REV. ROBERT FORGAN

The search for a new minister took longer than had been anticipated but eventually Robert Forgan came to the charge in October 1898. It is quite apparent from the Minutes of the time, that he immediately took a firm grip of matters. In particular he had a meeting with the Officebearers of the church on 22nd August before he came, and had his notes of this conference agreed by the Deacons' Court and entered in the Minutes. These provided that within the limits set by the Free Church he was to be free to arrange the conduct of worship and all matters relating to the spiritual work; that a harmonium should be obtained at once, and a pipe organ as soon as possible; that there be sundry alterations to the church fabric (these were mainly done in the 1909 re-fit, see Appendix); and details relating to finance were also laid down. On 23rd November the Session agreed to hold its meetings at a later hour to avoid a clash with the mid-week meetings on Wednesdays which Dr. Forgan started, and also that there should be a quarterly communion. (see Appendix) The new Hymn Book, on which compilation Mr. Mitchell had worked, was also speedily introduced, and, in short, one gets the impression that the church was awakened, having to some extent fallen asleep during Mr. Mitchell's later years, as his health failed. Spiritually also there seems to have been an infusion of new life. The Minister's Bible Class reached an enrolment of 130, while the minister noted that there were still quite a number of young folk who had not put in an appearance.

Dr. Forgan (D.D., 1919) was a native of St. Andrews, and a graduate with First Class Honours in Classics of the University there. He received his training for the ministry in New College, Edinburgh, and during his period there he obtained many prizes, including the Cunningham Fellowship, which had been held at one time by Mr. Mitchell. Graduating B.D. in November 1885, he served for one year as an assistant in the North Leith Free Church, from which he went as colleague and pastor to Free St. George's Montrose. In March 1892 he was elected as colleague and successor to Rev. Dr. Elder of the Free West Church, Rothesay, coming to it in 1898 as noted above. Dr. Forgan's wife was Mary Grace Rose whose father the Rev. Donaldson Rose was minister in Brechin. His brother, William Rose, shipbuilder, was the original owner of Hazlehead House, now Hazlehad Park, the house being leased to a cousin of the Forgan's, Donaldson Rose Thom, bursar of the University during the early years of the Forgan ministry.

During Dr. Forgan's long ministry the missionary interest of the church continued. It was particularly strengthened by two members who went out to the mission field, George G. Wilson in 1903, and Dr. Margaret Rose Forgan in 1913. Mr. Wilson was appointed Master of Works for the London Missionary Society in Peking, and was in charge of the re-building of the mission after the Boxer uprising. After that task was satisfactorily completed he was transferred to the United Free Church Mission in Manchuria where he carried out a similar task. The Record of October 1907 contains this extract,

"In the Missionary Record for October, one of our missionaries at Liaoyang, Rev. George Douglas, makes the following appreciative reference to Mr. Wilson and his faithful work - 'Ever since the Boxers destroyed our former quarters seven years ago we have been pursuing our work under hampering restrictions. Last year, however, was one of material reconstruction. ... The building programme was a very heavy one, including Church (the Wylie Memorial Church), Men's Hospital, Women's Hospital, and Bible-Women's Training Home as well as our own Mission House. These all went up simultaneously and without any interruption of the more spiritual upbuilding - our ordinary missionary operations. Fortunately we found a genuine and gritty piece of Aberdeen granite in our Master of Works, a Mr. Wilson, who is an elder in Mr. Forgan's church, and a son of our own manse. (Mr. Wilson's father was minister at Longside, and retired to Aberdeen.) He earned the respect of all by his steady devotion to duty, and by his patient continuance therein in all sorts of weather. We have dubbed him 'The burden and the heat of the day.' "

