The Fire Of The Lord: January 2016

Saturday, 30 January 2016

Pentecost at Sunderland

List of Householders & Businesses, Lytham, 1895

The list includes Henry Mogridge, living at 69 Clifton Street

Open the page then click Ctrl + F to open the Find Box in the top right corner of the page then type the surname in the box.

Captain Henry Thornbury Fox-Russell M.C.

Captain Henry Thornbury Fox-Russell M.C

In March of 1917 he was seconded to the 64th or 41st Squadron Royal Flying Corps (R.F.C.), during his service with the R.F.C. he was awarded the Military Cross (M.C.) for bravery in the air, and also for rescuing a downed pilot, who was seriously wounded - Lieutenant James Alexander Vazeille Boddy - who had been shot down by the The Red Baron, Manfred von Richtofen.

The Red Baron

The Citation for his Military Cross reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He formed one of a patrol which silenced an enemy battery. He dropped bombs on two of the guns, silenced others with his machine gun and then engaged transport on the road. This operation was carried out under heavy fire and very difficult weather conditions. On another occasion he dropped bombs and fired 300 rounds on enemy trenches from a height of 100 feet. His machine was then hit by a shell and crashed in front of our advanced position. He reached the front line, and while there saw another of our machines brought down. He went to the assistance of the pilot, who was badly wounded, extricated him under heavy fire and brought him to safety. He showed splendid courage and initiative.

In February 1918 Henry was promoted to Captain and Flight Commander, and he was stationed at Hooton Park in Cheshire, as a flight instructor with 4 Squadron, and he actually survived the war.

Just days after the Armistice (11th November), on the 18th of November 1918, Henry climbed aboard a Sopwith Camel aircraft and took off for a solo flight. Henry and his aircraft had climbed to approximately 900 feet when something catastrophic must have happened as the aircraft went into a spin and crashed to the ground. Henry was dead aged just 21.

Henry was brought home to Holyhead, where he was interred at St Seiriol’s Churchyard. His parent’s were later buried in a grave just a few of feet from their sons.

Note:

James Alexander Boddy survived the war and married Marjorie D. Ewen in 1920. They had a daughter named Sheila in 1926. In 1952 Sheila M.V. Boddy married Alan B. Harker, and they subsequently had three children, two daughters and a son.

James Boddy passed away in 1954 aged 59.

The Royal Air Force formed on the 1st April 1918

209 Squadron Badge, with the Red Eagle falling – Symbolising the fall of the Red Baron

Lieutenant James Alexander Vazeille Boddy

British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 about J A V Boddy

Name: J A V Boddy
James Alexander Vazeille Boddy

Regiment or Corps:

18th Durham Light Infantry, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force

James Alexander Vazeille Boddy was born in Sunderland, Co. Durham, in 1895 to Mary Pollack and Alexander Alfred Boddy.

His sister Mary V Boddy was born 1893 and his second sister Jane V Boddy was born 1894

In the 1901 and 1911 Census the family are recorded as living in All Saints Vicarage, Sunderland

James became a Second Lieutenant of The Durham Light Infantry on the 24th September 1914

He became a Lieutenant of the 18th Regiment of the Durham Light Infantry on the 16th March 1915

He transfered to the Royal Flying Corps on the 18th February 1917

Wounded In Action March of 1917

Wounded In Action on the 25th November 1917

He died in Leicester in 1954.

On or about November 25, two L.V.G. enemy aircraft attacked one of our F.E.O2b, a long-distance, photography aeroplane, which had separated from the remainder of its flight. They forced it to land behind Hébuterne. We found later that Lieutenant J. A. V. Boddy was the observer in it, and that he had been knocked unconscious by a bit of his own machine which had been splintered off by the fire of the German aeroplanes.

From page 65 & 66 of DLI In The Field.

The Writer (A.A.B.) travelled up from
Sunderland on Whit-Monday (June 12th).
The weather was cold for June and even
wet; but as the Convention went on it
steadily improved, and was. really beautiful
at the end.

On the Great Northern Railway I met
two of the men of my son’s Battalion
(18th Durham Light Infantry). They were
delighted to meet Lieut. Boddy's father.
They were on their way back to France,
and bore some messages to him at the
firing-line.

God bless them !

