The work of the TBS during the Second World War

By Natalie A. Hanks, Lead Editor

A young man who was serving in the British Navy during the Second World War was given a couple of copies of the TBS English New Testament to distribute as he saw fit. One day another lad saw the copies and asked if he might have one, saying that once he had belonged to a church, but had given up on these things. However, he seemed very anxious to have a copy of the New Testament, so he was given one. Shortly after his boat left the shores, and not many hours later the ship was sunk. The lad’s dead body was washed up, and in his pocket was the New Testament he had been given so recently. We can only hope that there was a reason he had been given it, and that the Lord had worked within him in this short time.

Somewhere else, a man distributing New Testaments had gone aboard a ship, and a young gunner asked if he could have a Bible for his friend who wanted one. The distributor only had New Testaments on him so told the gunner if he had time before he sailed he could come to the Mission on shore and collect one. But the gunner never did have the time; a few days later the ship sank and a large part of the crew were killed.

These examples show the pressing need during the war for the distribution of the Scriptures, and what drove men and women up and down the country to spread the Word of God with urgency. No one knew what an hour might bring forth, and how in the next minute someone could be gone forever into eternity. As one man wrote,

There are many stories which I could tell you of what happened during the air raids, and many stories of soldiers, sailors and airmen and how they have been groping in the dark and asking for the way, asking for light. What light could I give them? Only the light and the lantern of the Word of God and give them a khaki Testament or an Air Force Testament and ask them to take it and read it. It is for us who have the privilege of sending out the light and truth to see that these people who desire to know more of God and His grace should have a copy of His Word.

Redeeming the time

As war loomed on the horizon in the late 1930s the TBS seized every opportunity for making known the salvation of God. At this stage in the Society’s history, every year had a ‘Motto Text’ on which the Quarterly Record introduction articles were based. The text in 1939 was Ephesians 5.16, ‘redeeming the time, because the days are evil’, and there was an urgency in making the most of the time available to spread the Word of God, with a real sense that the time was limited and the work was great.

Responding to the outbreak of war

After war was declared in September 1939 the staff at TBS realised that the work was going to get more difficult, but were committed to doing as much as they could. In the October 1939 Quarterly Record they wrote, ‘Speaking after the manner of men, the whole position as to the carrying on of the work is obscure, but as regards that work which He has committed to our Society, we shall endeavour to our utmost to do what we can, and to adapt to the changed conditions’.

Within a week of war being declared TBS had sent ten hundredweight (approximately 508kg) of Bibles, New Testaments, and portions to the troops. The January 1940 edition of the QR acknowledged the scope of the work, ‘The outbreak of war, whilst it has created difficulties in certain directions, has also brought opportunities and a call for service, especially among the Armed Forces and the evacuees’. This edition also contained the following message,

As we write the conflict rages and we know not what a day may bring forth; truly these are perilous times, and there is a call for earnest and continued prayer on the part of the Lord’s people. May He give us grace to patiently continue in the important work which He has committed to us, and not to slacken in sending forth His Word.

Scriptures for the armed forces

One of the earliest actions of TBS was to produce special edition New Testaments for distribution across the armed forces. This was bound in blue for the Royal Navy and in khaki for the Land Forces, and contained the King’s message:

To all serving in my Forces by land or sea, or in the air, and indeed, to all my people engaged in the defence of the Realm, I commend the reading of this book. For centuries the Bible has been a wholesome and strengthening influence in our national life, and it behoves us in these momentous days to turn with renewed faith to this Divine source of comfort and inspiration.

Thousands of these New Testaments were distributed across the country. Many of the people distributing them were individuals, such as the rector of a parish where troops were stationed, a pastor to members of his congregation serving in the forces, a shopkeeper near an army camp, or a lady visiting wounded soldiers in hospitals. Others were larger organisations such as The Army Scripture Readers and Soldiers and Airmen’s Christian Association (today known as The Soldiers’ & Aviators’ Scripture Readers Association, SASRA).

A letter to the TBS, published in January 1940, said that the way the men received the Scriptures was very encouraging,

It seems to me that there is a real heart hunger for the Scriptures and the Message of the Gospel … Appreciation has been expressed with the work of the printer and really they are nicely produced in good clear type. This means a good deal in the presentation of a spiritual message. So far as I can judge there is an almost unlimited field open for Christian workers in the matter of handing these Gospels and New Testaments to men in uniform.

