Papers of Archdeacon A. Shaw of the Southern Sudan

This collection includes letters from Shaw, many of which are copies or copy extracts, relating to his missionary service in Southern Sudan, 1916-1930 and copies of his journals, 1905-1913. These papers relate to a period of considerable expansion of CMS mission work in this area and include, for example, material relating to work among the Dinkas and at the Juba Boys School. Some of the papers (F1/5-24) refer to him as Eaton Chapel Fox Memorial missionary. The letters also include some from other CMS missionaries serving in Southern Sudan, principally Dr and Mrs K. M. Fraser and Rev Cuthbert Lea-Wilson together with copies of Sudan Notes , a local newssheet about the mission work. Other papers include copies of addresses by Shaw and other missionaries, typescript reports of some early pioneering treks he made, and a text about sleeping sickness in the Sudan, a factor hindering mission work. There is also manuscript and typescript texts and notes relating to vocabulary and grammar of the Jieng and Dinka languages.

Archibald Shaw (1879-1956) was educated at Bromsgrove School, Emanuel College, Cambridge and Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He was ordained deacon in 1903 and priest in 1904 and became curate of Walcot, Bath, Somerset. He was accepted as a Church Missionary Society missionary in 1905 and served with the Sudan Mission, initially stationed at Bor and subsequently at Malek. He was appointed Archdeacon of Southern Provinces of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1922. He retired in 1940 and he was appointed Archdeacon Emeritus by Bishop Gwynne. He died in Kenya in 1956.

Reference: Manuscript register of CMS missionaries, Men 1905-1907, in the CMS archives.

This collection forms part of the Church Missionary Society Unofficial Papers. It is arranged into one series: Family Papers.

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Presented to the CMS in 1963; transferred on permanent loan to the Special Collections Department by the CMS in the 1980s.

Please see online catalogue for further details.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

The University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department and the Orchard Learning Resources Centre hold a rich collection of archives relating to missions, charities and other religious and ecclesiastical organisations and individuals.