Irene Eleanora Verita Petrie (October 1864 – 6 August 1897) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

missionary who died in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

on the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

in 1897.

Life

Petrie was born in Kensington Park in 1864, but the exact date is not known. Her parents were Eleanor and

Martin Petrie Martin Petrie (1823–1892) was an English army officer and author. Petrie, his wife and his daughter Mary Petrie were involved in the foundation of Westfield College. His other daughter Irene Petrie died as a missionary in Kashmir. Life He was b ...

. Her father was a Colonel in the army.Jeffrey Cox, ‘Petrie, Irene Eleanora Verita (1864–1897)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 18 June 2017
/ref> She was educated at home and then attended Notting Hill High School for GirlsOxford Dictionary of National Biography before taking the Cambridge Higher examination. She was presented at court in 1885. She decided to be a missionary but her father forbade it. He died in 1892 and her sister encouraged her to fulfil her ambition. The

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

trained her in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

and she was bound for

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in October 1893. She was initially a volunteer at the St Hilda's Diocesan Home which cared for the Christian poor. The following year she moved to the CMS's Kashmir mission in Srinagar where she improved her language skills. In 1895 she was sent back to England to rally support for their work. She was accepted as a full missionary and returned to Srinagar. Irene Petrie book has this of holton cottage

Irene Petrie book has this of holton cottage

She taught children and visited Indian women in their own homes. The British had built three churches and Petrie found that she preferred the service in Urdu at one church to the one delivered in English. At the Kashmir mission she lodged with the newly married Blanche and Cecil Tyndale-Biscoe. Petrie died in

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

in 1897 from a fever. Her sister, Mary Louisa Georgina Petrie Carus-Wilson, wrote her biography which went to several editions.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, Irene 1864 births 1897 deaths People from Kensington People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School English Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in India Female Christian missionaries