Saint Aldhelm (c.639-7090 was Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, a writer and scholar of Latin Poetry. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of Wessex. Aldhelm was educated by an Irish hermit called Maildulf (also known as Maemaidub, Maidubh and Meldun), who had a small school near what is now Maimesbury (which was named after him). He remained with him for many years. In 668 Pope Vitalian sent Theodore of Tarsus to be Archbishop of Canterbury. At the same time Hadrian, the North African scholar, became abbot of St. Augustine’s at Canterbury. Aldhelm, now aged about 30, went to Canterbury. There his studies included Roman law, astronomy, astrology, the art of reckoning and the difficulties of the calendar. He learned Latin and Greek, plus possibly Hebrew. He used Latinized Greek words in his works on poetry and prose. Due to ill health he left Canterbury and returned to Malmesbury Abbey where he was a monk under Maildulf for 14 years, dating probably from 661. It was a small community that had grown from Maildulf 's pupils On the death of Maildulf he was appointed as the first abbot of Malmesbury.He introduced Benedictine rule and secured the right of the election of the abbot to the monks he founded 2 other monasteries - Frome in Somerset and Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire. He also built a new church at Malmesbury and obtained grants of land for the monastery. He was the abbot there for 35 years He was a learned man and also a poet, It is said if his hearers would not listen to his sermons he would sing his own songs to them. There is a story that his sermon at Bishopstrow in Wiltshire was so long that his staff, which he stuck into the ground when he began, had ash buds on it at the end! His fame as a scholar spread to other countries. Artwil, the son of an Irish king, submitted his writings for Aldhelm’s approval As far as we know he was the first Anglo Saxon to write in Latin verse. ( For more detail go to Wikipedia entry) HIs fame reached Rome. He was successfully involved in solving the controversy of the dating of Easter. He reluctantly became the first bishop of Sherborne when the huge diocese of West Sussex was divided into Winchester and Sherborne. The monks at the abbey did not want to lose him so he was both abbot and bishop. His territory stretched right to Land’s End, Aldhelm was now in his mid 60s but he was very active as a bishop. He built the cathedral church at Sherborne. He was known to sing hymns and passages from the Gospels, interspersed with entertaining tales, in public places, so he might draw attention from the crowds and then preach to them. He is known as the Apostle of Wessex. He died on 25 May, 709 five years after he had become bishop. He was buried in the church of St. Michael at Malmesbury Abbey. HIs friend, St. Egwin, Bishop of Worcester, set up crosses at Aldhelm’s various stopping places. His feast, on May 25th, is in the Sarum Missal.

William Flororunso Kumuyi ( born 6th June 1941) is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry situated at Kilometre 42 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria. He is the author of 10 Christian books and devotionals ( See books published). William was brought up in a Christian family in Orunwa, Ogun State, western part of Nigeria. As a young child he read the Bible and sang songs and attended church regularly. In secondary school the principal taught atheism but he eventually started to go to various churches in town. William began teaching mathematics in 1962 at Mayflower School. He became a born again Christian on 5th April 1964. In 1967 he graduated from the University of Ibadanand as the best overall best graduating student in his year, with a first class degree in Mathematics. he also took a post graduate course in Education at the University of Lagos. In the 1970s he became a lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Lagos. In 1973 he started a Bible study group with 15 Lagos university students. By the early 1980’s that small group had grown to several 1000. This training became the foundation of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. Deeper Life Bible Church was formerly established in 1982. By 1988 the congregation had grown to 50,000 By 2005 the Christian ministry is said to have over 800, 000 affiliates September 2016 William addressed over 50,000 youths *to inculcate in them the highest virtues in youths and stay away from antisocial and push-pull tendencies. On 24th of April 2018 the auditorium, holding 30,000 worshippers, at the church in Gbagade, Lagos was inaugurated. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria, attended the . In 2013 the Foreign Policy magazine listed William *among the 500 most powerful people on the planet. Source use Wikipedia *

