Rt Rev George Sumner HAND [443]

   Cause of his death was heart failure.

  General Notes:

Hand: Rev George Sumner, M.A. (rector of St Lawrence and vicar of St Gregory) St Lawrence's Rectory - Mill Hill road.
Kelly's 1916 Norfolk Directory.

George was consecrated bishop of Leeward Is & Antigua at St Pauls Cathedral 1937. He was an adherent to the High Church Anglo Catholic tradition of the Anglican Church.

George did not marry and it appears his flock was his family. A wonderful example of this has been found through Veronica Dyde, who was born in Antigua and whose father greatly benefited from George's kindness. She writes:
"My father, T G Josiah Joseph was born in the village of Seatons on the island of Antigua in 1910. As a boy he was spotted by the Rector of St Phillip's Church, the Reverend George Hand who, when he became Dean, took Josiah to live with him at the Deanery in St. John's and took responsibility for his schooling. His kindness extended to sending Josiah as a young man to the Ontario Business College in Canada, where he qualified as an accountant. Bishop Hand had wanted my father to enter the priesthood, but readily acceded to his desire to enter the business world.
When Bishop Hand retired he wanted to bequeath father a portion of his wealth, but the latter refused saying that he had already been bequeathed of something with far more value. However, upon the Bishop's insistence, my father accepted the sum of L50 which he said would enable him one day to start his own business. And this is exactly what he did, after some years of gaining experience as an accountant with various companies in St. John's. My father also agreed to accept some of Bishop Hand's family silver, with the remainder being distributed among other Antiguans whom Bishop Hand had helped. In 1941 my father married Enid Grey, a teacher from St Kitts, in Antigua where I was born and raised."
Ref: H V Dyde. 2015
T G Josiah Joseph made much of the opportunity given him by George Hand, he returned to Antigua and worked as an accountant, including to the Antigua Electric Light Co, was a founding director of the Antigua Commercial Bank and adviser to members of the Antigua Government and its Prime Minister. A man of high standards commercially and ethically, Josiah's views were not always welcomed by those in power, but his good shone through and he became widely respected by all. There can be little doubt that George Hand was well pleased with his protege, it might be said that some of the nobility Josiah displayed in his life was perhaps a reflection of his mentor.
Ref: E. L. Fenn from information provided by H.V. Dyde

George is recorded as arriving London 4 Jun 1932 on SS Ingria from Denerera, Guyana. He is described as the Dean of Antigua, he gave his address as the Church Imperial Club, Westminster.
Also recorded arriving London 9 Jun 1937 on SS Inanda from St Kitts with his Clerk Maurice Daniel. He was described as the Dean of Antigua he gave his address as Royal Empire Club, Northumberland Ave.
Ref: Anthony Turreff

