REPRESENTING THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF 2X2 HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ON THE INTERNET
Perry, Oklahoma Conv, 1942
Letters about Irvine's Death from THOMAS COUSSIN:
Mills, Orris - March
17, 1947
Mills, Orris - April 22,
1947
Mrs. Dagmar - May 24, 1947
Mrs. Westlund - May 28,
1947
Mills, Orris - July
11, 1947
Mills, Orris - August 28, 1947
List of Addresses
of Returned Letters
Margaret Slater's August 20, 1947 Letter to Thos. Coussins (Wm. Irvine's niece, daughter of his sister Helen/Nellie)
J. S. Ritchie's Letter to Mr. Meachen,
June 8, 1947
Burial Details
Irvine's Last Will and Testament
Living Descendant: Son: Archie Irvine
Collection of Letters by William Irvine
Book: Preserving the Truth: The Church without a Name
and its Founder, William Irvine
Newspaper Articles about Irvine's Death:
The Palestine Post, now The Jerusalem Post
1947, Mar. 10, p, 2 - Obituary of Wm. Irvine
The Impartial Reporter & Farmers Journal of Enniskillen, N. Ireland
1947, Mar. 16 - William Irvine Dead - The Apostle of the Pilgrims (by Irvine Noble)
The Sunday Post, Lanarkshire, Scotland
1947, Mar. 16B - William Irvine Had to Go (Announcement of William Irvine's Death)
The Palestine Post, now The Jerusalem Post
1947, Mar, 20, p. 2 - Probate of Last Will of Wm. Irvine
The Sunday (Palestine) Post, now The Jerusalem Post
1947, May 25, p. 6 - A Man They Were Proud to Know (by J. S. Ritchie)
Thos. Coussin’s Letter To: Mr. Orris Mills
March 17, 1947
C/O Police Headquarters
Jerusalem
, Palestine
Dear Mr. Mills:
I am indeed sorry to have to convey to you the sad news that Mr. William Irvine passed away on Sunday, 9th March, 1947.
You were no doubt aware that he had been ailing for the past six years. He had nevertheless been able to get about in the ordinary way and it was only in recent months that his condition worsened and he was not able to leave his hotel. He took to his bed towards the end of February, where he remained until he left us peacefully, at approximately 11:50 hours a week ago yesterday.
To introduce myself, I would say that I am a civil servant employed at Police Headquarters here in Jerusalem, and that I have known Mr. Irvine on and off for the past twenty years. At the beginning of November, when he began to feel really ill he sent for me, since when I had been with him almost every day, until he passed away.
William was loved by all who came in contact with him, and I felt it a privilege to help him over his last difficult days. I enclose a cutting from the Palestine Post of 10th March, 1947, which in itself shows the respect all and sundry here in Jerusalem held for Mr. Irvine. He was indeed a well known figure ambling along with a smile for everybody between his hotel, adjacent to the City Walls and the Post Office, where he collected his mail.
The funeral took place at 2 P.M. on the 10th March, 1947, on a bright warm Sunday afternoon. He now lies at peace on Mount Zion from where the view across the Jordan Valley to the mountains of Moab frames his resting place and seems befitting with his faith in a better heaven and better earth.
During the last two or three weeks Mr. Irvine had been unable to deal with his mail, which steadily accumulated. All unopened letters have consequently been returned to senders. As I am, however, unable to write to all his correspondents, I am enclosing a list of the addresses of letters to the U.S.A. that have so far been returned and I would ask you Mr. Mills to pass the news around. I chose you Mr. Mills merely for the fact that you appear to have corresponded with him regularly in recent times and apparently quite interested. Mr. C.C. Darrow who figures in the list and who used to send Mr. Irvine many newspaper cuttings may be able to help you considerably in advising those concerned.
Wishing you my deepest condolences in the loss of our dear mutual friend.
I am,
Yours very sincerely,
Thos. Coussin
A telegram has been sent on March 29th, 1947 to Police Headquarters, Jerusalem, to verify the above.
Orris Mills
Gen. Del.
Sacramento, California
Thomas Coussin’s Letter To: Orris Mills
April 22, 1947
C/O Police Headquarters
Jerusalem, Palestine
Dear Mr. Mills:
It was most gratifying to have your letter of 1st April, and to read all you have had to say about my care for William. Somehow or other the days and, mostly, evenings seem to have gone by as if in a dream. He had so much charm and grace of manner that I shall always see him before me as the epitome of gentleness. He was courageous and had infinite faith in his ideas right until the end. The doctor thought him marvelous, and although he must have had pain he never showed it.