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was the most important Black protest leader in the USA during the first half of the 20th century. W.E.B. Du Bois was an American socialist, historian, author, editor and activist. shared in the creation of the NAACP ( National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The Soul of Black Folk (1903)- a collection of essays - was a landmark of African American literature He was the editor of The Crisis ** for 24 years (1910-34). It contained many influential pieces. His autobiography Dusk of Dawn (1940) is regarded as one of the first scientific treaties in the field of American sociology. The United States Civil Rights act of 1964, enacted a year after his death, embodied many of the reforms he had campaigned for during hie life full equal civil rights and political representation for the black population. Sources used Britannica Online Encyclopedia Wikipedia

Those born earliest Viv Anderson born 1956 Ian Wright born 1963 November 3rd John Barnes born 1963 November 7th Des Waler born 1965 Paul Ince born 1967 David James born 1970 Sol Campbell born 1974 Emile Heskey born 1978 January 11th Rio Ferdinand born 1978 November 7th Ashley Cole born 1980 10 of England’s former black footballers

I came across information about 10 Asian Christian Women during my research. I have set them up in alphabetically order and found extra information on 8 of them. Angie Hong - a Korean-American worship leader, speaker and writer. Dr Grace Ji-Sun Kim - a Korean American theologian and professor - best known for her work on the social and religious experiences of Korean women immigrants in N. America. Dr. Havilah Dharamraj - she is passionate about South Asian Christian leaders to understand the Word of God within the Asian context. HeeSun Lee is a Christian hip hop artist. She is vocal about her faith and uses her singles and albums to not only talk about Jesus but elevate her diverse experiences as a bicultural Korean American Christian Hosanna Wong - she has a unique storytelling voice in which she explores faith and identity through first hand experiences of lose, hope and redemption. Dr. Jayachitra Lalitha- she is an ordained minister of the Church of South India, She holds a number of roles at Tamilnadu Theological Seminary - associate professor, dean of the women’s studies dept. and coordinator of the women’s centre. Plus co-chair and coeditor of 2 organizations Dr Sydney Park - she is Associate professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School. Her courses and writings emphasis the need for reconciliation and justice initiatives, both within the church and society at large Sherrene DeLong- she is an Indian American doctoral student - she challenges what cultures are considered normal and the way in which American evangelism can become more open to eastern values like open -door hospitality. Tara VanderWounde - is a nationwide speaker at conferences and is passionate about equipping parents for experiences and conversations their children encounter. Vivian Mabuni - is a Chinese American author, speaker ans cancer survivor. She is passionate about raising up up the next generation of Asian American leaders. She is the founder of SIH -* Someday is Here Podcast. a place where Asian American women can explore their heritage. Ten Asian Christian women determined to forward the Christian Gospel.

Septimuis Severus (145-211) was born in Libya and became emperor of Rome from 193-211. He travelled to GB in 208. He strengthened Hadrian’s Wall and reoccupied the Antonine Wall. He invaded Scotland but fell fatally ill of an infectious disease and died on 4th February 211. Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761-1804) was born into slavery. Her ‘father’ was Sir John Lindsay who returned to England with her in 1765. She became a British heiress and a member of the Lindsay family of Evelix. She lived for 31 years at Kenwood House. Two of her sons were employed by the East India Company - William Thomas in England and Charles in India. Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh (1838-1893) was exiled to Britain aged 15. He was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was befriended by Queen Victoria and she became godmother to several of his children. In June 1861 he was one of the first 25 knights in the Order of the Star of India. He died young, living most of his final years in the UK…