The Times 31 December 1932 pg 13 col C.
ANTIGUA AFTER 300 YEARS.
To the Editor of The Times
Sir, Will you kindly allowed me space in your columns to make a few observations regarding the early history of the British Empire which are of special interest at the present time? This year marks the tercentenary of the British occupation of the island of Antigua, headquarters of the Leeward Islands, the oldest colony of the British Empire, for it was in 1632 that Edward Warner, the son of the famous Thomas Warner, who had settled nine years before (1623) in the neighbouring island of St Kitts, and so gave birth to the British Empire, landed and settled in Antigua.
To mark this historical event it is proposed to build and endow an industrial school in Antigua to enable the youth of that island to become better equipped to take their part in its future destinies. The present condition of the island is an anxious one. In addition to the economic depression, which the island shares with the rest of the world, but constant droughts to which the island is subject and the uncertain price of sugar (the industry upon which the community almost entirely depends for its livelihood) render the standard of living among the masses a very precarious one, indeed, at times on the level of starvation. But this unhappy state of affairs is accentuated by the fact that our people, through lack of proper training, are unable to render such efficient service to the community as would otherwise be the case, for they are intelligent and only lack practical knowledge. We are strongly of the opinion that had there existed in the island during the past few years an industrial school, well-equipped and efficiently staffed, which provided training in agricultural science, craftsmanship, and domestic science, the present position of the island would be very different. It is therefore, of primary importance for the future of the community that provision should be made, and made before it is too late, to enable our people to turn the material at their disposal to better use. This is rendered even more necessary and urgent by the fact that the doors of America, which formerly were open and taken advantage of by the more ambitious and intelligent among the people, are now closed. This means, of course, that the population of the island's will steadily increase, and ways and means must be found to enable them to earn a livelihood. The existence of an industrial school would enable our island to become more self-supporting, and therefore less likely to be a burden on the Home Country.
This movement has the sympathy and support of his Excellency the Governor, and of the Archbishop of the West Indies. The appeal is for L17, 000, or 4 million pennies. Are there 1000 people in England who would be willing to raise L17,000 or 4 million pence? I shall be glad to know of anyone who would help in this way. Cheques and postal orders,&c., marked "Antigua Industrial School" may be sent to Mr P E Couratin, 27 Uffington Rd, West Norwood, SE 27.
Believe me, Sir, yours faithfully,
George S. Hand
Dean of Antigua.