Many of the people you notified have since written to me, and so have his two surviving sisters, one in Scotland and the other in Wales. Actually I met some of William’s people on one of my visits to the old country. I myself am from Glasgow originally. It is really a pleasure to hear from so many and the little one could have done in a case like this gives pleasure when you know it is appreciated so much.
William left a properly drawn up will in which, after making a few personal bequests, willed some LP. 2000 to named hospitals and charities and the residue, which will be in the region of approximately LP. 1000 to the poor. His personal effects and chattels, etc., he also left to the poor, and as we had to give up his room. These articles have been distributed as required, via the Department of Social Welfare. He left no writings, but it is curious that you should mention his bibles, magnifying glasses and a filigree cigarette holder.
They are of no intrinsic value, and I had arranged with the Executor to take them with me to Scotland, to offer to his sisters or perhaps his niece when I go on leave about the end of June D.V. I shall be writing to the older sister again soon and shall mention your wishes in respect of these articles of sentimental value. I have no doubt she will agree to let you have them.
William entrusted me with the last rites, and I am moved when I think of the complete serenity in which every one made it possible for me to arrange these solemn matters. I did not mention, and it may give you peace to learn that his coffin draped with the Union Jack was conveyed to Mount Zion in one of our Police tenders with six stalwart British Constables acting as pall bearers. It was indeed an impressive cortege with all the honors he so richly deserved.
There is a snapshot of William that I can let you have, and there is also a composite photograph of him taken at about 20, 40, 60 and 80 years of age, which I am having copied at the office. If you wish it I can send one to you as well as the snap.
I agree, Mr. Mills, we have lost a friend, but we must bow to God’s will and the irrevocable.
I am, yours very sincerely,
T. Coussin
THE LATE MR. WILLIAM IRVINE
O.W. Mills, 796 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena 6, CA U.S.A.
A.J. Dunbar, Box 265, Placentia, California, U.S.A.
C.C. Darrow, 3448 Broadway, Sacramento 17, CA, U.S.A.
Mr. William I. Loitz, 223 N. Clementine St., Anaheim, CA, U.S.A.
Mrs. Laurel Wood, 148 Summit Ave., Apt. 507, St. Paul, Minn., U.S.A.
Mr. Charles Colling, Gen. Del., Sonora, CA, U.S.A.
Mr. Louis Alarez, 1405 W. 4th St., Santa Ana, CA, U.S.A.
J.J. Fladung 3385 Utah Ave., San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Mr. Bert M. Young, Colfax, CA, U.S.A.
A. Carrigan, 701 Sunnyvale Ave., San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Mrs. Evelyn Gertie Martin, 3357 Lemon St., Riverside, CA, U.S.A.
Olive Jordan, 78 E. 13th St., Saint Paul 2, Minn., U.S.A.
Rideout, 11518 S. Watkins, Chicago 43, Ill., U.S.A.
Mr. James H. Grey, 6428 Orchard Ave., Bell, CA, U.S.A.
E.L. Ackerson, 160 Scenic Way, Vallejo, CA, U.S.A.
W.H. Kinder, 425 Piper ST., Helsburg, CA, U.S.A.
Mr. Bill McCann, Rt. 1 Box 966, Santa Clara, CA, U.S.A.
Frank Fountain, 2336 Wall ST., VAncouver, B.C., Canada
Mr. & Mrs. W.J. Lee, 3462 Avocado Ave., Riverside, CA, U.S.A.
Mrs. Ida Newby, 223 S. Lincoln St., Spokane, WA, U.S.A.
Miss F. Webster 1212 3rd ST., Eureka, CA, U.S.A.
Mr. & Mrs. W.M. Breneman, Gen. Del., Auburn, CA, U.S.A.
D.W. McDougall, 227 Orange St., Santa Rosa, CA, U.S.A.
Mrs. J.P. Ferbroche Box 84, Hunters, WA, U.S.A.
Mr. Daniel Bailey, 917 M St., Eureka, CA, U.S.A.
Mr. Ed F. Wilder, 2360 A St., Eureka, CA, U.S.A.
912 W. 2nd St., Santa Ana, CA, U.S.A.
2334 West Viem St., Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A
Thomas Coussin's Letter to Mrs. Dagmar Berglund, Vancouver, B.C.
May 24, 1947
Jerusalem, Palestine
Police Headquarters
Dear Mrs. Berglund:
I have read and reread your air letter of 28 April and must say you really ought not to be so troubled.