Bakht Singh Chabra , also known as Brother Bahkt Singh, was India’s foremost Christian evangelistic preacher and indigenous church planter. He founded and established the Hebron Ministries in India. This world wide indigenous church planting movement grew to more than 10, 000 local churches. According to Indian traditions he is known as ‘Elijah of the 21st century’ in Christendom. He was born into a religious Sikh family in the village of Joiya. He studied at a Christian missionary school in India but Bakht at some stage ripped a Bible to pieces. His parents were against him coming to England in 1926 to study Agricultural Engineering because they feared he would influenced by Christians. He promised he would not convert. In 1929 he went to the University of Manitoba in Canada. He was befriend by 2 devout Christians -John and Edith Hayward. 4th February 1932 baptized in Vancouver, British Columbia In 1933 returned to India having told his parents by letter of his conversion. Asked to keep it a secret he refused - they left him - he was homeless. He started to preach in the streets of Bombay. He became a fiery itinerant preacher and revivalist gaining a large following throughout colonial India. He was initially Anglican but became independent. In 1937 the revival that swept through the Martinbur United Presbyterian church was one of the most notable movements in the history of the church of India. ( Jonathan Bonk in 1998 declared). He started local assemblies based on New Testament principles after spending a night in prayer on a mountain top at Pallavaram, Chennai in 1941. He held his first ‘Holy Convocation’ in Madras in 1941. These were held annually in Madras, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kalimpong. Participants,in their 1000s, would eat and sleep in huge tents and meet under a large thatched pandal for hours long prayer, praise and teaching meetings that began at dawn and ended late at night. The care and feeding of guests was handled by volunteers. Expenses were given by voluntary offerings, no appeal was issued. Read the 6 testimonies. 250,000 attended his funeral in Narayanguda’s Christian cemetery.

BPCA celebrated its 50 years in November 2019 (1969-2019). Prior to 1967 the Chowdhry brothers- Mujeeb, Najeeb and Waheed had started a home church. The services at St. Mary’s were originally led by lay preacher Akhter Samuel The pioneering Pak-Christian Church at St. Mary’s, London proliferated across the UK through traceable oral-history links. In 1994 the church moved to a new premise. Many of the BPCA leaders who attended the event were asked to speak and present trophies to the leading dignitaries within the Pakistani Christian community- see list. The Revd. Daniel Singh, the first ordained Church of England Asian minister, who galvanised the church, was posthumously awarded a trophy for ‘Outstanding leadership for Pakistani Christians in the UK’. (In 1978 the Rt. Revd Trevor Huddleston, Bishop of Stepney, had paid for Singh to attend Oak Hill College.) The award was collected by Dishad, his son-in-law. Two of the leaders present were Michael Nazir-Ali a former Anglican bishop and James Shera MBE , former mayor of Rugby. (See notes) Some thing separate, but interesting, I found an article about the voices of foreign language speakers and multilingual congregations in the Church of England * Everytime I think I’ve forgotten I thin I’ve lost the mother tongue, it blossoms out of my mouth Sujata Bhatt Sources used Evangelicals now Church Times

Sonia Gandhi, nee Maino, (1946) is an Indian politician born in Lusiana, Veneto, Italy. She is the President of the Indian National Congress. She took over as party leader in 1998, seven years after her husband Rajiv Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India and a descendant of Mahatma Gandhi), had been assassinated in 1991. She remained in office until 2017 when their son Rahul Gandhi became president. He resigned in 2019 and Sonia became president again. She is widely described as one of the most powerful politicians in the country and is often listed among the most powerful women in the world Veronica Michelle Bachet Jeria (b 1951) served as President of Chile from 2006-2010, and 2014-2018. She is the first woman to hold the Chilean presidency and the first female leader in South America. She is the first president of Chile to be elected since 1932. Rogoberta Menchu (b1959) is a K’iche Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala’s indigenous people. She founded the country’s first indigenous political party - Winaq. She is the first Maya Indigenous woman to ever run in a Guatemalan election. In 2007 and 2011 she was a candidate for the presidential election. She lost in the first round on both occasions but Winaq succeeded in becoming the first indigenous political party of Guatemala.

