| Rev David Taylor
In speaking of Mr. David Taylor, I shall only touch on a
few salient points in a life given to the care and love of
those less fortunate than himself. They will also deal with
the earlier years of the Society although David Taylor has
set the continuing course of the Society and left it with
a heritage difficult to match in Hong Kong.
David Taylor, born in England in March 1915, of gentle disposition,
came to Hong Kong in November 1956 and took on the post of
Business Manager at the Haven of Hope Hospital on Junk Bay
close to the squatter village of Rennie's Mill on a hillside
above Junk Bay, an area now known as Tiu Keng Leng in the
New Territories. This village was also filled by some of the
residual Nationalist Army following the takeover of China
by the Communist Forces in 1949. While working at the Haven
of Hope Hospital, David noted the tragic conditions in which
some orphan boys were living and helped out one boy with some
special needs. Two of the boys asked David if they could sleep
at night on the verandah of his house to which he gave permission.
While David was at work these boys were given the task of
being caretakers of his home. These needs led to what later
became known as the Rennie's Mill Student Aid Project.
About that time David realized that, in view of his lack
of the Chinese language, his usefulness at the Hospital was
severely limited, and as a man with a vital Christian mission,
he sought other outlets for his abilities. He was then employed
as Assistant Secretary at the YMCA in Salisbury Road, Kowloon,
provided that during his free time he could return to his
home at Rennie's Mill. The work at the YMCA gave David opportunity
to meet a number of people whom he invited to form a small
committee to assist him with his work among boys at Rennie's
Mill.
It was in September 1959, while staying at the YMCA that
I first met David Taylor. He mentioned his work at Rennie's
Mill and asked if I would care to join a group of friends
who were helping him help these boys. By that time he had
managed to purchase, by using his own salary and gifts from
friends, three small houses and thus more boys, many of them
orphans or those whose parents were still in China, could
be accommodated. Shortly after I joined the small committee
in October or November 1959, the number of boys being assisted
by Mr. Taylor had risen to 27. At that time it was necessary
to register as an organization if more than 10 persons were
being assisted. The name chosen by David, "The Rennie's
Mill Student Aid Project", reflected the purpose of his
mission, to help provide a better life for the boys in need
and give them a basic education. Thus, with the very great
help of Justice Alan Huggins, a member of Saint John's Cathedral,
a Constitution was drawn up and presented to the government.
We met as a committee for some months at the YMCA but the
time came when David felt that, if the committee could manage
it, he would leave the YMCA and live full time at Rennie's
Mill so that he could give care and attention to the boys
that kept coming. David went out at times searching for such
boys in need, even as far a Macau, and some were forwarded
by the Social Welfare Department of that time. When he left
the YMCA, David went on a world trip where he used his very
special speaking talent to raise awareness of the needs in
Hong Kong. As a fully trained Anglican priest, David had contacts
among friends and churches of many denominations and was given
great support. David also found support among individuals
and churches in the U.S.A. and in Australia. He also was surprised
at the response from the Re-Reformed Churches of the Netherlands
which were looking for an overseas mission project to support
and in later years that Church in Holland helped us through
very difficult times. It was through the generosity of Dutch
Churches that Holland Hostel was built and opened in 1967,
the Foundation Stone being laid in January 1966 by Mr. Otto
Jager, at that time a Committee Member representing Holland.
In 1970 The Re-Reformed Churches provided assistance to David
in the persons of Jan and Heleen Kleijn. Upon Mr. Taylor's
retirement in 1975, Jan Kleijn took over as Director of the
Rennie's Mill Student Aid Project until he returned to Holland
in 1980. If I remember rightly, upon his return from the world
trip, David married Miss Dagney Noding of the Norwegian Lutheran
Mission who was also working at Rennie's Mill and together
they lived in the small home David had built, upgraded some
time later as the Project grew.
It was soon noticed that some of the boys had sisters who
were also in very great need, and so initially some of the
sisters were housed in separate huts or houses on the Society's
area at Rennie's mill. Those who were now part of the Project
were able to attend school, either the Queen Maud Middle School
immediately behind the Project site, or the school run by
the Nationalist Army by the waterfront of Junk Bay. In the
early 1960's a new dormitory was build, known as Mark Memorial
Hostel. This building housed the dining room, kitchen, study
and activity rooms as well as accommodation for boys, the
girls living in a separate house. The number of boys was around
100 while there were some 10 or 12 girls. At one stage we
had a number of animals such as guinea pigs, fish and a few
monkeys to bring pleasure into the lives of the residents.
Several persons also joined the limited number of staff for
short periods and their contribution to the work at Rennies
Mill was most welcome.
David was a hard worker, always joyful with a good sense
of fun and of humour, and if discipline were necessary, it
would be given, and received, with that sense of humour yet
with the gentility of love and the seriousness matched to
the need of the child. It should also be remembered that David
was in his own quiet way an evangelist and sought to bring
to Christ those boys and girls in his care. Quite a number
were baptized and this would bring joy to him, and he would
suggest that when they left the Project, they attend a church
of their choice in the world outside.
David was ever on the lookout for more worthwhile work and
he noticed that there were some empty houses at Shek Pik on
Lan Tau Island, homes that were used by the foreign workers
who built the Shek Pik Reservoir. These homes, due for demolition
but eventually given to the Project, became known as the Shek
Pik Hostel with room for about 60 boys, many of whom were
purposely isolated from their parents as they had been used
to peddle drugs. It soon became obvious that schooling was
important and so a primary school was started with the assistance
of the Education Department.
With the opening of Holland Hostel, the work multiplied with
referrals coming from many sources. This put an increasing
load upon David and the staff that were employed to cover
the needs. The government eventually provided subventions
for the Organization, newly named at the suggestion of the
government "The Hong Kong Student Aid Society",
thereby removing any political taint associated with Rennie's
Mill village, and indicating that its work was at that time
"Colony Wide" and certainly much more than "a
Project".
At the end of the Vietnam War, David visited Vietnam and
was disturbed at the terrible situation of the boys living
on the streets and upon return asked the committee if there
was a possibility of the Project extending its work to include
work in Vietnam. The committee was not enthusiastic in view
of the difficult work already in hand and the limited resources
and so reluctantly David gave up the idea and so other organizations
started similar work in that country.
Upon retirement David and Dagney lived a short distance out
of London, England, although they maintained an active interest
in the work in Hong Kong and in Asia. Such was David's enthusiasm
and mission that following retirement he visited the Philippines
and set up a similar work among needy children there, relying
upon a Christian local couple to continue the work in his
absence, although he would try to fly to the Philippines as
opportunity allowed and call in on Hong Kong on the way. Thus
we saw David from time to time and he kept abreast for some
years of the Hong Kong Student Aid Society.
David and Dagney's last visit to Hong Kong some three or
four years back saw a very different David. His sight was
failing and he had great difficulty in walking although his
mind was clear and his interest in the Society continued.
Dagney was in much better health and was a great help to David.
It was with a deep sense of both sadness and of thanksgiving
that we felt when we had news of David's death on 29th November
last. Today we give thanks to God for David, a dedicated and
hardworking servant, a loving and caring parent to many hundreds
of boys and girls whose lives have been changed for the better
because of him and his wife Dagney. Our hearts go out to Dagney
and the many who love David in their loss, yet not really
a loss for David is still around and rejoicing in God. He
is now enjoying an experience in the closer presence of God
which we can scarce imagine or understand, yet an experience
destined for all who love and worship God.
Mr. & Mrs. Taylor
Both were missionaries
Mr. Taylor and a child helped
Mr. & Mrs. Taylor
Visited Hong Kong in 2001
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