Both Hands Before the Fire

Book excerpt: Spencer Wade was born in March of 1888, into a mining family in the village of West Auckland situated in the Durham coalfields. Following the death of his father, a deputy over-man at the Townsend pit, his family fell upon hard times. Spencer, his two brothers, five sisters, and their mother struggled to survive. Eventually, at the age of fourteen, Spencer joined his brother Wilson down the pit of the local mines. He, like his siblings, did his part. After several years as a young miner, Spencer's fate took a turn. As the result of an interview with the Anglican bishop of Durham, he was identified by as "promising." The young man was sent to Macclesfield Grammar School and then to Manchester University, where he distinguished himself with a classical honours Degree. Soon after, he was ordained and went on to serve as a clerk in holy orders in over a dozen country parishes. His career was punctuated with a number of interesting diversions and highlights: as a young man, he worked with William Temple on the Life and Liberty Movement; he preached twice to King George V; and he served as a chaplain in the RAF and for the High Sheriff of Northumberland. Spencer Wade went home to the Lord in 1976, after a long and distinguished life of service to others. This, his autobiography, offers erudite reflections of faith and a delightful and candid glimpse into the life of an ordinary country parson, whose life was anything but ordinary.