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| The Wedding Photograph |
| The Woosters |
| Annie Wild |
| Thanksgiving Hall |
| Hull |
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Thomas WildIV and The Holines Movement |
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Go to section:- Thomas Wild (1848 – 1932 Pictured above right) and Elizabeth Hunt (1843 – 1910 Pictured above left), were married 23rd August 1873. Elizabeth was tragically killed in a motoring accident in August 1910 whilst they, their son Thomas and his wife Elizabeth and their chauffeur were on a tour of Scotland. Thomas later remarried. There were few, if any, records of his second wife kept by the Wild family, and indeed some of Thomas’ great grandchildren were unaware that he had remarried until I mentioned I was trying to discover exactly who his second wife was. Initially the only information was word of mouth that she was involved with a ‘sect’ called The Independent Holiness Movement and that she drew Thomas into it and possibly siphoned off family cash to the movement. She was apparently not well liked by the Wild family, his son supposedly refusing to set foot in the house if she was there. I was keen to discover who this mysterious woman was and a photograph of the wedding provided by Malcolm Heyward, a descendent of Thomas’ sister Ellen, seemed to be a lead. The photograph was labeled with the name of the bride as Annie Wild (Wooster). This combined with what I had already found out about The Independent Holiness Movement led me on a path that filled an interesting gap in the life of Thomas but, as will be seen, ultimately proved to be something of a red herring. The following is the result of my research.
Thomas and The Holiness Movement. The Independent Holiness Movement with which Thomas’ second wife was allegedly involved was one of a number of groups which came from what was generically called The Holiness Movement. The Holiness Movement came from a division within the Methodist church which started in America in the late 1700’s and spread to Britain in the early and mid 1800’s. In its simplest form it was a return to the fundamental teachings of John Wesley. There were a number of preachers involved and separate ‘churches’ grew up, all coming under the name of the Holiness Movement. My research suggests that the Holiness Movement was somewhat akin to what today is called the charismatic movement. Most of the 'churches' preached baptism of the Holy Spirit and the schisms which subsequently occurred were more about the outward manifestations of this (speaking in tongues etc) than the fundamental beliefs. Thomas’ involvement with the ‘generic’ Holiness Movement goes back long before his second marriage. William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, was a Primitive Methodist and was ‘converted’ in 1847 by James Caughey, one of the American preachers who brought the Holiness Movement to Britain. William left his Methodist connections in 1865 and started his evangelistic work which was later to become The Salvation Army. In 1887, only 9 years after William Booth officially named The Salvation Army, Thomas registered one of the farm packing sheds so meetings could be held there by the Army and, incidentally, the YMCA. He later built a hall in Sipson village which the Salvation Army ran for a few years. This hall was later to become the Sipson Baptist Chapel. In 1890 William Booth published his book In Darkest England and the Way Out on social reform and how to overcome the poverty trap of Victorian England. This led to the Darkest England Scheme. One of the stages of this scheme was a farm colony which trained people in various agricultural skills in preparation for them to take up new lives in the colonies. In 1891 land was purchased by The Salvation Army in Hadleigh, Essex for this purpose and Thomas apparently superintended its purchasing, planning and planting, having been personally acquainted with General Booth although he was never a Salvationist. In later years, and for unknown reasons, Thomas disagreed with The Salvation Army and apparently disassociated himself from them. This may not be entirely true and some connections may have been maintained, one of the wreaths at Elizabeth’s funeral being from the Salvation Army in Yiewsley. In 1897 the hall built by Thomas in Sipson became a Mission Hall and it could be inferred that it was at this time he separated from The Salvation Army. Another group growing from, and coming under the banner of, The Holiness Movement was the Pentecostal League of Prayer started by Reader Harris QC in 1891. This was an inter or trans-denominational group started specifically with the aim of preaching holiness, baptism of the Holy Spirit and revival to ALL believers, regardless of denomination. Sometime after ‘leaving’ The Salvation Army Thomas started attending meetings of the Pentecostal League of Prayer and it seems that this group or expression of the Holiness Movement was to have the greatest influence on Thomas. In 1903 Thomas introduced one David Thomas of the Pentecostal League of Prayer to the village of Penn in Buckinghamshire, specifically the Methodist Church. A small number of members ‘responded to the message’ two of which were George Wooster and his wife. For the next 18 months or so the Woosters and their little group held holiness meetings in the village and remained members of the methodist chapel. David Thomas, under the auspices of the Pentecostal League of Prayer, continued to visit and support them. In 1905 a mission was held where Reader Harris preached. Around this time some Methodists disagreed with the teachings of the Pentecostal League of Prayer and so the Woosters left the Methodist Church and started meetings at their house, Pennbury Farm. George retained his friendship and association with David Thomas and The Pentecostal League of Prayer, accompanying David on a mission trip to Wales; David Thomas having originated from the Carmarthen area in West Wales. It was on this trip that he met and became friendly with Charles H Stalker from Ohio. This was to become a long term relationship. Charles Stalker seems to have been something of a mentor to George as he maintained his friendship with him even after his later separation from David Thomas.