July 1916 edition of CONFIDENCE

Mrs Mary Boddy

1901 Census - Boddy

From the 1901 England Census

Name: Alexander A Boddy
Age: 46
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1855
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Mary Boddy
Gender: Male
Where born: Manchester, Lancashire, England
Civil Parish: Sunderland
Ecclesiastical parish: Monkwearmouth All Saints
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Registration District: Sunderland
Sub-registration
District: Monkwearmouth

Name: Mary Boddy
Age: 42
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1859
Relation: Wife
Spouse's Name: Alexander A Boddy
Gender: Female
Where born: Scotland
Civil Parish: Sunderland
Ecclesiastical parish: Monkwearmouth All Saints
County/Island: Durham
Registration District: Sunderland
Country: England
Sub-registration
District: Monkwearmouth

Name: Mary V Boddy
Age: 8
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1893
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: Alexander A Boddy
Mother's Name: Mary Boddy
Gender: Female
Where born: Sunderland, Durham, England
Civil Parish: Sunderland
Ecclesiastical parish: Monkwearmouth All Saints
County/Island: Durham
Registration District: Sunderland
Country: England
Sub-registration
District: Monkwearmouth

Name: Jane V Boddy
Age: 7
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1894
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: Alexander A Boddy
Mother's Name: Mary Boddy
Gender: Female
Where born: Sunderland, Durham, England
Civil Parish: Sunderland
Ecclesiastical parish: Monkwearmouth All Saints
County/Island: Durham
Registration District: Sunderland
Country: England
Sub-registration
District: Monkwearmouth

Name: James A V Boddy
Age: 5
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1896
Relation: Son
Father's Name: Alexander A Boddy
Mother's Name: Mary Boddy
Gender: Male
Where born: Sunderland, Durham, England
Civil Parish: Sunderland
Ecclesiastical parish: Monkwearmouth All Saints
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Registration District: Sunderland
Sub-registration
District: Monkwearmouth

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit 2

New painting of the Holy Spirit just in time for Pentecost! The Holy Spirit is our Helper, our Comforter and our strength.He can blow like a storm or move like a gentle breeze but no matter what, He brings life!

Holy Spirit 3

I started this a while back to use for an ordination bulletin but my eyes went wonky and couldn't finish. God granted me a miracle though and I can see again so here we go. All glory to the Trinity-Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen!

Pentecostalism

Acts 2

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Glossolalia

by Mark Jennings

Holy Spirit

Lakewood, CA - United States

To See Mark's work in Blog dedicated to the Cross Please Click <> HERE <>

Mollie Vazeille

Alexander Boddy was related to Mollie Vazeille, from his mothers side of the family.
Mollie Vazeille married the revivalist preacher John Wesley in 1751.

Most of Alexander Boddy's children and grandchildren have the name Vazeille included within their names

Thursday, 28 January 2016

Pioneers of Revival ‐ Charles Clarke

Alexander Boddy - When the Fire Fell in Sunderland

Pioneers of Revival ‐ Charles Clarke

Alexander Boddy - When the Fire Fell in Sunderland

When the fire fell in Sunderland In the early days of this century many earnest Christians met in small groups to pray for revival. Often their prayers were answered in outpourings of the Holy Spirit. In the USA, India, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia and Britain the pentecostal blessing was accompanied with the gift of tongues and other spiritual phenomena. The reaction of other Christians generally was hostile, and the recipients found themselves isolated and ostracised. Then in Britain a friend and leader providentially appeared in the person of the vicar of All Saints, Sunderland: the Rev A A Boddy.

Alexander Boddy was a remarkable man in many ways. He was born in Manchester in 1854, the son of the rector of St Thomas' Church. He was trained as a solicitor and practised for a few years in Manchester. After an experience of spiritual quickening at a Keswick convention he heard the call to the ministry and prepared for ordination, taking LTh degree at Durham University. After being ordained by Bishop Lightfoot, he became his father's curate at Elwick.