One's faith is all that matters and if you have that you have everything and what Mr. Irvine gave should remain with you. Religion is surely what one believes in. The systems that have been adopted are a means to an end, and what one sees and hears around here of the various means of approach - makes Mr. Irvine's outlook more the reverse. By your bracketed remarks that I did not take what he gave - you make it easier for me to talk. I must say and confess that I admired and respected all I heard from him and all he had to offer to a very weary world.
Have no doubt about Mr. Irvine and his faith and he was sincere and steadfast right to the end. William had cancer of the mouth and believe me, my dear Mrs. Berglund, the last words he was able to utter on this side were exactly those he gave to you and all the others who had ears to hear. He had and wanted nothing else but his implicit faith in the book.
I asked him to write to you all, but he said he had finished and had practically written nothing since June or July. He spoke about his work--he began to understand things and left the mines and told me very clearly that he regretted no moment of it. I am proud to tell you that he considered fate that I had been able to retain my friendship with him. He put it in different words of course.
When he was no longer able to speak he conveyed to me by signs his ideas about heaven and was very keen on hearing what was going on outside in fulfillment of his ideas. World events (and perhaps our own in Palestine) as they are shaping today makes one think very hard indeed about what William had to say.
This notepaper I am using is William's and I am sure he would have wanted me to convey these words I am transmitting to you.
Before concluding let me quote two extracts in the letter of one of William's friends from New South Wales, Australia.
(1) "God's servant had suffered so keenly and patiently and yet joyfully in doing a work that carried with it a significance of which so few people yet understand."
(2) "Not because of any human attribute he possessed but for his works sake which revealed his love and loyalty to God in a life long strenuous battle that few people have any idea of."
I repeat I have no doubt (about) William and his sincerity. He was the most charming man I ever met and the combination of faith, courage and strength. I cannot say any more, and if I have said it badly, please forgive me.
I am yours very sincerely,
Thos. Coussin
Thos. Coussin’s Letter To: Mrs. Westlund
May 28, 1947
C/O Police Headquarters
Jerusalem, Palestine
Dear Mrs. Westlund:
I have just received your letter of May 13th, which appears to have been badly sealed down and consequently reached me open with the one dollar missing. You should not have remitted any money, as I do not wish it, and did not ask for it. In the meantime I am making inquiries from the Postmaster, Jerusalem via attached copy of letter and should it turn up I shall pass it on to charity, as it is illegal to transmit dollars by Post.
It has been indeed lovely to receive so many letters from Mr. William’s friends and I can assure you that such appreciation is most gratifying. It is, of course, physically impossible for me to carry on correspondence with all those who wrote.
Mr. Irvine had cancer of the mouth, which had been slowly working on him for about six years, and for which he took treatment at the Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, where you no doubt know, they have some of the world’s best specialist at the radium Institute.
Incidentally, they all loved him up there and did all they possibly could to help him. They even offered to take him and make him comfortable during his last days, but he steadfastly refused and told me that his trysting place was where he resided. His illness progressed rapidly in the last two or three weeks and this coupled with his venerable 84 years took him away from us on Sunday the 9th March, 1947.
I have written to William’s sister with regard to the items of sentimental value and as soon as I have a reply from her I will inform Mr. Mills; to whom I would suggest you communicate with regard to any thing you want in this respect.
Again with my deepest condolences, I am,
Yours very sincerely,
Thomas Coussin
Thomas Coussin's Letter To: Mills
July 11, 1947
C/O Police Headquarters
Jerusalem , Palestine
Dear Mr. Mills:
I must apologize to you for being so slow in replying to your letter of the 12th of May, 1947. It was simply a case of waiting to hear from William's sister as to whether she consented to sending on the small personal articles to you. I am very glad to inform you that she has agreed to let you have them, and I shall consequently dispatch them to you in three packages.
The main package will be enclosed in an old cigar box that William used to keep his unanswered letters in, as well as some snap shots. In the bottom you will find his own original list of correspondents and some photographs and snaps of himself and some of his friends. I don't know whether you will know the friends from the snaps, but I simply could not tear them up.
The contents of the box, apart from the snaps are:
Cigarette holder (filigree)
Magnifying glass, small (in case)
Magnifying glass (composite handle)
Fountain pens (2)
Watch pocket (Genie metal)
Whistle Blast
Change Purse (old)
Note Wallet (new)
The two other packages will comprise the bibles, one together with a book on "Life Chemistry." The latter has no particular value, but I am sending it just the same. I am dispatching the bibles separately, as they are on the heavy side. I trust they will all reach you in good order.
