Herbert Davies was born in New Zealand in 1876. His father had come to New Zealand because of his interest in educating the Maoris.
When he left school, Davies spent 9 or 10 years in the Government Life Insurance office in Wellington.
He then trained at theology college, gained an MA in philosophy, and was ordained as a minister for mission in 1909. He went out with the Canton Villages Mission serve in Fong Chuen, Canton until 1941.
In 1911 he married Margaret Anderson, a deaconess and fellow missionary, in Canton, and they had a son, Jock.
He had an impressive CV. He was Secretary for the South China Mission Council, General Secretary and Treasurer of the Canton Sub-Headquarters of the Kwantung Synod of the Church of Christ in China, Pastor of Yan Tsai Church, Pastor of Fong Tsuen Church (Canton), Paymaster and Advisor to the Bible Society of Canton, Secretary and Treasurer of the Canton Medical Missionary Society, “Committee” for Union Church services at Shameen (Canton), Member of Language School Committee, and Examiner for the Language School.
In 1941, he was due to retire but, owing to the shortage of trained staff, he was asked to serve another year. Then war broke out and he was interned in Shanghai. Margaret Davies was interned in Stanley Camp, but later transferred to Shanghai. They found they were together with a large number of elderly foreign nationals and provided much-needed pastoral care for them.
They were released at the end of the war, and had planned to retire to their house on Cheung Chau, but like other CVM houses #9 and #10, it had been stripped of all wood by the locals and bombed by the Japanese as being western-owned.
They finally retired to New Zealand in 1947. That year Davies was made moderator of the Presbyterian Assembly NZ, the highest position for an individual in that denomination, and a mark of great esteem.
Source: presbyterian.org.nz archives
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