From his earliest days, Alexander had a keen sense of adventure and a desire to see the world. When training to be a solicitor, he was given a shilling to buy his lunch. Out of this he saved sixpence and when he had accumulated enough he went to Paris to see the sights. He also made a canoe and paddled up the 20 coast from the Tees to the Tyne and narrowly escaped drowning in a storm, being rescued by Sunderland fishermen. He reached home so bearded and bedraggled that the gardener thought he was a tramp and told him to clear off. His travels took him to many countries, and about every journey he wrote a book. He went to Russia and met the tzar and wrote a book for which he was made a member of the Imperial Geographical Society of Russia. For his book about his travels in Barbary he was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His visits to the Holy Land resulted in Days of Galilee, and a Life of Christ.

Marriage - and a transformation

In 1886 Bishop Lightfoot sent Mr Boddy to take charge of All Saints', Sunderland, where the vicar had taken to drink and emptied the church. James Pollock became his curate and together they planned a campaign to revive the church and bring back the congregation. James invited his sister Mary who was a trained singer to come and help.

Soon Alexander and Mary found they had much in common, chiefly because both had been spiritually quickened through Keswick, and therefore were both devoted to their Lord. In 1891 they were married and a transformation soon took place in the drab, neglected vicarage of All Saints'. In course of time a baby son, and then two daughters, arrived to make the vicarage jollier still. Jane Boddy (now Mother Joanna of the Community of the Resurrection, Grahamstown) describes life in the vicarage when she was a child:

My father loved his people and thev loved him, for he never spared himself and was available day and night. There was a lot of drunkenness in our neighbourhood, and on Saturday nights my father used to go round the public houses and take drunken men home. The street just opposite the vicarage was worst and housed some very poor, low- class people, mostly a family in each room, sometimes more. The children played in the street and were practically always barefooted and in ragged clothing. There was a big public house called The Cambridge further down the street and father held open-air services outside it, often after evening service in the church.

The memories of All Saints' vicarage are of a very happy Christian home. We had simple morning and evening prayers and we loved going to church. My father was not a brilliant preacher, but his sermons were simple and practical and I loved to see him in the pulpit where, as a child, I thought he had a halo round his head. Evensong was a favourite with the people and often the church wardens had to bring in extra chairs and forms to accommodate the people.

About 1906 Alexander and Mary Boddy became burdened for revival and invited a few keen young men to the vicarage for weekly meetings for prayer. Also news of the Welsh revival had reached the parish. Alexander felt he must go to Wales to talk to Evan Roberts and try to persuade him to come to Sunderland. Mr Roberts never came, but revival did, as we shall see.

Early in 1907 Mr Boddy heard of the revival in Norway and set off to see for himself. He met Pastor T. B. Barrett, the Methodist minister who had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit so powerfully in America, and invited him to come to Sunderland. Here is an extract from Mr Barrett's Journal:

4 March 1907. On Saturday evening Pastor A A Boddy from England spoke. He is a minister of the Established Church and is come here to pray with us for the fulness of the Holy Spirit. He spoke at all three meetings and read aloud the names of some members of his church who had especially desired the prayers of the assemblies. They were assembled for prayer in England at the same time as us last night.

Of the visit Mr Boddy wrote: 'My four days in Christiana (Oslo) can never be forgotten. I stood with Evan Roberts in Tonypandy, but have never witnessed such scenes as those in Norway.

' To the Keswick convention in 1907 he took a pamphlet he had written entitled Pentecost for England, and thousands were distributed. The message of the pamphlet was that in many places in the world God was baptizing believers in the Holy Spirit with the same signs as occurred in the New Testament and that this was the revival they had prayed for for so long, It was a plea that this move of the Spirit should be accepted and encouraged and promoted. His plea fell on deaf ears. The leaders of the church generally made no response at all.

Then in September 1907 T B Barrett came to Sunderland. He arrived on a Saturday and that evening the first prayer meeting was held in the vestry. Next day he preached in the evening service, which was followed by an after meeting which lasted till four the next morning and the first three members of All Saints' were filled with the Spirit and 'spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.'

Joint Ministry

Donald Gee says: 'Meetings were held in the large parish hall every afternoon and evening with a waiting meeting in the vestry after each service which usually continued far into the early morning. Added to those who had previously gathered at Sunderland for these special meetings there now began to come a steady stream from various sections of the Christian church. The meetings grew continually in number and influence.

