of war, there are also those whose stories show the other side of those dark and difficult days. As a representative of PCI to the Waldensian Assembly in Italy, I met a Church of Scotland minister, Mary Cranfield, a regular attendee who ably guided first-time representatives regarding the procedures and nuances of our hosts. Recognising the name Cranfield, I was prompted to ask if she was related to Charles E.B. Cranfield, the internationally renowned New Testament scholar. He was Mary’s father. Within our own denomination, and worldwide, generations of theological students have studied his books on the Greek texts of Mark and Romans. Through conversations with his daughter, it was obvious that he was not only a theological professor, but also a preacher, pastor, padre and pioneer, with
Ian’s father – David McNie
…he persuaded the authorities to prioritise the return of some pastors to Germany. a wealth of experience that far surpassed the realms of academia. Long before his appointment as Professor of New Testament at Durham University, his legacy by the end of the Second World War had contributed significantly to the command of Jesus Christ, to “go into all the world”, and also, to Christ’s promise: “I will build my church”. Cranfield, as a probationer for the Methodist ministry, was too young for ordination, and volunteered in 1942 as an army chaplain. After six months’ service in the 3rd Battalion of the Welsh Guards, he was called up to join the S.S. Strathallan, a passenger
Inscription in David McNie’s New Testament
David McNie’s New Testament, stained by the Normandy waves
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Herald November 2024
vessel conscripted to transport over 4000 troops, engaged in a special mission, code named, ‘Operation Torch’. Torpedoed by a German U-Boat, virtually all the personnel were rescued by accompanying ships in the convoy, before arriving in Oran, North Africa. Cranfield spent the next 18 months providing ministry in two hospitals on the coast of Algeria. In 1943 he was asked to provide worship services for the British staff working in a prisoner of war camp, and in so doing, he offered his services to visit German prisoners, providing ministry for them, and gaining fluency in the German language. He forged friendships with high-ranking German personnel, one being General Hans Cramer, who after his return to Germany, became involved in the military leaders’ ‘20 July’ plot against Hitler. This pattern of ministry to POWs was a model he replicated on future occasions. In June 1944, the hospital was moved to Italy, and a few months later Cranfield requested to be posted into a combatant unit, enabling him to better understand those who were on the front line. This posting with the Royal Tank Regiment only lasted for a short period because of the unexpected cessation of hostilities on 29 April 1945. At this point, the Deputy Chaplain General, acting on his own initiative, without War Office consent, appointed Cranfield to look after German pastors who were not exempt from frontline military service, and also engage in pastoral work among Protestants in the surrendered German army. These pastors were traumatised, vulnerable, depressed, and guilt-ridden as a result of their past actions and needed both emotional and spiritual support. Cranfield and others identified this as an important ministry, and spent much time with these prisoners. Having received a level of spiritual and emotional healing, these pastors in turn exercised a similarly effective ministry, assisting other prisoners of war, whose mental health was fragile and self-worth at rock bottom. In this new field of work, one of his first duties was to visit Pastor Martin Niemöller in Naples, where he had been brought on his release from a German