The formation of the Independent Holiness Movement. In 1906 David Thomas separated from The Pentecostal League of Prayer and formed his own group The Holiness Mission. This may perhaps have been triggered by his friendship with George Wooster and George's experiences with the Methodists. His primary reason for the breakaway being that he believed it was no longer possible to work with the denominations as many of them were unsympathetic to the Holiness Movement; probably just as many denominations were (and in some cases still are) unsympathetic to the charismatic movement of the 1970's and 80's. George Wooster affiliated himself to The Holiness Mission and, in 1907, set up a mission in Penn. In 1910 he toured Scotland to preach, and in 1911 set up a mission in Leicester. This was firstly in Denman Street and then at a larger premises in Mere Road. I believe they may have rented what was then the Railway Mission Hall at 180(?) Mere Road. In the latter half of 1911 George Wooster purchased 167 Mere Road. He is listed in the Post Office and other directories as the resident although it may also have been used as a 'mission house'. In 1914 there was a Holiness Convention held in Penn and it was at this convention that Thomas, for want of a better term, changed faith. A few months after this he held mission meetings in Sipson. There was little response and it was at this point that Thomas “threw in his lot” with the holiness movement through David Thomas and The Holiness Mission and George Wooster in particular. In 1916 George Wooster’s affiliation with David Thomas and The Holiness Mission came to an end when David Thomas and other leaders stressed the need for an ordained ministry. George Wooster disagreed, went independent, and formed The Independent Holiness Movement. The Holiness Mission was later to become the International Holiness Mission. (See the notes page) It seems that the Independent Holiness Movement based its self in Leicester. By this time I believe George Wooster had made a permanent move from Penn to 167 Mere Road, leaving his eldest son George Job managing the farm in Penn. As he had been the founder of the original Holiness Mission in Leicester he would have had some personal following and this would have been the foundation of his new Independent Holiness Movement. Where the new movement met is not known although it was likely to have been at George's home in Mere Road. George's youngest son, (see later) refers in his recollections to "...the mission house at Leicester". Two sisters, Louie and Mary Jefkins were co-founders of the Independent Holiness Movement. They too originated from Penn and had probably been members of the Methodist Church with George. In 1922 land was purchased in the city centre for a purpose built meeting hall. It was this hall that Thomas was apparently prominent in financing. It opened in 1925 and was called Thanksgiving Hall to honour the victorious return of troops from the Great War and was situated at 151, London Road. Thanksgiving Hall closed in mid to late 2005 due to declining congregations and was sold at auction for £500,000 in February 2006. There was a covenant attached to the sale restricting its use – no alcohol, gambling, lap dancing etc, and it is now a Halal restaurant called Al Mashriq.
A little about The Independent Holiness Movement. The Independent Holiness Movement saw rapid growth during its first year, with many new centers opening throughout the country, including Scotland, and the west and east of England. It would seem the 1920's and 30's were its heyday. However the Second World War saw a decline in membership and little is known of the fate of The Independent Holiness Movement after the war. Leicester would have remained the main centre at least until the death of George Wooster in 1957. George Job Wooster was to marry Mary Jefkins and it seems likely that he would have followed in his fathers role as a leader within the Movement. He died in 1974. History suggests that a steady decline would have taken place from this time on. In early 2006 I was in contact with Mr Alan Bower, a trustee for what remains of The Independent Holiness Movement, and at that time congregations in Hull (of which Alan Bower is the pastor) and Bridgnorth still existed. Since then I have continued to look for further history of The Independent Holiness Movement and discovered that in 1978 the Bridgnorth congregation purchased their own meeting hall from the council, the College House Annexe. In 2007 the movement put the annexe on the market and it was bought back by the council. This information came from the minutes of the Bridgnorth Council meetings and details of the sale infer that the congregation may have been dissolved. Where, or if, they now meet is not known. As of 2006 the movement still published its own periodical The Holiness Messenger. Included in the deed of trust for Thanksgiving Hall (a copy of which I have obtained) were the doctrines of The Independent Holiness Movement and I have transcribed them onto a separate page. I personally can see nothing remarkable in them, their basic beliefs being no different from any other Christian church. I have been able to learn little of their actual rites and practices but it seems they had what could be called ‘strict’ practices. In later years, at least in Leicester, they did not advertise their meetings and when Thanksgiving Hall came up for sale few, if any, people knew what it was and the occupants of the neighbouring buildings had not realised that meetings had still been taking place there, albeit in the rear vestry rather than the main hall. One article states, “No recruitment or ecumenical initiatives have ever been known.”
