This is my story - 47

47 – More changes in leadership – Lieut. Colonels Hendry and O’Neill

Lieut. Colonel and Mrs. Leslie Hendry, British officers serving in the India Western territory, were appointed to take over the leadership of the Command. They arrived from India on 3rd May 1975. Their term was quite short, only seventeen months and in January 1977 left for their homeland England. They were quite close to their retirement. He was an affectionate man who loved to hug the ladies. This was not quite appreciated in our rather conservative society. It is not always easy to work in another culture - something we all need to watch, observe and learn from our interaction with different cultures.

They were succeeded in February 1977 by Lieut. Colonel and Mrs. Arthur O’Neil, also from the United Kingdom. He found it very difficult to adapt to the hot and humid climate and our Asian culture. Driving in Singapore and Malaysia was the biggest challenge to him. He had only learned to drive late in life when he was appointed as the Divisional Commander in Scotland two years prior to his appointment to Singapore.

He had a few accidents and a very serious one on their way home from Kuala Lumpur. The car, an Opel was badly damaged and had to be replaced at his own request with the type he was used to driving in Scotland –a Ford. It was always a challenge for him to drive alongside our Singapore and Malaysian drivers whose impatience on the roads he found rather trying!

He found it difficult to take our Asian food. I recall travelling with him for miles in Malaysia searching for a Government owned Rest House to get western food. He was a good man, but came too late in life to adapt to our way of living. Mrs. Lieut. Colonel Agnes O’Neil, a Scot was one of the most saintly women I’ve ever met, but she had poor health and suffered a lot without complaining. In the end it was necessary for them to return to England for good in mid 1979 to seek medical treatment.

On 7th September 1978 the following cadets of the Proclaimers of Salvation began their training: - Tnay Boon Tong (Kuching), Kamala Manikam (Batang Melaka), Ong Ban Tat and Chong Kok Hong (Penang) and Bob Lee Kong Chew (Balestier). August 1979 saw the arrival of Major Gunvor Paulsson from Sweden to be the Training Principal of the Training College for officers. I was pleased as this released me to concentrate fully on the work of General Secretary.

The following month October, Lieut. Colonel Arthur O’Neill and I went to Tokyo to attend the first Zonal Conference held at the Mount Fuji Hotel. It comprised the two top leaders of each territory and command. Wives of the leaders were excluded. Australia and New Zealand were not part of the Zone then. The Leader of the Zonal Conference was General Arnold Brown.

One day the General called me aside asked me of the possibility of serving overseas. I assured him that we would go where our leaders appoint us as that was part of our covenant with God. However, I shared with him some of our concerns at that particular time.

When he got back to International Headquarters we received a confidential letter from the International Secretary Commissioner Denis Hunter and this question was posed “Is there any reason why you and Mrs. Lim should not serve overseas?”

Well, there was a reason; our son Stephen could not leave Singapore until he had done his national service. To take him out of the country we would have to deposit half a million dollars with the Government and sign a guarantee that we would bring him back at the age of eighteen to do his national service. We did not have that amount of money (and never will) and we were not prepared to leave him alone in Singapore. So there was a genuine reason which we relayed to our leaders. In response the International Secretary expressed sympathetic understanding of our concerns.

Later when General Arnold Brown visited Singapore, he brought up the subject again and expressed his understanding of our situation. Then he added, “Anytime you are ready, just let us know. But once you have committed yourselves to overseas service, there is no guarantee when you will return to serve in Singapore. You may not return till you retire.” True enough, we did not return except for homeland furlough to serve in our own command till May 1997 when we retired. We were away from home for the last fifteen years of active service. We have had no regrets as we always felt it was part of our officer covenant to obey the lawful orders of our leaders as from the Lord.

After the departure of Lieut. Colonel and Mrs. O’Neill there was a brief period when the Command was without an Officer Commanding. In September 1979, Lieut. Colonel and Mrs. Earle Maxwell were appointed as the leaders. They were much younger in age than the other leaders, full of enthusiasm and zeal, certainly good for us all.