GEORGE SUMNER HAND: Eighth Bishop of Antigua (1937 - 1943).
At the Electoral Synod held in January, 1937 the Very Rev G.S. Hand, who was then Rector of St John's and Dean of Antigua, was elected as a successor to Archbishop Hutson in the See of Antigua. Bishop Hand was consecrated in St Paul's Cathedral, London, on 29 June, 1937 at the same time as Dr Alan Knight who was to be Bishop of Guiana, of whom Bishop Hand prophetically remarked "He is a good man and will go a long way". The enthronement in his cathedral took place in November of that same year.
Before coming to Antigua Father Hand was Rector of St Lawrence and St Gregory in Norwich, and General Secretary of the Antigua Association. Writing in the Association's Quarterly Leaflet in April, 1923, the Archbishop said:
"Father Hand has volunteered to come out to us and we are expecting him at the end of May if all goes well. I appreciate this more than I can express . . . . . I want to thank Fr Hand for what he has done for us in England. I think he has done wonderfully, and we are ready to give him a warm welcome at the front."
On his arrival in the Diocese he was given the cure of St Philip's Parish, Antigua, which had been without a priest for some time. He was, it was said, the right man at the right time and his missionary zeal resulted in an upsurge of religious consciousness in the Parish, and indeed in the whole Diocese, because he was largely instrumental in having a Mission preached in 1928 under the able leadership of Father Hart of the Mirfield Fathers.
Then in 1926 the Diocesan Synod at its meeting in Dominica invited him to undertake an appeal in England for a capital sum of L12,000 to be used as the nucleus of the Diocesan Central Fund which the Synod had inaugurated. The magnitude of this task was fully appreciated by the devoted priest. In writing to the General Secretary of the Antigua Association, Mr Hand said:
"I am afraid I have a strenuous task before me . . . . . I am at your disposal from the middle of May to the beginning of October. If you can get every Sunday and weekday filled up I shall be only too delighted." And he ends his letter with these words, so typical of the man:
"the Synod kindly offered to pay my expenses out of the money raised, but I declined their kind offer so that every penny raised can go straight to the Funds of the Antigua Association, earmarked "Capital Fund".
He came to the Cathedral in 1930 after the retirement of Dean Sheppard and continued as Dean until 1943 when he appointed the Rector of St John's the Rev G.S. Baker, to succeed him.
The new Bishop had just settled down to his work as Diocesan when World War II broke casting a heavy shadow over the whole world and adding considerably to his anxieties and difficulties. Supplies from England and other places were short; correspondence was delayed and travelling to the various Islands of his Diocese was difficult and the opportunities few. It was under such circumstances that Bishop Hand showed the qualities of leadership which he possessed, by challenging sermons which he preached in the Cathedral and elsewhere and by the diligence with which under personal discomfort and danger he travelled from Island to Island, anxious to be in touch with his people, to share their difficulties and dangers and bringing to them a message of inspiration and hope through deepening their confidence and faith in God.
The Centenary of the diocese took place during his term of office, and with much enthusiasm the Bishop threw himself into the preparations for a celebration. This involved much correspondence, much writing, many lists and much work to raise the Centenary Building Fund which was to help to put the diocese on a sounder financial footing. Among the fundraising efforts was the publication of a Centenary Calendar and of a booklet, The Story of the Cathedral, which has been one of the sources from which the writer of this book has drawn freely.
As a man, Bishop Hand was keenly interested in the social problems of the community in which he worked, and in the education of the youth; and the interest extended beyond the narrow limits of his own flock. And this interest was not merely academic; many a young man in the island of Antigua owes his opportunity for education to this generous man who dispensed his liberality without fanfare. He was instrumental in building and furnishing the Domestic Centre which was attached to the Bishop Mather Schoolroom and presenting it to the Government of Antigua - the first of its kind in the Island, and for the establishment of a junior school at St Johnston's Village, Antigua.
After the hurricane of 1928, he took into his Rectory at St Philip many of the children whose homes had been wrecked, housed and fed them until they could be resettled. The Moyne Commission visited the Islands in 1938 to investigate the causes of the disturbances which had recently taken place throughout the British West Indies. Among the persons who gave evidence before the commission was Bishop Hand himself and the burden of his evidence was that the people were not asking for Charity but for Justice.
Towards the end of 1943 he realised that the war was drawing to a close after which there would, of necessity, have to be a period of reconstruction. He considered that a younger man should be Bishop to undertake such work and he wanted his successor to become acquainted with the work of the Diocese before the next meeting of the Lambeth Conference and therefore decided he would retire. His last sermon as Bishop of the Diocese was preached in the Cathedral at the Watch Night Service on 31 December, 1943 and after giving the blessing he placed his Pastoral Staff on the High Altar, as a token that he was giving up his office to God, and immediately left the cathedral.
For a few months he was in charge of St Mary's parish, Antigua and then became Archdeacon of St Kitts and Priest-in-Charge of St George's, St Kitts. On 26 July, 1945, one year and one day after the consecration of his successor, he had a heart attack and passed away
He had given himself and all that he had freely and willingly to the service of God in the Diocese. Those who knew him will never forget his dominant personality and the dynamic power of his preaching. Others will recall his deep spirituality and the sincerity of his addresses at Quiet Days and Retreats.
Ref : By S.E. Anoorathasingham. From THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF WITNESS, by G.S. Baker O.B.E., M.A, Dean Emeritus of Antigua

Bishops Consecrated - by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul's Cathedral . . . . . The Very Rev George Sumner Hand (Dean of St John's Cathedral, Antigua) consecrated bishop of Antigua.
Ref: Yorkshire Post 30 June 1937.

The Times 2 Aug 1945
RIGHT REV. G. S. HAND
FORMER BISHOP OF ANTIGUA
The Right Rev. G. S: Hand, Bishop of Antigua from 1937 to 1943, died in hospital at St. Kitts, B.W.I., on July 26.
George Sumner Hand, born in 1880, son of the late Rear Admiral G. W. Hand, was educated at Bloxham and at St. John's College, Oxford. After training at Ely Theological College he was ordained in 1903 and went to All Saints, King's Lynn, as curate. Five years later he became curate of North Creake and was appointed chaplain to the Bishop of Thetford. From 1911 to 1913 he served as curate of Thorpe Hamlet, and he was rector of St. Lawrence with St. Gregory, Norwich, from 1913 to 1923, when he went to Antigua to become rector of St. Philip's.
In 1930 he was appointed Dean of St. John's Cathedral, Antigua, which he continued to be until he was consecrated Bishop of Antigua in 1937. In 1943 he resigned the bishopric but continued active work for the Church as Arch-deacon of St. Kitts-Nevis.
With other clergy Bishop Hand was shipwrecked in July, 1944. The clergy were on their way in the motor yacht Romaris to attend the enthronement of the new Bishop, when the yacht was wrecked off Sandy Island at the entrance to St. John Harbour. They were rescued and landed in time to take part in the ceremony.
The Times.
2 Aug 1945.