Both the Woosters and Wilds were farmers and market gardeners and probably old friends. There were wreaths at the funeral of Elizabeth Wild (nee Hunt) from a Job and Mary Wooster of Beaconsfield the inscription reading, “In loving memory of a much-lamented dear and true friend” and a wreath with the inscription “In loving remembrance, G and N Wooster, Penn”. I traced a George A Wooster in the 1901 census from Buckinghamshire who is the George Wooster of the Independent Holiness Movement. The census shows that his daughter was born at Pembury Farm, a probable transcription error of Pennbury Farm. As previously mentioned when George left the Methodist church he started meetings at his home Pennbury Farm. He was born in 1874 and his wife was Nellie – G and N Wooster. Going back to the 1881 census his parents were Job and Mary. This family friendship goes a long way to explaining why Thomas introduced David Thomas to them and thus to the Methodist Church.
It is at this point that circumstantial evidence and a number of coincidences came into play. The name on the wedding photograph from Malcolm Heyward and which started my quest was Annie Wooster. The 1881 census showed that George Wooster had a sister Annette who was born in 1877. The bride looks to be in her mid 30’s. Annette Wooster would have been 34 in 1911, the date I had, at the time, estimated for the wedding. (See the notes page). David and Alan Bower seemed to recall that Mrs Wild may have been George Wooster’s sister and that in her will she had left most of her estate to his eldest son George Job Wooster. After Thomas’s death Mrs Wild had moved to Evington on the outskirts of Leicester, then home of The Independent Holiness Movement, George Wooster and his family, and died there. The conclusion I came to was that the second Mrs Wild named as Annie Wooster on the wedding photograph was Annette Wooster the sister of George Wooster. Then I found that the youngest son of George Wooster was alive and well, aged 92, and living in Beaconsfield, Bucks. He had no recollection of Mrs Wild being his aunt! Annie or Annette Wooster was a red herring.
The recollections of David Wooster. David Wooster was born in the latter half of 1914, 3 years after the estimated date of Thomas’ second wedding. He has fond memories of Thomas. He recalls him being a frequent visitor to Pennbury farm, having Sunday lunch there after the meetings in his father’s mission hall. Thomas took him on holiday to Cornwall on at least two occasions, first class rail travel to Penzance! He recalls Mrs Wild as “…rather sedate”, and says “…she also joined the mission.” The Wooster family continued farming in Penn until around the time Thomas Wild died; George Job, eldest son of George managing the farm. In about 1932 they moved all their farming activities to Leicester. Actually to a village approximately 6miles from Leicester city centre called Great Glen. George Job then took on the farm full time becoming a well known cattle breeder and working with the government during the war, work for which he received an MBE. After the death of Thomas, George Albert found a house for Mrs Wild in Evington and to quote David “…looked after her due to the great friendship between the families.” David wrote down his recollections of his mother’s story and says “…as followers of the Lord Jesus mother and father had a sincere desire to help others in the Christian way, but somehow they were not settled in their spirits. However, our heavenly Father who knows the hearts of all brought Mr Thomas Wild into their lives. He was a Godly man with a heart full of love, and a desire to help some of his friends to do good. He introduced Mr Thomas, a draper, from Battersea, London who came to take a service in the Methodist Chapel Penn.” This Mr Thomas was David Thomas from the Pentecostal League of Prayer.