After his service in Manchuria Mr. Wilson served for many years as Secretary to the Union Medical College in Peking, being invested, with the consent of King George, with the Imperial Chinese Order of the Double Dragon by the Chinese Emperor on 27th October, 1913. This was conferred in recognition of his work during an outbreak of pneumonic plague in the city. During the First World War Mr. Wilson returned to the U.K. and enlisted. Sent to France, he rose to the rank of Colonel in the Labour Corps and was twice mentioned in dispatches. After the War he returned to China, but visited Gilcomston when on furlough, on one occasion bringing with him a little Chinese boy. During this period of his life he was given the O.B.E. by King George, and the last Empress of China honoured him with the Order of the Green Dragon. He returned to the U.K. about the early 1930's and worked for some years with the Mildmay Mission in London. Finally he retired to Aberdeen where he was again an asset to our congregation during the initial years of Mr. Still's ministry, until he died in December 1950.

Ten years after Mr. Wilson left for China, on 3rd November, 1913, another member of the congregation landed in Shanghai. This was Dr. Margaret Rose Forgan, who was on her way to a mission in Moukden in Manchuria. Her departure caused immense interest in the congregation as might be expected especially since she was one of the first woman doctors to be trained in Aberdeen. She worked in Moukden for many years, marrying the head of the college there, Mr. Findlay. The couple visited the church when on leave during the remainder of Dr. Forgan's ministry and thereafter. They were present during the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and were then compelled to leave the country. Miss Hunter tells the story of how Mrs. Findlay was once in the Mission when the Japs came in. Looking at the Ten Commandments painted on the wall the Japs said that that would not do and the commandments would have to be changed. Dr. Findlay and her daughter returned twice to Manchuria thereafter.

Until the first edition of these pages was published, I had no knowledge of what happened to her after that. However, a copy of this History was seen by Dr. Findlay, and she wrote to Miss Hunter. The Findlays came home on leave in 1938, after Mrs. Forgan's death, and Dr. Forgan gave his daughter the gold wristlet watch presented to her mother by "Members and Adherents of Gilcomston United Free Church, 27th June 1919." Dr. Findlay wore it till her death in January 1982.

In 1942 the Findlays were repatriated by the Japanese in exchange for Japanese civilians. Mr. Findlay became minister of a church in Leith for several years. Then, in 1946 they returned to Manchuria where the Communists took over on 1st November 1948. "In March 1949 Jim took a sudden coronary thrombosis and passed away to the great grief of the Chinese Church. Mary [the Findlay's daughter] who went to Kalimpong, Himalayas in January 1946, joined the hospital in Moukden in May 1947."

"We were among the last group of six Church of Scotland missionaries who left in August 1950 to make it easier for the Chinese Church to carry on. For the Chinese Church it has become steadily more difficult. We know [1968] of Chinese friends who have been in prison and of these, two have died. We know of others condemned to 'reform through labour', who have returned home with greater faith to reduced status and salary. A few have accepted Communism. For a time we had direct news, but now none is getting through."

Dr. Findlay also noted that her brother, Robert, was then living in Essex, her sister Irene (Lady Macdonald) was living in Edinburgh, and Winsome (Mrs. Toombs) in London. Mrs. Toombs was in Aberdeen in 1985, and visited Gilcomston then. Correspondence with Mrs. Toombs allows me to add that Robert Forgan, her brother was M.P. for West Renfrewshire, 1929-31, and that a grove of trees was planted in his honour in Hazlehead grounds. (We have not yet traced it.) Dr. Findlay's son Ian is in the Borders and her daughter Mary is in general medical practice in Fife. However she has retained her interest in China and at the time of writing is at Lixonang (formerly Moukden, served by her parents and herself) teaching 'medical' English to Chinese doctors.