In the meantime I have received some more letters from William's friends and believe me, it has given me infinite pleasure to realize all the appreciation and thanks that is being bestowed upon me as a result of the little I was able to do during his last days. As a matter of fact, I must confess that I am missing him more and more every day.
I am enclosing a copy of a cutting of the "Sunday Post" dated 25th May, 1947, which his sister sent on to me, and you will agree that it confirms (as if confirmation was needed) that great respect and esteem held by all for our dear friend.
As you would like his sister's addresses, I append them hereunder. The sisters are married to brothers, hence the same name.
The older one: Mrs. Nellie Cleland, 39 Eastside, Kirkintilloch, Victoria, Scotland
The younger one: Mrs. Jennie Cleland, Glan Ebbu House, Monmouthshire, S. Wales
As for myself, I am proceeding on leave to the United Kingdom next week, but as I am going over land, I shall not reach Scotland until the middle of August. Anyhow, here is my address, and I shall only be too pleased to find a letter from you on my arrival:
C/O A. S. Coussin, 11 Minard Road, Glasgow, Scotland
My deepest respects.
I am yours sincerely,
Thos. Coussin
Thos Coussin's Letter to Orris Mills
August 28, 1947
132 Queen's Drive
Queen's Bark
Glasgow, Scotland
Dear Mr. Mills:
I have your letter of 27 July on arrival in Glasgow a few days ago and yesterday received the one dated 18 August advising of the receipt of the packages. One or two more letters of appreciation were also in the mail directed from Jerusalem. It really grieves me that I cannot reply to them all individually, but you can quite understand that it would be too great a task. But I certainly do like to receive them.
Before leaving Jerusalem I arranged for a small wooden portable desk in which William used to keep his odds and ends to be dispatched to you. William had it ever since I remember and I thought you would like it. You could perhaps set it up in the local chapel. It's just a thought but I am sure you will know best what to do with it.
A certain Mr. and Mrs. Herman Reader of Merced, Col, PO Box 33 Irwin, California wrote to me saying that it wasn’t clear as to what really caused William's death and asked me to say if I ever had a cause to write you again. I think I mentioned to you in a later letter that he had cancer of the mouth. Although he had been suffering for about six years, he never mentioned it to his correspondents.
Mr. and Mrs. Peel of 1009 ½ Jay St., Sacramento wish to know if Mr. Irvine received the pair of pajama's they sent out in April, 1946. I am sure he did, for he had quite a number of pairs which we handed over to the Dept. of Social Welfare for distribution to the local hospitals, etc.
As for ourselves, Mrs. Coussin and I are making the best of our leave and much needed rest. We hope to go off to the coast in about ten days time but the address overleaf will find me. My leave expires on or about 25 October when we shall return via London. I hear from H.Q. however that I may have to go for a little "duty" before that.
For the present, my best regards and sincere respect to thyself and all friends.
I am yours very sincerely,
Thos Coussin
Letter from Margaret Slater to Thos Coussins (Wm. Irvine's niece)
August 20, 1947
My dear Mills:
My mother received your letter a week or two ago. She would have liked to answer your letter herself, but unfortunately she had a heart attack and has been in her bed for a few weeks and has to rest and be kept quiet so she asked me to write you to let you know she was very pleased to hear from you and to know that a friend of her dear brother has got the articles you asked about and she knows you will appreciate them.
She is very pleased to know you enjoyed reading his letters and no doubt they were a great source of enlightenment to many. We enjoyed getting them also. How we used to look forward to his visits when we were all kids. He was such good fun and was so kind to us all. It was a great event for us when we were told Uncle Willie was coming. The memories we have of him are very happy ones.
We expect to have a visit from Mr. Coussin and his wife very soon now. Mother is looking forward to meeting him to hear all about her dear brother. She was quiet upset when she heard about his death. She thought it was awful him being in a strange country and among strangers, but we told her he wouldn’t be with strangers. He had lots of good and dear friends beside him. I think Mr. Coussin was a very attentive friend and looked after him till the end. He wrote and told mother he would let her know all about him when he arrived and what was his trouble. He died and was buried just as he wished, and no doubt the world was a better place with his being in it.
When we hear about him from Mr. Coussin, I will write and let you know anything I think you would be interested to hear. I think God must have thought his servant's weary body was needing a rest and called him home before all this trouble and fighting started in Jerusalem. Isn't the world in a state of unrest? Things don’t seem to be much better since the end of the war; here anyway, there isn't very much improvement.