So who was the second Mrs Wild? At the time I first wrote this 'essay' the one stumbling block I always had to Annette Wooster being the second Mrs Wild (at least until I found David Wooster) was that I was unable to find a Wild and Wooster together in any transcriptions of the GRO marriage index. The marriage of a Thomas Wild in the district of Staines in September 1911 was listed but no corresponding Annie or Annette Wooster nor (at the time) was there any person listed on the same page. It was time to spend some money and order the marriage certificate of the said Thomas Wild and hope it was the right person… it was. The bride was one Annie Matilda Neighbour. She was a spinster of “almost 39 years” at the time of the wedding and was living in Albion Lodge, Cranford, Middlesex. Her father was John Neighbour, a market gardener (no surprise there then) and they were married in Harlington at the Baptist chapel on September 12th 1911. The writing on the certificate is a little unclear and I had at first thought the date was the 20th but I have since been given a transcription of a family 'birthday book' which records the marriage of Thomas Wild snr. on the 12th. The 1881 census shows Annie to be the fifth of seven children and that her mother was called Esther. Two of the children had ‘Miller’ as their middle name and I guessed that this may have been Esther’s maiden name and a search of the BMD index showed that a John Neighbour had married an Esther Miller in the 3rd quarter of 1862 in the district of Kensington. By 1901 John was a widower and the BMD index shows that an Esther Neighbour died in early 1899 in the district of Brentford. John Neighbour is listed in the Post Office Directory of Middlesex of 1874 with the address Albion Lodge. He is not listed in the Return of Owners of Land of 1873. This suggests that he probably rented his land. Further reading of the obituary of Elizabeth Wild shows a ‘Miss Neighbour and John Neighbour (Cranford)’ present at the funeral, as Annie was a spinster of 37 or 8 at the time I am guessing that this was Annie and her father. As already mentioned Annie Wild (neé Neighbour) moved to the village of Evington on the outskirts of Leicester after the death of Thomas, soon after she took a housekeeper on, a Miss Day. She and Miss Day later moved into the Pilgrims Home in Evington. The Pilgrims Homes are an undenominational organisation, set up by evangelical Christians as 'The Aged Pilgrims' Friend Society' in 1807 to provide warden type accommodation for Protestant Christians over the age of 60. I am guessing that they were quite possibly some of the first residents in the Evington home as it opened in 1954, Annie would then have been 85. David Bower’s wife, Joy, recalls going to see her in the home around 1959 or 1960 and recalls she may have been around 99. This turned out to be not far off for a childhood memory but a little misleading when it came to searching for her death in the GRO index. I eventually found that she died in the first quarter of 1958 aged 88. I assume that she died at the Pilgrims Home and though I have been in touch with them they are unable to confirm this.
Before drawing any conclusions it is only right that mention is made of Thomas himself. Thomas was a man of many parts. Besides being a highly successful market gardener he was a member of Middlesex County Council, a Justice of the Peace, a County Magistrate and a member of the education council. And he was of course, as already mentioned, very active in the Baptist church. The newspaper articles of the time which I have read and the obituaries at the time of his death remark on his integrity and care for the welfare of the community. It is said he held strong views on many subjects and was seen by some to be changeable. Reading between the lines as it were, Thomas was the type of man who, once he decided on a course of action, was totally whole hearted about it, even if it seemed by others to be contrary to his previous convictions. He was undoubtedly brought up as a Baptist, the family having been (as many of the family still are) Baptists for many generations, and the apparent ‘spiritual nomad’ does not seem to fit his profile. One article I read described him as being “fickle” in his religious beliefs. I think “fickle” is perhaps the wrong word and this is an interpretation of his ‘changing of views’ mentioned above.
All this evidence seems to contradict the family oral history of Thomas’ second wife being involved in The Independent Holiness Movement, drawing him in and siphoning off his money. As far as I can see there is little evidence for this. The time line along with the recollections of David Wooster suggests that Annie was not the reason for Thomas joining the Independent Holiness Movement but rather the other way around. It is true that he finally severed his links with the Baptist church and joined The Holiness Mission in 1914 after his marriage to Annie but his association with the generic holiness movement and the first steps on the path which was to lead to the formation of The Independent Holiness Movement started at least 7 years before the death of Elizabeth when he introduced David Thomas to Penn Methodists in 1903. It is quite possible that he (and possibly Elizabeth) continued to support the group which met in George Wooster's farm house and who were to be among the fouders of The Holiness Mission. It may be a coincedence but the accident in 1910 in which Elizabeth was killed happened, as stated at the beginning, in Scotland in 1910. George Wooster took part in a preaching tour for The Holiness Mission in Scotland in 1910. I wonder whether Thomas and Elizabeth's holiday coincided with this tour. If it did they may just have decicded to meet up with George. But it is not outside the bounds of possibility that Thomas may have taken an active role in the mission trip as he was later to be a frequent preacher at the centres of The Independent Holiness Mission. As mentioned earlier the Holiness Movement as a whole seems to have been a move in the church similar to the charismatic revival of the 1970’s