St George's Church in ruins

A magnificent building this, yes? Simple, yet magnificent. This is the main building of the St George's Church in Farquhar Street, George Town, Penang, completed in 1818 and consecrated in 1819.

From the building's front, the clock on the steeple looks down upon the Francis Light Memorial on the lawn. But there was a time when the clock wasn't there at all. It was during the Second World War. At the start of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, their bombing damaged much of the building and the clock went missing. Destroyed, most likely. And after the War, although the building underwent extensive repairs, the clock was never replaced. It was not until its last major restoration in 2009, that a new clock was installed back in its original position on the steeple.

On this very day 72 years ago, The Straits Times published a story on the St George's Church, detailing its destruction during the Japanese Occupation. As I mentioned, this was the time of the Second World War. Japan was invading the peninsula and bombs were dropped on Penang island. The St George's Church in Farquhar Street was hit by one and it suffered damage.

But according to the newspaper story, the physical damage was relatively light. It was the looting and ransacking that followed which destroyed the church. Everything that could be removed was taken away, which says a lot for the (lack of) civic-mindfulness in those days. Would people still act similarly today? Anyway, here is the story:

St George's Church, Penang, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1817, just 130 years ago, was first opened for worship in 1818, and was consecrated by the Bishop of Calcutta, whose diocese then included Malaya, on May 11, 1819. The building was erected by the munificence of the East India Company, as the inscription over the West door still records.

It was the first church built for the worship of the Church of England in Malaya. (Christ Church, Malacca, now used by the Church of England, was built by the Dutch Reformed Church at an earlier date.) St George's Church was built for the use of all English-speaking members of the Church, irrespective of race or nationality; in the absence of statistics it is difficult to say how many attended the Church in those far-off days, but it is safe to presume that they were mainly Europeans.

St George's was one of the first buildings in Penang to be hit by a Jap bomb, but the damage originally sustained was relatively small. The bomb entered through the roof over the gallery at the West end, near the main porch, bringing down part of the gallery and leaving a pile of debris on the floor.
But the present derelict state of the church is mainly due to looters, who soon got to work, stripping the place and leaving absolutely nothing behind that could be removed.

Amongst other furnishings that disappeared was a lovely brass lectern (a memorial to some devout and distinguished worshipper of past days), the pulpit, the Communion rails, as well as every pew and kneeler. Most of the memorials were torn off the walls, and even the ornamental paving stones from the floor were torn up and stolen.

The greatest single loss perhaps was the organ, which was completely wrecked and carried away piecemeal. The streets around the church were for some days strewed with the remains of organ pipes and other essential parts of that beautiful instrument.

This organ was originally built and erected in 1896. It cost then £750, and the charges for assembly came to another £250, making a total of £1,000, which sum was paid by the Straits Settlements Government.

Mr J.P. Soutar, for many years trainer of the choir before the war, and now a member of the church committee, has recently been in communication with some of the best known firms of organ builders at home.

While most of these firms state that they could not think of undertaking the work of building such an organ for a number of years, one firm said that they could be ready to start in a year's time, but the approximate estimate for carrying out such work, with freight and packing, and assembling here, would reach a total of about $30,000.

The old organ had been entirely rebuilt in 1939 at a cost of $5,000, which did not include the organ case, a magnificent piece of work which was added by the generosity of a private donor.

Another feature of St George's before its destruction was a beautiful little side chapel, with a carved screen of teak, and a dignified altar, both of which were also given by members of the congregation.

The church had been enriched by other gifts, many of which were added during the chaplaincy of the late Rev. Keppel Garnier, who loved St George's Church, and whose memory is still green in the minds of all who had the privilege of knowing him.

Just behind St George's was the Tamil church and parsonage.

The only part that remains of the Tamil church today is the Font, which still stands out in the open, as a solitary testimony to the many children who were brought into the fellowship of Christ's Church there.

The Font of St George's Church has also recently been found by the P.W.D. in a pile of rubble in the neighbourhood, slightly chipped, but otherwise undamaged. This Font will be replaced in the restored building, and will thus continue to be used by future generations.

It is now just two years since the liberation of Penang by the Allied Forces, and St George's Church still stands in a forlorn state, but it is hoped that it will not be long before this position is rectified.

The Government of the Malayan Union has undertaken the responsibility of restoring the fabric of the church at an estimated cost of $60,000. The building stands on Crown land, and was taken over by the British Government from the old East India Company when Penang (or Prince of Wales' Island) became part of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements.

Before the war the Government was always responsible for the upkeep of the fabric and the grounds of the church. The plans are now complete for restoring the old building almost exactly as it stood before, tenders have been called for, and work on the building will shortly commence.

A fund for interior decoration and refurnishing the church was opened at a great service which was held in the ruins on St George's Day this year, and an appeal was launched for support from all lovers of the old church and Penang residents, past and present.

Several banks and business houses in Penang, as well as private people, have already contributed generously to this fund, but it has still a very long way to go before even the bare minimum required for essential furnishing is reached.

Once work on the actual building begins, however, money is likely to come in more readily, and a number of people have expressed their desire to give some definite part of the furniture of the church as a memorial to someone who has worshipped in the church in the past.

It will be a happy day for very many people in Penang when once again St George's Church becomes a "House of Prayer for all the nations."