Aylward, Gladys

Aylward, Gladys (1902-70), missionary, b. London. Gladys Aylward wanted to go to China to teach people there about Christ.

She worked as a house-maid and saved enough money to pay her fare. In China she ran an inn for mule-drivers.

Each night she told the mule-drivers Bible stories. Later she became a foot inspector.

Her job was to stop mothers from binding their daughters' feet. (This was a Chinese custom which was intended to keep the feet small.) Wherever she went she told people about Jesus Christ.

In 1938 the Japanese invaded China and, after many wartime adventures, Miss Aylward led about one hundred homeless children over a mountain range to safety.

The story of her life was told in a famous film, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. See ALAN BURGESS The Small Woman cadet edition (Evans 1959)