These New Testaments were used by God. One man wrote his thanks to his church who had sent him one, saying, ‘Once again your prayers have been truly answered. In Norway we were the target for enemy bombers and although they came very close all was well. Throughout these raids I read my New Testament and found great consolation in the words’.

The plight of the evacuees

Thousands of children were evacuated from cities such as London to the countryside, to keep them safe from enemy bombing raids. Many of these children came from deprived areas and had never heard the Word of God. The TBS produced a special larger print New Testament for these children. A letter of thanks for these reads,

We have two hundred evacuated children billeted and their spiritual darkness is appalling … They are for the most part absolute heathen, and we feel that it may be another of the Lord’s ‘all things’ in thus thrusting them out amongst us. One nine-year-old boy from West London did not know what a New Testament was. One woman evacuee asked ‘Sir, Who is Jesus Christ?’

Ordinary people found that they had a use in serving God, as one person wrote to the TBS,

I always wanted to be a missionary, and I feel that God has given me a work to do at home to make up for it ... Should this war finish before the Lord’s return, I do feel that a lot of these children will return to London far different than they came; perhaps many trusting in a Saviour they would not have ever thought about had they remained in London.

Scriptures for the home front

It was not just the armed forces and the evacuees that needed the Word of God. At home in the United Kingdom people were facing devastating bombing raids. People distributed Bibles in air raid shelters, and TBS found themselves helping replace Bibles destroyed in the bombings, receiving pleas like this,

I think it was about three years ago when you kindly gave us a grant of Bibles … When the bombing came we here suffered very badly, just house after house. We had a time bomb near Church and dashed in and got out all we could, including your Bibles, and for safety; not knowing what the bomb was going to do; took them to our Mission Hall; but, sad to say; the bomb at Church was removed—which was a blessing for us all—but our Mission Hall had a landmine and we lost so much, including your Bibles … Please can you help us in however small a way.

Bibles for refugees

The influx of refugees escaping from Nazi occupied countries meant that there was a large demand for Bibles in other languages. A Polish lady wrote that,

Let me once more tell you how grateful we are to you for your offer. This country has offered to so many refugees peace, friendship—but the gift for which we, to have lost all what can be lost on earth, are more grateful than for anything else, is, that we feel here real Christian fellowship and the intense love of His own Word, which is transforming the life of each.

It was largely because of refugees from Germany that the TBS prepared a new edition of the German Bible, and it was particularly distributed amongst German Jewish refugees.

Being a refugee from Nazi oppression I lost all my belongings and also my Bible. Can you help me by sending one in German text?

The following letter came later,

I received your Bible and letter and wish to express my gratitude for your kindness and immediate help. It is great to learn that there is still so much sympathy left in a world of hate, and that help is being given … I have come to this country to stand on the right side, and pray that Christ’s teaching may help England in her fight against pagan Nazidom, and be her guide.

Internment camps and prisoners of war

All sorts of categories of people were in need of the Scriptures. Some were in internment camps, particularly people who were from an enemy country but who lived or were finding refuge in the United Kingdom. Prisoners of war also needed Bibles urgently, and TBS tried to fulfil these requests. 

Another group of people were those in Military Detention Barracks; the response to one grant was as follows. 

I am very grateful indeed for your generous gift of fifty copies of the Holy Scriptures, which will be given mainly to men in Detention Barracks, where men who have seldom found time to read this wonderful Book, have and do find time to read.

Grants of Scriptures overseas

The work of distributing and granting the Word of God among all nations did not stop to countries that were still accessible, although the journeys there could be hazardous. One delivery of Bibles was on a ship bound to the USA in late 1939, which was fired on by a German submarine and then boarded but mercifully allowed to proceed to the USA.

Prior to the invasion of Poland, a mission there wrote about the hunger for the Word of God, and thanking TBS for the Polish Bibles sent there,

So very many people crowd into the Prayer Hall that often the light is extinguished, from lack of oxygen, and all are wet with perspiration, still the people are so hungry that they stand for three or four hours under such conditions. The evening of our arrival we had an evangelistic meeting, which was well extended. In spite of the fact these people had risen before three that morning and had had a hard day in the fields they stood there drinking in the ‘Old, Old Story, of Jesus and His Love’ until after eleven o’clock.