and 80’s, all denominations seeing a move of the Holy Spirit. In fact there were links between the holiness movement which resulted in the formation of the Independent Holiness Movement and the well known Welsh 1904 revival. I can speak from experience as a Baptist in the late 70’s that seeing the freedom of worship and moving of the Holy Spirit in the charismatic churches stirred up a desire to experience it for myself. I subsequently left the Baptist denomination and now attend an independent charismatic church. I may be biased by my own experiences but I believe this may be what happened to Thomas and George Wooster. Thomas had seen this same worship and move of the Holy Spirit either during his association with the Salvation Army and/or with the Pentecostal League of Prayer. As the Pentecostal League of Prayer was trans-denominational he was probably seeking to bring this freedom to the Baptist churches with which he was involved. David Wooster said in his recollections that his father and mother were “…unsettled in their spirit” it would seem that they too may have seen something of the Holiness Movement and were seeking to experience more. The Wilds and Woosters being close friends Thomas introduced David Thomas of The Pentecostal League of Prayer to them and thus to the Methodist church. This introduction of a trans-denominational organisation, to me, indicates that Thomas desired to introduce the freedom of worship and move of the Holy Spirit to the denominations rather than he and George leave them. His later experiences when holding meetings in Sipson and his subsequent withdrawal from the Baptists show that he was frustrated in this. The reasons for George Wooster’s withdrawal from the Methodists have already been given and were of a similar nature. The other accusation against the second Mrs Wild was that she siphoned off the family money into the Independent Holiness Movement. We know it’s true that Thomas was prominent in financing the building of Thanksgiving Hall and was one of the trustees. It also seems that he was generous to the ministry of George Wooster as a whole but this was no more than he had done for the Baptist church. As already mentioned he built both Sipson (although, at the time of construction, the building in Sipson was not strictly for the Baptists) and Harmondsworth chapels. He financed the building of the Harmondsworth chapel after the original had been destroyed by a fire and later sold it to the congregation at a ‘knock down price’. I am sure that he was generous to the ministries of these and Harlington chapel, to which he belonged, as a whole too. He was, I would say, willing to put his money where his heart was. History also shows he was a shrewd business man, I find it hard to believe that he would let his money be siphoned off. I think he would have been aware of where every penny was going. There is one thing that may have sparked the story of the ‘cash siphon’, and have what may be considered a grain of truth, and that is Thomas’ will. He obviously changed his will after Elizabeth was killed and he had re-married. His last will is dated 27th June 1927 and can be summarised as follows: He makes George Albert Wooster, George Job Wooster (George A Wooster’s son) and Mary Jefkins trustees. He leaves his house (The Vineries) all his household goods and half his shares in Wild and Robbins (the value of his shares amounted to £9,000) in trust to Annie, the other half of his shares are equally divided between his son Thomas and George Job Wooster. On the death of Annie, or when she had no further use for them, the household goods were to go to George Job Wooster and The Vineries to Thomas his son. On her death Annie’s shares in Wild and Robbins were to be divided between George Job Wooster and Thomas his son. The residue of his estate he left to The Independent Holiness Movement. There were also bequests to one Jason Priest in his employment and to David Wooster. I can imagine the disposal of the shares not going down well with the family – the greater portion of the farm was leaving the family and as share holders non-family members would, at least in theory, have a say in the running of the farm! It is possible that the bad feeling in the family started only after this will was written and they felt that Annie had had a say in this division of wealth. Bear in mind that based on average earnings £9,000 pounds is the equivalent of £1,500,000 today. It should also be noted that when R. R. Robbins was taken on as a partner he had insisted on having 51% of the shares. With this division of the shares in the will the Wild family actually held by far the lowest percentage of shares. These shares were at some time recovered into the family as my grandfather bought out R. R. Robbins in the late 1940’s and the farm was restored to family control. Sad to say it would seem that a combination of Thomas’ religious affiliations (and perhaps Annie's) and the division of his wealth in his will caused a family schism. On her husband's death Annie had more in common with the Wooster family and The Independent Holiness Movement than with the Wilds of Sipson and so moved to Leicester with them. She was then written out of the Wild family history except to be cast as an anonymous ‘baddie’ and the cause of the schism. Personally I feel this may have been somewhat harsh. The passage of nearly 80 years of history means the absolute truth will never be known. However there is one thing we can be sure of and that is, whatever the reasons behind Thomas' religious attachments and interests, his friendship with George Wooster and the introduction of David Thomas to Penn Methodist was a seed sown. As a result The Independent Holiness Movement was born and is still alive today. In fact of all the ‘churches’ born out of the Holiness Movement it is the only one which remains in existence; the others having closed, amalgamated with other churches/denominations such as the Nazarenes or changed out of recognition.
See also:- Top of Page | Link to ThomasIV in the family tree
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