I have put together some information about some Asian British Sports personalities -there is an emphasis on cricket. Adil Rashid is an English cricketer who plays for Yorkshire and England as a leg spinner. He was part of the England squad that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup. His England captain,Eoin Morgan, regards him as a strong asset. He belongs to the Mirpuri community. Isa Guha is former England cricketer. She is now a cricket commentator,television and radio broadcaster. A member of the winning 2009 World Cup for women. She played for Thames Valley and Berkshire Manish Tailor is the founder of Swaggarlicious- founded in 2011 - which uses the power of football and education to engage with diverse community groups and organisations with mental illness. Her inspiration is her twin brother, who aged 18 had serious mental problems.A former headteacher she has received many awards for her contribution to community and sport. Moeen Ali is a former English international cricketer and captain- retired September 2021. He is a left handed batsman but a right-arm off- spinner. Represented England in all the formats. A member of the England’s 2019 winning squad. Former Warwickshire player now plays for Worcestershire. Monty Panesar is a former English international cricketer. He was a slow left-arm orthodox spinner. He made his debut in 2006. He was not a regular member of the team - Graeme Swann replaced him. He played for several different counties Naomi Dilip Dattani is an English professional cricketer who plays for and captains Middlesex Women and also plays for Sunrises and London Spirit. She is an all-rounder- she bats left handed and bowls left-arm medium. In 2020 she was one of 25 players awarded regional retainer contracts by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Nasser Hussain is a former England captain (1999-2003) and regarded as one of England’s most able captains. He played 96 test matches and 88 One day international games. He was a right handed batsman who scored over 30,000 in his career. He is now a commentator. Ruqsana Begum is a female professional kickboxer and boxer. She was a British and World Kickboxing Association Atomweight MuayThai boxing champion and captain of the British Muay Thai team. In 2018 she switched to boxing. Salma Bi is a former cricketer, who bowled off-spin and played for Worcestershire, Northampton and MCC. Today she runs a range of cricket schemes and sessions for girls and was rewared with an BEM in the new Year Honours list. Samera Ashraf is a police constable in Scotland and has a blue belt in karate and kickboxing. She hopes to inspire women to join Police Scotland. Sheneela Ahmed is a Criminal Lawyer Advocate and a Lawyer Football Agent. In 2014 she was crowned with Asian Woman Achievement Award 2014. She is also a Women of the Future (WOFT) Ambassador and received HSBC top 50 Women Global Award, Sonia Odedra is an Eglish cricketer who plays for Nottinghamshire, Lig

I have found further information on Wikipedia about 21 of the ‘lesser’ known musicians found in the book *Great Music Greats I have included Robert Leroy Johnson (1911-1938) because he is known as the father of the blues- the most important blue singer that ever lived - Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. In alphabetical order:- Chic - refined a relatively minimalistic disco sound - now called Nile Rodgers & Chic Donna Summer - birth name (bn) Ladonna Adrian Gaines Eric B. & Rakim - bns. Eric Barrier and William Michael Griffin Jr. - hip-hop duo Erykah Badu - singer, song writer, record producer and actress Fela Kuti - also known as Abami Eda - pioneer of Afrobeat Fugees - a hip hop trio Isaac Hayes - singer, songwriter, actor, composer and producer Lil Wayne - bn. Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. rapper, record exec.& entrepreneur Miles Davis -trumpeter,band leader and composer - acclaimed figure in Jazz Missy Elliot -bn. Melissa Arnette Elliot -rapper,singer,songwriter& record producer Nicky Minaj- bn. Onika Tanta Maraj-Petty -animated rapper,singer & song writer Nina Simone -bn. Eunice Kathleen Waymon singer, musician, arranger & activist N.W.A. - abbrev, for Niggaz Wit Attitudes -one of the greatest hip hop groups Pharrell Williams - record producer, rapper, singer, entrepreneur -won 13 Grammies Public Enemy - hip hop group -gone through lineup changes over the years Robert Johnson - father of the blues Run-DMC or Run-D.M.C. - famous hip hop group in 1980s- read ‘FIRSTs’ Snoop Dogg -(briefly as Snoop Lion) - rapper, songwriter, media personality & actor The Last Poets -several groups of poets and musicians - start 1960s Black nationalism The Notorious B.I.G. - bn. Christopher George Latore Wallace - rapper & songwriter The Sugarhill Gang- hip hop trio- first rap single to become a top 40 hit Tupac Shakur- 2Pac, bn.Lesane Parish Crooks- rapper and actor

Introduction to modern, British born, Asian musicians. Jay Sean is a singer, songwriter , record producer and arranger. Koomz is a songwriter and rapper. M.I. A. is an Oscar and Grammy nominated rapper, singer, record producer and activist. Mumzy Stranger is rapper,singer, songwriter and record producer. Nish is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Raxstar is a rapper from Luton. Popular artist in DESI hip hop.