Deaths.
Hand. On July 26, 1945 in hospital at St Kitts BWI. The right Rev George Sumner Hand M.A. Bishop of Antigua 1937-1943 and rector of St Lawrence and St Gregory Norwich 1913 - 1923.
Andrews newspapers cards - Ancestry.

Hand George Sumner of Basseterre St Kitts died 28 July 1945 at the Cunningham Hospital Basseterre. Probate Norwich 12 October 1948 to Hubert Charles Dinzey merchant. Effects L4377 9s 8d.
National Probate calendar.

The Times.
Memorial Services.
Hand - a Requiem for Bishop George Sumner Hand, formerly Bishop of Antigua, will be sung in Bloxham School Chapel on Friday, October 26, at 11:15 am. The 9:10 am train from Paddington will be met at Banbury if notice is given by October 25 to the headmaster, Bloxham School, near Banbury, Oxon. (Telephone, Bloxham 206)
Ref: H V Dyde 2015

  Research Notes:

Image of Bishop courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery London.

  Other Records

1. Census: England, 5 Apr 1891, The Castle Dedham ESS. George is recorded as a son aged 10 a scholar born Midhurst

2. George S Hand: His Confession, Cir 1894.
GEORGE'S CONFESSIONS
MY FAVOURITE VIRTUE: Kindness.
MY IDEA OF HAPPINESS: Fives, Going to theatres.
MY IDEA OF MISERY: Going to the dentist.
MY FAVOURITE OCCUPATION: getting photographs of places I have been to.
MY FAVOURITE COLOUR: Pale blue.
MY FAVOURITE FLOWER: Violet Carnation.
MY FAVOURITE POETS: Shakespeare & Longfellow.
MY FAVOURITE PROSE AUTHORS: W Rider, Haggard & Valentine Miss Gouge [?]..
MY FAVOURITE PAINTER: Sir Joshua Reynolds
MY FAVOURITE FOOD: Chocolate, Cocoa,Sponge cake.
MY FAVOURITE NAMES: Dorothy, Katherine, Lillian.
MY PET AVERSION: Being jawed.
MY FAVOURITE MOTTO:Early to bed & early to rise etc.
G S Hand

3. Census: England, 31 Mar 1901, Hammersmith LND. George S is recorded as a son single aged 20 undergraduate born Midhurst

4. T G Josiah Joseph: Life & Obituary, Photo of Josiah dated 2005.
Josiah was sponsored by Bishop George Hand who sent him to Canada for an education and supported his carreer. Josiah who trained in accountancy led a distinguished life in Antigua W.I. The letter is a note of congratulations to Josiah and his wife, from the Bishop on the birth of his daughter Sonia in 1942.
It reads:
19 Aug 1942,
My dear Josiah and Enid,
Heartiest congratulations on the birth of your little daughter. May she grow up to be a real blessing to her parents.
A Centenary baby!
Yrs affect.

+ George Antigua

Pictured also Veronica Dyde daughter of Josiah and her husband Brian Dyde RN, who have been the source of the details about her father - 2015.

