear himself to the Calabar Old Boys’ Association and quickly gained the affection of the students of Calabar College. He worked harmoniously with Rev. David Davis and was laying the foundation for a long and effective time of service in Jamaica. However, suddenly, King fell ill and, on January 30, 1939, he passed away in the Kingston Public Hospital.
His funeral took place in the chapel at Calabar College. A large gathering was on hand to mourn King’s passing. Officiating ministers were Calabar’s Vice- Principal, Rev. David Davis, together with Revds. John T. Dillon, Randolph Knight, Frederick Cowell Lloyd, Menzie Sawyers, and T. I. Stockley (Baptist ministers), Rev. E. Armon Jones (Methodist) and J. Kilpatrick (Presbyterian).
In his tribute, Davis said:
When he came amongst us, he had already served the Church of Christ in an eminent way for a considerable number of years and had attained considerable distinction in his homeland, not only for his scholarship but for his success in preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
He came among us to a position
which had been made illustrious by a series of eminent servants of God, who,
for nearly a century had carried on the work of education as heads of this
Institution, and he came bringing a mind well prepared and a spirit which had
been well trained by service of many kinds and a personality which was
eminently adapted to the many duties of his post here.
Those of us who worked with
him here confidently anticipated a long term of happy and successful
service—the fruit of which had already begun to appear, but in the inscrutable
providence of God, this was not to be and his service has been brought to an end
with a suddenness which leaves us stunned.
Davis expressed appreciation to two of Calabar old boys, Dr. Phillips and Dr. Carnegie “who spent so many hours in their unavailing efforts to preserve his [King’s] life.
King’s body was interred in the St. Andrew Parish Church Cemetery, with the Rt. Rev. W. G. Hardie, Anglican Bishop of Jamaica, presiding at the committal.
Six days after King’s funeral, a tribute from the students of Calabar Theological College appeared in the press. The students described King as “a wise and loving father,” and praised “his high intellectual endowments, remarkable Christian character, love, [and] patience.” “He exercised great care and patience in solving the difficulties of each student,” they said. “May the impression that his life has made on ours be lasting and may the work so well and enthusiastically begun continue to flourish.”
On June 4, 1939, the last of a series of memorial services for Dr King was held at Christ Church, Jones Town, where King had been a member, an officer and the treasurer.
After her husband’s death, Mrs. King returned to Britain with her son Howard. In 1946, the British Baptist Times offered congratulations to Mr. Howard G. King, son of the late Dr. Gurnos King and former student of Calabar High School, on gaining the B.Sc. with first-class honours in electrical engineering, at the University of London.
Mrs. King passed away in Surrey, England, in 1984, 45 years after Dr King’s death.
What would have been the legacy of Dr King, had he served Calabar for a decade or more? We do not know. However, what great promise did the start of his work provide
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