Bree Runway born (bn) Brenda Wireko Mensah is a singer, rapper and songwriter of Ghanaian descent. In 2021 won Best New International Act at the BET awards. Dev Hynes,(bn) David Joseph Michael Hynes, also known as Blood Orange and fomerly as Lightspeed Champion, is a singer, songwriter,record producer and director.between 2004-6 he was a member of Test Icicles. Emeli Sande, bn.Adele Emily Sande, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She performed at both the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic games in London. In 2017,for the fourth time, she won the Brit award for best British Female Solo artist. Awarded MBE in 2017 for her services to music. Nao Jessica Joshua is a singer-song-writer and record producer from East London. her sound is described as soul combined with electronic music -Wonky funk. Her latest album is* And Then Life Was Beautiful* Abdullah Afzal is an actor and comedian. He has appeared in films( Raamis & Finging FatimaH and television ( Lunch Monkeys, Citizen Khan & Celebrity master Chef). Shazia Mirza is a stand-up comedian, actress and writer.She is best known for her stand-up comedy The Kardashians Made Me Do It.

Today there are solo races around the globe. Joshua Slocum,an American, between 1895-8 was the first to sail solo around the world - circumnavigation. This is a brief history of how man ( men and women) have speed up the circumnavigation over the last 200 years Joshua Slocum(1844-1909) spent a year !891-2) rebuilding his gaff rigged sloop oyster boat Spray. which was capable of self-steering. His book Sailing Alone (1899) won him widespread fame. Sir Francis Chichester (1901-1972) a British businessman, pioneer aviator and solo sailer. In his* Gypsy Moth 1V* he was the first person to sail singlehanded around the world by the clipper route and the fastest circumnavigator in 9 months and one day in 1966-7. In 1958 he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer! Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnson (born 1939) better known as Robin Knox-Johnson, in 1969 became the first person to complete a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. His entered his small Suhaili * in the* Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. There were 9 in the race the others dropped out. The race had started on 14th June 1968 and finished on 22nd of April 1969. Francis Joyon (born 1956) is a French professional sailboat racer and yachtsman. In February 2004 he became the new record holder setting a time of 72 days 22 hrs 54mins 22 secs. on IDEC formerly known as Sport Elec a boat not designed for single -handed sailing. Dame Ellen MacArthur (born 1976), an English sailor, in 2005 broke the world record. In her trimaran B&Q/Castorama in a time of 71days, 14hrs 18mins and 33 secs. Francis Joyon on 23 November 2007 set off in his IDEC2. He achieved a time of 57days 13 hrs 34 mins & 6secs breaking the old record by nearly 2 weeks. he held the record from 2008-2016 ( He holds many records -see list of Achievements) Clarisse Cremer (born 1989) a French professional sailor in the 2020-21 editon of the Vendee Globe set a world record, for a woman, of 87days 2hrs & 24 mins for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation. (see list for other results) Sources Encyclopedia of Great Explorers Wikipedia

Geoffrey Cyril Bingham (1919-2009) was an Australian author and cleric in the Anglican Church of Australia. He was founding principal of the Pakistan Bible Training Institute in Hyderabad, Pakistan (1957-67). He was also one of the founding members of the Austri-Asian Christian Church (AACC). From 1967-73 he was principal of the Bible College of South Australia after which he formed New Creation Publications. He was a gifted writer and NTCM published close to 300 of his books- they were mostly theological.

