Alan Cox - Motherless Babies Home, Nigeria

The collection contains material collected by Cox whilst writing Uzuakoli Miracle, the story of the Motherless Babies Home in Uzuakoli, southeast Nigeria. The material includes: correspondence; notes; articles; reports; and pamphlets.

Alan Cox, Methodist minister, was born in 1926. He worked as a draughtsman until 1944 when he was called up to serve in Germany and Palestine during the Second World War. In 1949 he spent a year at Cliff College and then trained at Hartley Victoria College in Manchester. He had ministries in various locations becoming Superintendent Minister of the Hemel Hempstead circuit before his retirement in 1992.

Cox had a lifelong interest in missions and in work with children. While at Cliff College he had met Alan Roberts who, with his wife Doris, became a missionary in Nigeria. Cox was one of their most effective supporters and was particularly successful in interesting others in the Ovim (later Uzuakoli) Motherless Babies Home which they started in Eastern Nigeria in 1958. Cox continued to take an interest in the Home even after the Roberts were moved to Port Harcourt in Nigeria in 1959. The work continued, closely connected to the Leprosy Settlement at Uzuakoli, southeast Nigeria, supervised by Bella Teite and then Nona Bell. Shortly before his retirement Cox was granted a sabbatical to travel to Nigeria and to research and write about the history of the home.

Open to researchers. It is essential to arrange an appointment in advance to view the archive in order that someone can be available to help. Please contact us by email at is-crc@ed.ac.uk . Telephone the Centre on: 0131 650 8900. Postal address: Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh School of Divinity, New College, Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LX.

A paper catalogue to the collection is available at the Centre for researchers.

Description originally written and researched by Caroline Brown in July 2001. This was added to Archives Hub in August 2012 by Louise Williams.

Reproduction of materials (for example by digital camera) is free for private research and educational use, although we ask researchers to sign an agreement. Please contact us for enquiries on using the material in a commercial setting, for which there will be a fee. Contact us by email at is-crc@ed.ac.uk . Telephone the Centre on: 0131 650 8900. Postal address: Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh School of Divinity, New College, Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LX.

No further materials are expected to be added to the collection.