The TBS had a depot in Damascus, which continued distributing Scriptures in that part of the world. The report for the first year of this depot’s operations appeared in the April 1940 QR, when the centre had sold or distributed 1,767 Bibles, Testaments, Gospels, and leaflets, many of which were in Arabic and Hebrew.

Deputation meetings

Deputation meetings were unavoidably altered or cancelled as the war progressed. The blackout meant that travelling was unsafe, and many meetings were cancelled. Many of them were deferred to the summer months, when the lighter evenings made it easier to meet safely. The severe bombing in the cities, large towns, and some coastal towns made it dangerous and difficult to hold meetings, but as one deputation speaker wrote, ‘we are thankful indeed for the self-sacrificing efforts of our friends in most of these places, who have still continued their support and interest’.

Translation work

Translation work did not pause during the war. There were many difficulties, such as paper shortages and postal problems which made it more difficult than usual (the Quarterly Record was shortened and published twice a year due to these shortages). New publications included the Kashmiri Gospel according to Luke, the Balti Gospel according to Mark, the colloquial Arabic Gospel according to Luke, and leaflets in languages such as Modern Greek and Telugu. Refugees and prisoners of war also widely used the new edition of the German Luther Bible.

A particularly important project was the Hebrew-English New Testament, using the Salkinson-Ginsburg Hebrew New Testament text. In 1940 a new society called the Society for Distributing the Holy Scriptures to the Jews was formed, which was closely connected to TBS, and the New Testament was published by TBS on behalf of this new society. In 1943 it was reported that,

The Hebrew-English New Testament is a testimony to the power of God and the goodness of God; born in this time of sorrow and distress! How wonderful it is that God should have enabled us to bring it out for His ancient people in their time of great suffering and agony. What better can we do than show them the place of refuge and comfort and source of all joy in their Lord.

Many of these Bibles eventually found their way into the hands of Jewish people fleeing Nazi persecution. A distributor wrote that,

We have a number of refugees in Tel-Aviv; they have a very sad story to tell. The Hitler regime will be recorded as the blackest spot in the history of the German people. The atrocities are indescribable. I showed a German lady 1 Corinthians 13. She said: ‘What a contrast! and where can I find the people who believe and practice this chapter?’

The end of the war

Following Victory in Europe (VE Day on 8 May 1945), TBS realised that the end of the war had brought renewed opportunities to spread the Word of God, particularly in prisoner of war camps where the opportunity was not likely to be of long duration. There was a huge demand for German Bibles, one chaplain of the US Army asking for 5,000 because there was a keen interest in Christianity amongst the prisoners. One pastor wrote of distributing Bibles in camps in the UK,

I little dreamed, back in 1940, when so many of our members lost their homes through the Blitz, that I should later stand on or near the bombed sites giving Scriptures to our foes and talking with them about Salvation through Christ Jesus.

In Belgium over ten thousand Latvians, Lithuanians, and Estonians who had been forced to join the German Army were in one prisoner camp, and TBS was able to supply Scriptures there. Another came across a German who had been stationed on the Channel Islands in 1940 where he had been given a German Gospel according to John. He had carried this about for six years, reading and re-reading it, until the covers had fallen off!

At the end of the war TBS recorded their thankfulness for many mercies,

We would render thanks to our gracious God for His grace and goodness through another year; and also that He has brought to a victorious end the long and terrible conflict in Europe. During the war-years, although there has been much destruction near to our Headquarters, through His mercy our building has been preserved and stands intact to-day, only having suffered very slight superficial damage which was soon repaired. Again our needs have been met and, with the cessation of hostilities, we look forward to development of the work in the not-too-distant future.

Much of Europe was devastated by the war, and TBS campaigned to raise money to ‘Feed Starving Europe’ with Bibles,

But what about Europe’s spiritual starvation? Nazi Godlessness, selfishness, and cruelty have robbed Europe, not only of food for the body, but of the Word of God, the food for the soul.

Conclusion

It is now 80 years since VE Day, and still how great a need there is for the Word of God. During the war it had been written,

If it be His gracious will that we are to be blessed with days of peace once again, and the highways of transit and trade reopened in all parts of the world; what a call this will constitute to those whom He has commissioned to be the messengers of His glorious Gospel to the nations of the earth.

We do not know what the future holds today, but how important it is that we make the most of every opportunity to spread the Word of God to all nations of the world, ‘redeeming the time, because the days are evil’ (Ephesians 5.16).