Now, Mr. Mills I am going to ask you to do something but I know if mother knows she won't be pleased. There are so few extras we can get here for old people, I wonder if it would be asking too much if I asked if you could send a package to my mother, but only on condition you let me pay for what it costs. If we could, we would buy them here, but that's an impossibility and when they get up in years they do need lots of little extras we younger ones can well do without and more so when they are not so well. Mother is 71 - Father 73 years, so they are getting on, and I feel it would be nice for them to get this.
We have had people in and some of them get packages from America, and more as a joke, my mother would say, "Have we no friends in America we could get to send a few things?" So maybe this has been "Gata." Is there anything I could send you from Scotland! I don’t know if you are married or not; if you are, I could send you a Fair Isle cardigan or gloves for your wife, you can let me know.
I hope you don't mind me asking all this and I know when Mother is able she will want to write you herself. I am putting in an article that was in the paper here. I have the original and got my girl to type this one for you. I have to tell you how pleased Mother is that you value the articles you got--not for their value, but knowing what a fine and good man they belonged to. We do hope to hear from you again. I'll have to go and get supper ready now.
Bye Bye for now, Love from my Mother, Father and all here,
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. M. (Margaret) Slater
(Wm. Irvine's Niece, daughter of Helen/Nellie Irvine Clelland)
Remember my Mother to all who knew her brother
NOTE: The "articles" mentioned in the above letter are detailed in a letter by Mr. Coussin to Mr. Mills dated July 11, 1947.
June 8, 1947
Dear Mr. Meachen:
Your letter was the first intimation I had that my letter on our mutual friend, Mr. Irvine, had been published in the Sunday Post. I thank you for the information contained in your letter as it adds something to my knowledge of this fine old Scot. You wish me to give you some details of William Irvine's life and work in Palestine. I wish I felt equal to the task, as I feel my effort much too moderate to do this truly Christian man justice.
Jerusalem was the center from which he carried out his work, but sometime after the great earthquake of 1927, he came to the coast to recuperate and rest. It was then, as near as I can judge, in his sixty-fifth year, a vigorous and active man of fine physique with a face noble and rugged, that could only have been molded in Scotland. In countenance, temperament, and manner of speech he was characteristically Scots. His needs was small; his tastes simple. When I knew him he seldom dressed in anything more than an open neck shirt, shorts and sandals and invariably carried a walking stick. His shock of white hair was always uncovered and blowing in the wind. It was thus I knew him, and in my many reflections of those days, it is thus I remember him.
His home was a single room rented from a Christian Arab in the Ajami Quarter of Jaffa. The Ajami is a little removed from the town and is built on a hill overlooking the sea. In the Ajami of those days, only a small community of Arabs, mostly Christian Arabs, lived there. It was here Mr. Irvine made his home in Jaffa and access to it was by way of a little paved garden that might have existed in Biblical times as appearances go. His room was clean and simply furnished, some of which furnishings he made with his own capable hands, and although it supplied the comfort he wished for, it was a humble little place in comparison to the home he could have had, had he not denied himself so much to give to the poor.
The mornings were usually taken up at his writing desk, and he would devote this time to writing to his many adherents all over the world. (These letters I have called “epistles” for in actual substance such they were). Often I would meet him at Campbell's Pool, a little place on the seashore not far from Simon the Tanner's house, where we would talk after swimming.
It was these talks that revealed to me the true nature of the man I had come to know as a friend. In these talks, he was himself the fountain head of Christian knowledge, and little by little he would unfold his message and stimulated a keen desire for more. Never once was I bored; boredom was impossible when listening to this highly educated man who told a simple message in a way one could not fail to understand, and more especially as one felt the warmth of intimate companionship and understanding and the infinite sincerity of his message. I was not the only one who benefited by these pleasant experiences, but I think for the 8 or 12 months which followed, I was his most intimate friend in Jaffa. As you say he seldom spoke of himself, and it was not from his own lips that I heard of his many kindnesses to people of all races in need, of his many donations to charities. At the time of which I write there was no Scottish mission in Jaffa or Jerusalem. There is now, of course, the Scottish Hospice in Jerusalem which was built about the time I left Palestine.
Mr. Irvine could have been described as a free-lance missionary. He worked alone. I know little of his work in Jerusalem, but I understand he had many adherents there. shall always remember him as a truly Christian gentleman.