In the vicarage T B Barrett's presence and ministry soon bore remarkable fruit. The vicar and his wife both received the baptism in the Spirit and spoke in tongues. Mrs Boddy developed an effective ministry to match her husband's leadership, the Lord often using her to heal the sick by the laying-on of hands. Fourteen-year-old Jane gives us this account of the blessing that transformed her life:

One evening ... I was busy with my homework and Pastor Barrett came into the room and asked me to go and have a talk ... I was just fourteen at the time and very much interested in all that was going on. Pastor Barrett had a short beard and very kind eyes; I thought him very like our Lord.

He was obviously a man of God and immediately began to talk to me about receiving the Holy Spirit. He asked me whether I wanted to be filled with the Spirit and I said I did. Then he said that if I knew there was £5 in the bank for me and was given a cheque for that amount what would I do? I said I would go at once and get the cheque cashed, So he explained that our Lord wanted me to be filled with the Spirit, but / must accept the gift. Then we knelt down and he laid hands on me and prayed. Immediately I felt fire going through me and I began to speak in another tongue. I was unaware of anything for some time, except the presence of our Lord, but when at last I looked up my father and mother were kneeling there and a couple of other visitors also. One of the visitors had been a missionary in China and said that I was speaking Chinese. She interpreted what I said. This experience had a profound effect on my life.

Two results followed the visit of Mr Barrett. One was that a constant stream of seekers continued to come to the Sunderland vicarage. Many received the baptism in the Spirit, including Smith Wigglesworth and the Jeffrey brothers. Others received the encouragement and ministry they needed to walk in the Spirit. The second result was the reaction of opposition from Christian leaders that followed the outpouring. But the less said about that the better.

Donald Gee says: 'Mr and Mrs Boddy were immovable in their conviction that the work was of God and were ready to help and receive all who came seeking the promise of the Father. Those were busy days for an already busy parish minister and the vicarage became a hallowed spot for many a visitor. It must surely have been in the providence of God that at that time the Bishop of Durham was the saintly Handley G Moule; for no ecclesiastical hindrances were raised to these remarkable scenes in connection with a parish church in his diocese. Two lady secretaries kindly handled the immense amount of correspondence that now began to pour in from all over the world, and made this their special ministry.'

'Heavenly Choir'

This reviving work continued by the holding of annual Whitsun conventions of a pentecostal nature in the large parish hall. These gatherings were maintained for seven successive years until the outbreak of the first world war in 1914. The speakers were mostly Pentecostal leaders from many parts of the world, including some outstanding Lutheran pastors from Germany.

Jane Boddy recalls that 'the singing was always impressive and often led by the Welsh contingent. On the wall of the platform was an enormous text, stretching right across, with the words "fervent in spirit" in very bold lettering, and the impression one got all the way through was of tremendous fervour and power.

No reporters were allowed and those present always seemed to be of one mind, and all desiring to be filled with the Spirit. At times I remember hearing what some people called "the heavenly choir". It started during a time of prayer, very softly, by one or two voices; others joined in and the voices rose higher and higher until it seemed as though the angels were joining in. There were no words, just glorious harmonies. It rose and fell for some time and gradually died away, leaving a profound silence with many deeply touched and weeping.' So for seven years Sunderland became the pentecostal mecca in Britain to which flocked, year by year, those hungry for spiritual renewal. Here the young men who were to become Pentecostal leaders received their spiritual baptism and re turned home endued with power. One of these young men, afterwards to become a notable preacher and author, was Stanley Frodsham.

Mr Boddy now became the editor of the first magazine of Pentecostal revival in Britain. It was called Confidence and for many years it spread the news of the movement to all parts of the world. Through this ministry he used his natural gift for writing to teach and edify those coming into blessing. ‘A rare anointing rested on those early issues,’ says Donald Gee, ‘they must have been edited and sent forth with much prayer from the little group at Sunderland.’

When the war came Mr Boddy went to France for a time to minister to the troops. After the war the Pentecostal groups began to be organised outside the life o the main Christian denominations, and Alexander Boddy dropped into the background. His daughter says: ‘My father told me that considerable pressure had been brought to bear on him to start a Pentecostal movement, but he was firm in his allegiance to the Church of England and felt he could not conscientiously leave it; also that he was too old.’

In 1922 he left Sunderland and became vicar of Pittington, five miles from Durham. Until he was well over seventy he still vigorously exercised a powerful parish.

Pioneers of Revival PDF