Albert Midlane (23 January 1825 – 27 February 1909) was a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

who wrote several hundred

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s, most notably " There's a Friend for Little Children".

Life

Midlane was born in

Carisbrooke Carisbrooke is a village on the south western outskirts of Newport, Isle of Wight and is best known as the site of Carisbrooke Castle. It also has a medieval parish church. St Mary's Church (overlooking Carisbrooke High Street with views to the ...

, a village in Newport on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, into a large family. He was the youngest child of James Midlane (who died in October 1824) and Frances Lawes. His mother, Frances, was a Congregationalist, and Midlane attended the church Sunday school from a young age. He first became an ironmonger, and later a Sunday school teacher. At the age of 23 he joined the Plymouth Brethren, but remained committed to Sunday school teaching and hymn writing. He was encouraged to start writing at a young age by his teacher, and he wrote his first hymn "Hark! in the presence of our God" in September 1842 while visiting

Carisbrooke Castle Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke (near Newport), Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial. Early history The site of Carisb ...

; it was published in ''Youth's Magazine'' in November 1842 under the name of "Little Albert". His first hymn which brought his eventual fame was "God bless our Sunday schools", written on 24 May 1844, and used the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

as its tune. His most notable hymn, " There's a Friend for Little Children", was written on 7 February 1859 and published in December 1859 in a book called ''Good News for the Little Ones''. Its tune was composed by

Sir John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some churches of the Anglican Communi ...

, and is called "In Memoriam". It was composed for the hymn's appearance in a book entitled ''

Hymns Ancient and Modern ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' is a hymnal in common use within the Church of England, a result of the efforts of the Oxford Movement. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitabl ...

'', published in 1868. Midlane wrote over 700 hymns altogether, though none had the success that "There's a Friend for Little Children" did;Mable, p.132 it has been translated into around a dozen languages. He later published several of his own hymn books, including ''Jewish Children's Hymn Book'', ''Bright Blue Sky Hymn Book'', ''Gospel Echoes Hymn Book'' and ''The Gospel Hall Hymn Book'', each of which contained hundreds of his hymns. Midlane married Miriam Grainger on 20 March 1851 and they had three children, two sons and one daughter. He never accepted any money for his writing, and as such became

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. Generosity from his fans meant that this was later revoked. He died of a

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with l ...

at his home of Forest Villa on South Mall, Newport, Isle of Wight on 27 February 1909, aged 84.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Midlane, Albert 1825 births 1909 deaths British poets Christian hymnwriters British Plymouth Brethren British male writers