search

Dr. Paul Brand was best known for his medical labours among lepers in India. His work was immortalised in the popular book 'Ten Fingers for God' by Dorothy Clarke Wilson. He died in July, though his obituary did not appear in The Daily Telegraph until September.

He was the son of missionary parents in India. When I saw the notice of Dr. Brand's passing I took a special interest because his father, Jesse Brand, was sent out to India as a missionary from our own congregation way back in 1907. In fact, his grandfather, Henry, besides being an alderman of Guildford, was also a deacon of our church. Jesse was noted for his evangelistic zeal. With others he had begun a tract society in the town and it is interesting to read some of its records. The members distributed Christian tracts to houses, on public transport and in the public parks. During 1905-6, nearly 19,000 tracts were given out. One entry in the records reads: 'Dogs were a menace. But two women went to a house with a tract in one hand and a bone for the dog in the other!'