That Josiah exceeded the faith placed in him by George Hand is remembered in an obituary by his son-in-law Brian Dyde at Josiah Joseph's death:
My first meeting with Mr Joseph was in 1973, when I came to Antigua as captain of a ship of the Royal Navy with orders to survey the waters between here and Barbuda. During a visit to the deepwater harbour some weeks after this work had started, and in order to ingratiate myself with one of his daughters I invited him and Mrs Joseph - together with the daughter concerned - on board for dinner. I specified the time of seven o'clock but, having had previous experience of West Indian life and ways, thought I would be lucky if they arrived before half past seven. I have rarely been so badly mistaken. At precisely one minute to seven, while I was still half-dressed, a sailor put his head around the door of my cabin and told me my guests were even then getting out of a car on the quayside. I doubt if Mr Joseph, who became my father-in-law two years later, was ever late for anything in his life, and if punctuality really is the courtesy of princes, then he was indeed a prince - particularly among West Indian men. Thomas Girthwick Josiah Joseph was born in Seatons in 1910. He preferred the third of his Christian names and was known - and as I shall refer to him from now on - as Josiah throughout his life. Had he not chosen this name it is difficult to believe that Thomas Joseph, or heaven forbid, Tom Joseph, would have been quite the same man that we are here to remember today. He was largely self-taught as his schooling at Seatons consisted of little more than a grounding in the three ars. However, while he was still at school he had the great good fortune to become the protégé of a man he revered for the rest of his life, and whose portrait was prominent in every home that Josiah over occupied. This was the Reverend George Sumner Hand, then the rector of St Philip's church, who later became dean of this cathedral and subsequently Bishop of Antigua. Throughout his later boyhood and early manhood Josiah remained very close to George Hand, and the character and attributes we recall today owe a great deal to the mentorship of that most excellent and generous priest. Generous, because he had singled out Josiah as a suitable candidate for ordination and a career in the Church, but when his protege rejected this in favour of the life of a businessman he accepted it without rancour, or any suggestion of withdrawal of the financial support Josiah would need to pursue another career. Considering what might have been, it is not too difficult to imagine Josiah as a man of the cloth, but perhaps more readily as the Reverend Thomas Joseph, or better still Father Tom Joseph. But this was not to be and in his twenties, and with the assistance of by this time Dean Hand, Josiah went to study accountancy at the Ontario Business College. Returning home after his graduation he worked in the firm of Hope-Ross for a while until, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, he obtained a job for which he was ideally suited. This was as the accountant of the Antigua Electric Light Company, the forerunner of the present APUA. Josiah married his beloved wife Enid in 1941 and all went well with work and family until 1951, when the Electric Light Company was nationalised. By this time Josiah was 41 years old. He was afraid of no man, white or black. He had long since set the standards he expected of those in public life. He had no hesitation in speaking his mind, and he had strong views on political and public affairs. These were noble attributes which remained with him for the rest of his life, but in 1951 they were too much for the government of the day to stomach, and, as an act of pure political malice, he was dismissed from the position in the Electric Light Company which he had filled with probity and honour for the previous decade.
He had enough strength of character to turn this misfortune into good, and the famous Nook was opened alongside his house in St Mary's Street later the same year. He and his beloved Enid, ably assisted by their daughters (their brother being too young to take part) ran the place successfully for the next sixteen years. So successfully indeed that after the business was sold in 1967 Josiah was able to enjoy a period of retirement which came to an end only last week. He retired to a house in Paradise View, where he remained until not too long after Enid died in 1986.