Now let me strike a personal note; I thank you again for your letter and I should like to hear from you again. You were in these parts 45 years ago, you would see a vast difference in East Africa of today. I have now only space to give you my sincere good wishes
Yours very sincerely,
J. S. Ritchie
Statement by Edward Cooney in 1947
at the time of
Wm. Irvine's death
in
The Life & Ministry of
Edward Cooney
By Patricia Roberts
Pages 43-45
The Palestine Post, p. 2
Monday, March 10, 1947
OBITUARY
of
Mr. William Irvine
A well known figure in Jerusalem passed away with the death yesterday after a long illness, of Mr. William Irvine of Kilsyth, Scotland. Mr. Irvine died in his 84th year after having resided in Palestine since 1919, where he came in pursuit of his beliefs. He will be remembered by many who knew him as the kindly old white-haired gentleman seen on his daily walk between the Post Office and the Old City walls. He died with the full faith of better things to come. The interment will take place at the Zion Cemetery at 2:30 p.m. today.
William Irvine is buried in Zion Cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel.
There is not a tombstone standing for him. There might have been one that
was destroyed. During the World War II, much destruction took place
in the area of No-Man's Land, where the cemetery was located. Numerous
unmarked graves are to be found in this cemetery, and his grave is likely
one of them. Cemetery records positively show that he was buried
in Zion Cemetery.
Link to Find-A-Grave Death Record for Wm. Irvine
.Jerusalem, Palestine Police Headquarters
Regarding the Death of William Irvine.
The Palestine Post, (now Jerusalem Post)
Notice of Probate of Will
March 20, 1947, p. 2
In virtue of an order of the District Court of Jerusalem, bearing date of this day, I do hereby cite all and all manner of persons to appear in the said court in 10 days from date hereof and show cause, if any, they have why the last will of William Irvine, deceased, should not be proved, approved and registerd to Theodore Krikorian, the executor named therein, as in default thereof the Court will proceed to grant the same accordingly.
Dated this 15th day of March, 1947.
(Sgnd) F. Saadeb, A/Registrar.
I, WILLIAM IRVINE, born in Kilsyth, Scotland on the 7the day of January 1863, a resident of Jerusalem, Palestine, being of sound mind and knowledge hereby revoke all former Wills and testamentary dispositions made by me, and by this my last Will devise and bequeath all my movable and immovable property and my real and personal estate whatsoever and wheresoever situated, as follows:-
(1) The sum of LP. 200.- (Two hundred Palestine Pounds) to NELLIE CLELAND, my sister, wife of David Cleland, residing in Kirkintilloch, Scotland , or to her heirs, or legal personal representatives.
(2) The sum of LP. 200.- (Two hundred Palestine Pounds) to JENNIE CLELAND, my other sister, wife of Peter Cleland, residing in Kilsyth, Scotland, or to her heirs, or legal personal representatives.
(3) The sum of LP. 500.- (Five hundred Palestine Pounds) to the Radium Institute of the Hadassah University Hospital for a bed to be endowed in the name of WILLIAM IRVINE, Kilsyth, Scotland.
(4) The sum of LP. 150.- (One hundred and Fifty Palestine Pounds) to St. John's Ophtalmic Hospital, Jerusalem.
(5) The sum of LP. 100 . - (One hundred Palestine Pounds) to the Hospital Francais St. Louis ( French Hospital), Jerusalem.
(6) The sum of LP. 100.- (One hundred Palestine pounds) to Dr. A. Ticho, proprietor of a private Ophtalmic Hospital, Jerusalem, for the treatment and comforts to the poor who attend his hospital.
(7) The Sum of LP. 50. - (Fifty Palestine Pounds) to the Jewish Institute for the Blind, Jerusalem .
(8) The sum of LP. 50.- (Fifty Palestine Pounds) to The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals of the poor, at Birket-El-Sultan, Jerusalem.
(9) The sum of LP. 500. - (Five hundred Palestine Pounds), to my friend Mr. THOMAS COUSSIN, Greed Colony, Jerusalem.
(10) The sum of LP. 100.- (One hundred Palestine Pounds) to Dr. T. MINASSIAN, Jerusalem.
(11) The sum of LP. 100.- (One hundred Palestine Pounds) to the Staff (excluding the management) of the Almasie Hotel, Jerusalem.
(12) The sum of LP. 50.- (Fifty Palestine Pounds) in equal shares, to the two proprietors of the Almasie Hotel, Jerusalem.
