1900 - Benjamin, Emily, & Gladys Bagnall

July 1, 1900

Baoding, Hebei

Benjamin & Emily Bagnall with their three children: Gladys, William and Howard. The parents and Gladys were killed by the Boxers.

Benjamin Bagnall joined the British navy at the age of just 17 and served for ten years, rising to the grade of Warrant Officer. While on a tour of duty through Asia he first gained a burden for missionary work among the Chinese, and as soon as he was discharged from the navy in 1873, he joined an independent mission at Jinguang on the Yangtze River. When the leader of the mission unexpectedly departed, Bagnall was forced to look for other organizations willing to take him. For a time, he worked with the American Methodist Mission along the shores of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province. After several years of fruitful labour there he joined the American Bible Society’s North China Mission from 1880 to 1888. Dr. W. C. Noble of the American Board at Baoding had this to say about Benjamin Bagnall: “He did a vast amount of noble, self-denying work, and through his conscientious distribution of the Scriptures, thousands upon thousands of copies of the Bible, New Testament, and portions were scattered throughout those provinces.”[1]

In 1888 Bagnall resigned from the American Bible Society and joined the China Inland Mission’s work in Shanxi Province. He met and married Emily Kingsbury, who had been in China since 1880. For years she had been in charge of the Girls’ School in Taiyuan. After a furlough in 1891 (Benjamin Bagnall’s first trip home in 19 years), the CIM transferred them to Hebei Province, where they headed up the work at Baoding until their deaths in 1900. At the time they were the only China Inland Mission representatives living in the city.

On July 1, 1900, the Bagnalls with their little daughter were brought to a Boxer temple in the southeast corner of Baoding. William Cooper accompanied them. When they arrived at the temple they found Annie Gould, Mary Morrill, and several Chinese Christians already being detained there. At around six o’clock in the evening the captives were led out of the city to the place of execution. One account said:

“The hands were bound and held in front of the body, the wrists about the height of the neck…. The end of the rope in front was seized by two men and the doomed party, thus led in single file, all bound together like Chinese criminals, viewed by an immense throng of the populace. Little Gladys walked free by her mother’s side, but was speared to death first, notwithstanding her mother’s entreaties for her life. They were all slain without torture at the Southeast corner of the wall outside the city and within the moat, and buried there, but in so shallow a grave, that their remains have been frequently disturbed and reburied nearby.”[2]

Another account said: “Emily Bagnall pleaded with the Boxers to spare her daughter’s life. One of them suddenly thrust Gladys through with a spear as her parents watched helplessly. Then the Boxers made the adults kneel and one by one beheaded them with long, curved swords.”[3]

Many tributes flooded in from those who had known and worked with the Bagnalls. One man who had known Benjamin for 24 years wrote:

“He laboured with all his powers in most difficult and self-denying positions of trust, for the glory of God and the good of his brethren and sisters in Christ. He was a very humble man, having a full measure of a rare grace—namely, the grace of esteeming others better than himself. He was very considerate in all his dealings with the Chinese, having a deep sympathy with the poor among the people and with the weak Christians.”[4]

It was said of Emily Bagnall:

“There was always a smile, always a welcome for everyone. No hour seemed inconvenient—nothing too much trouble—whether for Chinese or foreigner. Wherever she went it was the ‘glad tidings’ she preached, not only by her voice, but by her smiling face and winning manner, while her intense sympathy won the confidence and love of the poor women who came to her for help.”[5]

The angelic Gladys Bagnall.

The Bagnall’s two sons, William and Howard, survived the Boxer Rebellion because they were away at boarding school in Shandong Province. The world recoiled at the news of the slaughter of the Bagnalls, especially that of the precious little girl Gladys. One missionary recalled how

“Little Gladys Bagnall was always a most welcome visitor at the Presbyterian and Congregational Compounds. At the former where the boys were so largely in the majority she was especially welcome, and the little men naturally vied with each other in kindly attentions…. She was a beautiful child and one gifted with very sweet and winning ways and the joy and comfort of her parents.”[6]

1. Ketler, The Tragedy of Paotingfu, 328.
2. Ketler, The Tragedy of Paotingfu, 388, 391.
3. Brandt, Massacre in Shansi, 213.
4. Broomhall, Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 158.
5. Broomhall, Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 159.
6. Ketler, The Tragedy of Paotingfu, 327.