The Rev. Carl Blanford (1922-2012) was a member of that special generation of Presbyterian missionaries who worked in Thailand after World War II. They helped the church recover from the devastation of the war, which saw Thailand occupied by the Japanese and forced into an alliance with Japan. They not only engaged in restoration but also created new institutions, programs, and sometimes even sought new directions for the church. They deserve study in their own right, but they also pose serious obstacles for that study. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, missionary correspondence was valued, preserved, and frequently published. That was much less the case for missionaries working in the last half of the 20th century. They are, thus, less likely to show up in online searches than those earlier generations of missionaries whose works are to be found in the growing online archives of 19th century books and other publications.Still, there are online sources for some of the "new time" missionaries as well. In working on a Dictionary entry for Carl Blanford, I came across a Youtube video (here) prepared by the Sapanluang Church, Bangkok, where Blanford served for many years. It is worth viewing here (for as long as it stays "up") and is another one of those cases of "you never know what you'll find" online. Blanford, by the way,wrote one of the minor classics of Presbyterian missionary writings, Chinese Churches in Thailand.
งานรำลึกอาจารย์แบลนฟอร์ด ณ คริสตจักรสะพานเหลือง เมื่อวันอาทิตย์ที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2555
Memorial Program for Acharn Blanford, Sapanluang Church, 3 June 2555 (2012)