At the end of the entry relating to Gilcomston in Gammie's The Churches of Aberdeen it is observed that "Mr. Forgan takes a more than average interest in the Church Courts, and his reputation as an ecclesiastic - which is already high - is steadily growing." In 1903 Dr. Forgan was appointed with the Rev. W.T. Cairns of Abernethy to visit the Missions of the United Free Church in India, notably those at Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Rajputana and Najpur. During his absence on the three month visitation the Rev. John Irving, M.A. of Innellan and Nice took charge of the church services, Dr. Mackintosh of Beechgrove Church acting as Interim Moderator. But Miss Hunter observes that this absence of the regular minister was not a good thing as many of the people drifted away from the church. The visit was, however, of value both to the visitors and the visited. In particular Dr. Forgan was able to visit one of his brothers who was then a missionary with the Church in India. In 1921 Dr. Forgan was sent as one of the United Free Church delegates to the World Presbyterian Alliance Conference in Pittsburgh, U.S.A., which considered the 1920 Lambeth Appeal, and to the International Missionary Council at Lake Mohouk, N.Y. This visit also was not without its uses and reflected Dr. Forgan's great interest in missionary work, which had been noted in the laureation for the degree of D.D. conferred on him by the University of St. Andrews in 1919. Indeed throughout the later years of the twenty-five that Dr. Forgan spent as minister of Gilcomston his interests in the wider work was becoming more and more apparent. This was finally consummated when he was appointed as Convener of the Foreign Mission Committee of the United Free Church in 1923. The double task proved to be very arduous and, on 6th June of that year in consequence of a medical certificate Dr. Forgan resigned from active work in Gilcomston, retaining his connection for the purposes of the church courts.

Dr. Forgan went to Edinburgh and served for some years as the Convener of the Foreign Missions Committee of the United Free Church. After the union with the Church of Scotland in 1929, he became latterly the Convener of the Business Committee of the General Assembly of that Church. In 1936 Dr. Forgan completed fifty years in the ministry, over half of which had been spent as our minister. He died on Wednesday 10th January, 1940, just before his eightieth birthday, Mrs. Forgan having died on 2nd February 1938.

Looking back over his ministry there are several things which stand out about it. Firstly there is the way in which he took the congregation in hand at the beginning, the conduct of worship, rising attendance and general interest in missions. He was able to build well on the foundation laid by Mr. Mitchell. He carried out the reconstruction of 1909 and was responsible for the organ. All the memorial windows were installed during the initial years of his ministry.

But there are some surprises, which may or may not be due to Dr. Forgan. For example, Dr. Macgilvray was very strongly against the union of the Free Church and the United Free Church when this was first mooted in the 1860's. Yet when the Union came in 1900 there was no apparent protest raised. Partially this may have been due also to the tolerant attitude of Mr. Mitchell which would have had ample time to transmit itself to the congregation, yet the apparent lack of interest in the matter is surprising.

Dr. Forgan also took us through another crisis, one of interest to the lawyer. Following the case of Overtoun in 1904, (when it was decided that the Free Church continuing had right to the assets of the whole Free Church), and the consequent Churches (Scotland) Act, 1905, there might have been some question as to the title to the present buildings. However, thanks to the foresight of the original Trustees for the congregation, and Dr. Forgan and his session, our title was confirmed as it now stands.

Yet some questions do arise in one's mind. Dr. Forgan took over a large number of organisations in the church, and he added to them. Christian Endeavour was started (September 1902) as was a Young women's Group, and in December 1909 a Gilcomston tent of the Order of Rechabites was begun to aid in the temperance work which was of great interest at the time. The Band of Hope, began under Mr. Mitchell functioned until 1920. The 7th Company of the Boys' Brigade was started in December 1899 and continued until 1950. Connected with it was an Old Boys' Association and a team of Life Boys. Choir work burgeoned after the organ was installed, at one point there being a Senior, Junior and Children's Choir.

The Session and Deacons' Court minutes also show a similar proliferation of subgroups within the church, and it may well be that the growth of committees for this and that was a result of Dr. Forgan's increasing interest in the Courts of the church. The ultimate was reached when a committee was established for the Revision of Committees and Appointment of Officials, but they did not do their work too well, for on 9th June 1920 the Deacons' Court appointed three men "a committee to assist the Church Officer and the attendants in rolling up the Linen used for the Pews after the Communion." But while one may find so many committees strange, there is no doubt Dr. Forgan was a good steward of Gilcomston.