(13) Clothes and all other chattles(sic) in my room to be collected and given away to the poor and needy as decided by my executor and M r. Thomas Coussin.
(14) The residue of my estate to be distributed to institutions for the poor and needy in Jerusalem as decided by my executor and Mr. Thomas Coussin.
(15) All funeral arrangements and last sacred rites to be arranged by my beloved friend Mr. Thomas Coussin, who will see to all matters in this respect and charge the expenses incurred to the estate.
(16) I appoint Mr. THEODORE KRIKORIAN, of Upper Baqa, Jerusalem (now Senior Paymaster Police) to be the sole executor of this my last will , the said e xecutor to sell, call in and convert all my movable and unmovable property real and personal estate whatsoever and wheresoever situated into money to be distributed according to the provisions and bequests hereinbefore contained. I fix hereby the sum of LP. 100.- (One hundred Palestine Pounds) to be paid to my said executor.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of January, One Thousand Nine Hundred & Forty- Seven.
(Sgd.) William Irvine.
On 100 mils Revenue Stamp.
Signed by the above testator as his last Will in the joint presence of himself and us , who at his request and in such joint presence have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.
(Sgd.) B. Geichman Residing at B. Geichman, Jerusalem.
(Sgd.) J. Brandwein Residing at J. B randwein , J erusalem.
27-1-1947.
View copy of the above Will in TTT Photo Gallery
The following information is from England and Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, Record for:
Irvine William of Jerusalem Palestine died 9 March 1947
Administration (with Will) (limited) London 25 March to Barclays Bank Dominion Colonial and Overseas attorney of Theodore Krikorian. Effects £1410 5s 11d in England.
* * * * * *
In His Majesty’s High Court of Justice
The Principal Probate Registry
BE IT KNOWN that William Irvine of Jerusalem in Palestine formerly of Kilsyth in Scotland who died on the 9th day of March, 1947 at Jerusalem aforesaid domiciled in Palestine made and duly executed his last Will and Testament and therein named Theodore Krikorian sole Executor who now resides out of England.
AND BE IT FURTHER KNOWN that at the date hereunder written Letters of Administration with the Will (a copy whereof is hereunto annexed) of all the Estate which by law devolves to and vests in the personal representative of the deceased were granted by His Majesty’s High Court of Justice at the Principal Probate Registry thereof to
Barclays Bank Dominion Colonial and Overseas of 54 Lankard Street in the City of London
The lawful Attorney Theodore Krikorian for his use and benefit until he shall apply for and obtain Probate of the said Will.
And it is hereby certified that an Affidavit for Inland Revenue has been delivered wherein it is shown that the gross value of the said Estate in England (exclusive of what the said deceased may have been possessed of or entitled to as a Trustee and not beneficially) amounts to £1410.5.11, and that the net value of the estate amounts to £1410.5.11.
Dated the 25th day of March, 1948.
Signature of Registrar
Extracted by R. H. Behrend Kendall Price & Francis, 17 Surrey Street, Strand, England WC2
The Sunday (Palestine) Post, (now The Jerusalem Post)
"WILLIAM IRVINE is dead. His name means nothing to the younger generation, but those who can recall the great ‘Pilgrims’ or ‘Dipper’ conventions in Co. Fermanagh of about 30 years ago, will recall the tall, hatless figure of Wm. Irvine, who was at that time the ‘teacher’ and leader of the ‘Pilgrims.’ His rugged face, his dynamic personality, his strong and impressive address, swayed the thousands who gathered from all parts to hear him. The women folk adored him as a saint, and listened to him with rapt attention as if they were hypnotised. He was a lovable man and a real Christian.
"A recent issue of the ‘Sunday Post’ contained an appreciation of Wm. Irvine which will be read with interest by those who remember him. It was as follows:
"I was a soldier in Jerusalem. Maybe that makes you think of armed combats, of Arabs and Jews, and strange scenes and customs. But my most vivid memory is of a tall Scotsman with a great head of white hair. Every morning I saw him striding out of the Holy City towards the Garden of Gethsemane. He wore a deerstalker’s cap, heavy jacket, shorts, and suede sandals. He greeted nearly everyone he met with a smile and a word of encouragement. And they felt the better for meeting him. You knew at once there was something remarkable about the man.