While the years between the opening and the selling of the Nook were successful they were not without incident, In the late 1950s, the malice of the government of the day knowing no bounds, an attempt was made to burn down both the ice-cream parlour and the family home to which it was attached. However, such was the stupidity of the arsonists employed that they couldn't even find the right house, and instead set fire to a neighbouring house, which belonged to a Doctor Joseph who was no relation. Although most unfortunate for the good doctor, who lost a perfectly good home, it did nothing to decrease the sales of ice-cream. This was just as well, as the leader of the government of the day, the man who must have ordered the arson, or at least given tacit approval to those who planned it, also enjoyed the flavour. On numerous occasions in the 1960s Josiah took great pleasure in pretending not to recognize a certain car which would park in St Mary's Street, some distance away from the Nook, or the shamefaced minion who then came in to buy a quart for his master. The true nobility of Josiah was displayed much later, when he was living in retirement at Paradise View, and the same leader used to pay him regular evening visits in order to seek his unbiased advice on various political matters. Despite being asked, by me if no-one else, Josiah refused to disclose the substance of their talks, and now that both men are dead no-one will ever know what transpired between them.
Josiah had no false ideals concerning race or class, and was just as willing to help the man-in-the-street as he was the country's prime minister. In 1955 he was a founding director of the Antigua Commercial Bank - the "Penny Bank" established to provide a service for the less well-off members of society. Once again, he was ideally suited to the job, being astute with figures and scrupulously honest. He remained a director until forced to resign on grounds of age in 1980. His one regret was that, due to nothing more than petty-mindedness on the part of his fellow-directors, he was not allowed to continue to sit on the board for a few months after his 70th birthday in order to complete twenty-five years of service, Following Enid's death in 1986 he moved to Montserrat to live with my wife and myself, but in 1994 decided to move to live with his youngest daughter and her family in Bermuda. As one would expect of Josiah, in both of these islands, just as in Antigua, he established a wide network of friends, black, white and every shade in between, and was treated with great respect and affection. To give one example of his outstanding ability to get on with anyone, amongst those who visited him regularly in Bermuda were two Jehovah's Witnesses whom he welcomed not because he had an intention of ever leaving the Anglican Church, but because they were equally keen students of the Bible, and were able to give him quotation for quotation. Before ending I must also mention a couple of Josiah's other attributes. He loved gardening and had green fingers, something he has passed on to at least two of his daughters. Throughout his life and wherever he lived he grew fruit and vegetables. The profit from the sale of these in his earlier years was turned to great use when it came to the opening of The Nook. He was also a skilful self-taught harmonica player, and he spent many a happy hour, particularly in Bermuda, playing the mouth-organ. As I have said Josiah was largely self-educated. He achieved this mainly from books. He read extensively throughout his life, his eyesight along with all his other senses remaining intact to the end, and as a result he was always ready with an apt or pithy quotation to fit any situation. One of his favourites was drawn from an obscure Hebrew prophet known as Nahum of Gonzo, and often used with regard to any family set-back or misfortune: "this also is for the good". I am quite sure that the Almighty, whom Josiah worshipped faithfully throughout his life - and he attended church as usual the Sunday before his death - I am quite sure the Almighty, when He reviews Josiah's life, can't fail to say "this also is for the good".
B. Dyde R.N.

Brian Dyde has published 10 books, principally on the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, 3 History Books on the West Indies and the world of the Naval Hydrographer.

Images courtesy of H.V. Dyde










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5. Rt Rev George Sumner Hand: Various images.
Georges confessions as a youth c1894 to Dolly Cotes [486]:
MY FAVOURITE VIRTUE: Kindness
MY IDEA OF HAPPINESS: "Fives", going to theatres
MY IDEA OF MISERY: Going to the dentist
MY FAVOURITE OCCUPATION: Getting photographs of places I have been to
MY FAVOURITE COLOUR: Pale blue
MY FAVOURITE FLOWER: Violet, Carnation
MY FAVOURITE POETS: Shakespear & Longfellow
MY FAVOURITE PROSE AUTHORS: M Rider, Haggard, Valentine
MY FAVOURITE PAINTER: Sir Joshua Reynolds & Miss Yonge
MY FAVOURITE FOOD: Chocolate, cocoa, sponge cake
MY FAVOURITE NAMES: Dorothy Catherine Lillian
MY PET AVERSION: Being jawed
MY FAVOURITE MOTTO:"Early to bed and early to rise etc"

St Johns Cathedral Antigua WI

Part of a set of silver tableware given to Josiah Joseph by George Hand.