Arthur William Blaxall (15 May 1891 – 5 December 1970
) was a
British South African Anglican priest who for most of his life lived and worked in South Africa especially known for his ministry among the blind and the deaf.
Biography
Arthur William Blaxall was born in Britain on 15 May 1891. He served in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as a medical orderly,
worked as a missioner to the deaf in Birmingham and went to South Africa in 1923, together with his wife Florence. He founded the Ezenzeleni workshop for the blind at Roodepoort in 1939.
In 1954, he founded the Arthur Blaxall School for the Blind, but it was forced to change its name when he was exiled for his opposition to the
National Party government in 1964.
In the 1960s, he was secretary of the South African branch of the
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR).
...
, a pacifist organisation.
He was invited by Nelson Mandela to visit him whilst he awaited trial, which he did on three occasions when they prayed together.
In 1963, he was charged with various offences under the
Suppression of Communism Act
The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribed ...
, and given a suspended sentence, mainly on grounds of his age, and went into exile in the UK.
Publications
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* His autobiography written in exile in England.
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Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaxall, Arthur
1891 births
1970 deaths
Anglican pacifists
20th-century South African Anglican priests
South African Christian pacifists