"He was William Irvine. Sixty years ago, at 35 years of age, he was general manager of William Baird and Company’s Boswell Collieries in Lanarkshire. He was only in his twenties then, and on the way to the top of his profession—a directorship. But he felt a higher call. He gave up his job. He founded in his native Kilsyth a movement, which is still active. He did not believe in churches of stone. A tent, or the open air, was all he wanted. He told his message with simple earnestness. Having founded his church in his native village, he felt he had to go with his message to foreign lands. He set out as a free-lance missionary. He went to Ireland, United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Colonies. He became known all over the world as ‘The Man with the Mission. He lived frugally. His needs were slight. Money had no value for him. ‘I have nothing,’ he said. ‘Yet—I lack nothing.’ He quoted from Luke, ‘Go your way. Behold, I send you forth, as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse nor scrip nor shoes, and salute no man by the way.’ Between the two great wars he settled in Palestine. He received letters from all corners of the earth where his message was still remembered. During the second World War he became a favourite of the British troops. They called him 'Jock.'
"Then last Sunday I learned that in Jerusalem, William Irvine had come to the end of his pilgrimage. He died, a single man, aged 84."
NOTE: Reportedly, the above article was written by a young soldier named Irvine Noble. He and his family were followers of Irvine's Omega Message. Noble was living in England in 1997.
Lanarkshire, Scotland ##
WILLIAM IRVINE HAD TO GO
I was a soldier in Jerusalem. Maybe that makes you think of armed combats, of Arabs and Jews, and strange scenes and customs. But my most vivid memory is of a tall Scotsman with a great head of white hair. Every morning I saw him striding out of the Holy City towards the Garden of Gethsemane. He wore a deerstalker’s cap, heavy jacket, shorts, and suede sandals. He greeted nearly everyone he met with a smile and a word of encouragement. And they felt the better for meeting him. You knew at once there was something remarkable about the man.
He was William Irvine. Sixty years ago, at 35 years of age, he was general manager of William Baird and Company’s Boswell Colleries in Lanarkshire. He was only in his twenties then, and on the way to the top of his profession—a directorship. But he felt a higher call. He gave up his job. He founded in his native Kilsyth a Pentecostal movement, which is still active. He did not believe in churches of stone. A tent, or the open air, was all he wanted. He told his message with simple earnestness. Having founded his church in his native village, he felt he had to go with his message to foreign lands. He set out as a free-lance missionary. He went to Ireland, United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Colonies. He became known all over the world as ‘The Man with the Mission.’
He lived frugally. His needs were slight. Money had no value for him. ‘I have nothing,’ he said. 'Yet—I lack nothing.’ He quoted from Luke, ‘Go your way. Behold, I send you forth, as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse nor scrip nor shoes, and salute no man by the way.’ Between the two great wars he settled in Palestine. He received letters from all corners of the earth where his message was still remembered. During the second World War he became a favorite of the British troops. They called him Jock.
Then last Sunday I learned that in Jerusalem William Irvine had come to the end of his pilgrimage. He died, a single man, aged 84.’
NOTE: Reportedly, the above was written by a young soldier named Irvine Noble, who was still living in 1997.
The Sunday (Palestine) Post, (nka The Jerusalem Post)
May 25, 1947, page 6
A Man They Were Proud to Know
I read in “The Sunday Post” about the death in Jerusalem of my old friend, William Irvine, the missionary.
I met the grand old man in Palestine in 1927, and became one of his most intimate friends. He bestowed gifts freely on the poor and humble. During one of the worst winters within living memory, he bought as many warm coats as he could afford, and distributed them to Arab children in Jerusalem.
Your article says William Irvine founded a Pentecostal movement in Kilsyth. If the mission still exists, I would suggest members erect to his memory a simple plaque in St. Andrew Chapel of the Scottish Hospice in Jerusalem. This would be in keeping with the founder’s character, of which simplicity was the key note.
Many, like myself, have experienced the great influence of William Irvine’s teaching. They must feel a keen sense of personal loss in the death of this fine old Scot who laboured so long and courageously in the Christian field.
(Signed) James S. Ritchie, Chief Inspector of Police, H. Q. Nairobi, Kenya .
..
J. R. Elder
*The History of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
Presbyterian Bookroom, Christchurch, NZ, 1940;
Heading: Archie Irvine, Page 435
The Press, Christchurch, NZ
RE: Death of William Irvine's Son (June 14, 1952) June 16, 1952
Obituary for Rev. Archibald G. Irvine, Dec 20, 1982
Obituary for Mary J. Irvine, wife of Archibald G. Irvine, Dec. 19,
1982
Archibald G. Irvine and his wife, Mary are buried in Bromley Cemetery, Keighleys Rd, Christchurch, NZ. View their tombstone, which reads:.