Samuel Marsden (1765-1838) was an English born priest of the C.of E. who went to Australia to work in the Colony of New South Wales. He was prominent member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) It is believed he introduced Christianity to New Zealand. He was a prominent figure in early New South Wales Australian History. !. through his ecclesiastical offices as the colony’s senior C.of E. cleric, 2. as a pioneer of the Australian wool industry 3. employment of convicts for farming 4. his actions as a magistrate at Parramatta- named as ‘Flogging parson’ When he moved to New Zealand he developed a gentler reputation.

Henry Martyn (1781-1812) was an Anglican priest and missionary to the peoples of India and Persia. He was ordained as a priest in C. of E. and became a chaplain for the East India Company (EIC). He arrived in India in April 1806 where he preached and occupied himself with linguistics. He translated the whole of the N.T. into Urdu, Persian and Judaeo-Persic He translated the Psalms into Persian and the Book of Common Prayer into Urdu. He was seized with fever in Tokat in the Ottoman Empire. On October 16th he died. Henry is remembered for his courage, selflessness and his religious devotion.

Francis Le Jau (1665-1717) was a missionary to South Carolina (1706-17)with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). He was a Frenchman from the La Rochelle region of France. He fled to the UK during the persecution of Huguenots after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He converted to Anglicanism and eventually graduated from Trinity College Dublin. In 1700 he moved to St. Christopher’s island for 18 months. From 1706 until his death in 1717 Francis served as a missionary to South Carolina based in Goose Creek. He was a dedicated missionary but he compromised with slave owners. The slave’s baptismal vow read You declare in the presence of God and before this congregation that you do not ask for baptism out of any design to free yourself from the Duty and Obedience you owe to your master while you live, but merely for the good of your soul and to partake of the Grace and the Blessing promised to the members of the church of Jesus Christ. They were still slaves to their earthly masters.

William Duncan (1832-1918) was an English born Anglican Missionary who founded the Tsimshian Communities of Metlakatla, British Columbia,in Canada and the Metlakatia, Alaska in the USA. In 1854 he joined the Church Missionary Society (CMS)and in 1856 he was sent to the North Pacific coast of Canada. He began to work with the Tsimshian community and learned their language. He Initially led 60 Tsimshians to found a new utopian Christian community, Matlakatla. He exerted his own brand of low church Anglicanism in the community. He created his 16 rules (See list)- communion was deliberately omitted. The community grew and was successful. Economic self-sufficiency was a core tent of Duncan’s vision. He split from the C.of E.on doctrinal differences and the CMS expelled him in 1881. He transformed his mission into a non-denominational ‘Independent Native Church’ which was quite evangelical and under the strict doctrinal control of William himself… With the government’s permission he established a second utopian community on Annette island, Alaska - which became an Indian reservation. In 1887 he led approximately 800 Tsimshians in a canoe voyage from ‘Old’ Metlakatla to’New’ Metakatla, Alaska. William died aged 86, he was with the Tsimshian community for over 60 years. He was often referred to as ‘Father Duncan’ but he was never ordained. He remains an extraordinarily controversial figure in Tsimshian communities today. Source Wikipedia

Richard Johnson (1756-1827) was the first an English Christian cleric in Australia. In 1786, aged 30, he was appointed prison chaplain of the prison Colony at new South Wales, Australia. John Newton and William Wilberforce, 2 notable men,wre keen for a committed evangelical Christian to take the role of chaplain in the colony. He arrived in Australia, with his wife Mary in 1788. Governor, Arthur Phillip,was more concerned with dealing with the convicts than having a church built. For 4 years Richard held services in the open air. June 1793 he began to build a church himself. At a cost of £67 he completed a building by September capable of holding 500 people. The Revd.Samuel Marsden arrived in 1794 as assistant chaplain.The church was burnt down in 1798. Richard took leave of absence in 1800 and did not return. He continued to show interest in Australia - in 1815 he recommended John Youl tobe chaplain at Port Dalrymple. he died on 13th March 1827. Source Wikipedia