In 1923, Alfred wrote to the world headquarters in New York, stating: “Many people here are interested in the Bible. Can you send someone to look after them and to help develop the preaching work in Sierra Leone?” He received the reply: “Someone will be sent!”

“Late one Saturday night, several months later, I received an unexpected phone call,” Alfred relates.

“‘Are you the person who wrote to the Watch Tower Society asking for preachers?’ a voice asked.

“‘Yes,’ I replied.

“‘Well, they’ve sent me,’ boomed the voice.

“The voice belonged to William R. Brown. He and his wife, Antonia, and their young daughter had arrived that day and were staying at the Gainford Hotel.

“The very next morning, Leonard and I were holding our weekly Bible study when an imposing figure appeared in the doorway. It was William R. Brown. He was so zealous for the truth that he wanted to give a public lecture the very next day. We promptly booked the largest hall in Freetown​—Wilberforce Memorial Hall—​and scheduled the first of four public lectures for the following Thursday evening.

“Our little group got busy advertising the lectures by newspaper, handbills, and word of mouth. We wondered how the local people would respond, but we had no need to worry. About 500 people packed into the hall, including many of Freetown’s clergy. We were overjoyed!”

During the hour-long talk, Brother Brown quoted extensively from the Scriptures and used lantern slides to project Bible texts on a screen. Meanwhile, he repeatedly declared, “Not Brown says but the Bible says.” The audience was amazed, and they applauded point after point. It was, not Brother Brown’s commanding oratory that impressed them, but his powerful Scriptural proofs. As a young ecclesiastical student in the audience declared, “Mr. Brown knows his Bible!”

Brother Brown’s lectures roused the city, and people flocked to hear them. The following Sunday, another capacity audience heard the discourse “To Hell and Back​—Who Are There?” The powerful truths Brother Brown presented that night prompted even prominent churchgoers to resign from their churches.

The fourth and final lecture in the series, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” drew such a large crowd that one Freetown resident later recalled, “The churches had to cancel their evening services because all their members were attending Brother Brown’s lecture.”

Because Brother Brown always used the Bible, pointing to it as the final authority, people began calling him “Bible” Brown. The nickname stuck and became well-known throughout West Africa. And until he finished his earthly course, William R. Brown wore that name with pride.

Taking on the Gladiators

When Freetown’s clergy saw their flocks enjoying Brother Brown’s lectures, they became filled with jealousy and rage. The December 15, 1923, issue of The Watch Tower reported: “The clergy have taken up the cudgel and are attacking the truth through the press. Brother Brown answered them time and again, the papers publishing both sides.” Finally, the clergy fell silent. Their false reasoning had been clearly exposed. Bible truths had been spread far and wide, prompting many newspaper readers to request Bible literature. The clergy had schemed to silence God’s people, but Jehovah had ‘made their wicked deeds come back upon them.’​—Ps. 94:21-23.

Rising to the clergy’s defense, a church youth group, dubbed the Gladiators, announced a series of public meetings to put down “Russellism,” as they had styled the Kingdom message. In response, Brother Brown publicly challenged them to a series of debates. The Gladiators refused to accept Brother Brown’s challenge and rebuked the newspaper editor who printed it. They also barred Brother Brown from attending their meetings, so Alfred Joseph attended instead.

The meetings were held at Buxton Memorial Chapel, a prestigious Methodist church in Freetown. “During the question-and-answer session,” recalls Alfred, “I questioned the Anglican creed, the Trinity doctrine, and several other unscriptural teachings. Finally, the chairman refused to take any more questions.”

One of the Gladiators present that night, Melbourne Garber, had earlier attended “Bible” Brown’s lectures. He was, in fact, the young ecclesiastical student who said, “Mr. Brown knows his Bible!” After carefully weighing what he had heard, Garber was convinced that he had found the truth. Accordingly, he asked Brother Brown for a Bible study. Brother Brown invited him to the weekly Watch Tower Study at his home. Even though his family disowned him, Garber made rapid spiritual progress, and he and several others were soon baptized.

Satan’s efforts to quash the preaching work in its infancy had failed. As the mayor of Freetown had told the Gladiators: “If this is the work of men, it will come to an end. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it.”​—Acts 5:38, 39.

Browns’ Religion

In early May of 1923, Brother Brown cabled the London branch office for more literature. Soon 5,000 books arrived, and this was followed by other shipments. He also continued to hold public meetings, and these attracted thousands of interested people.

Later that year, The Watch Tower reported: “The work [in Sierra Leone] has increased so rapidly that Brother Brown called for an assistant; and Claude Brown, of Winnipeg, formerly of the West Indies, is now on his way to join in the work.”

William “Bible” Brown was also conscious of helping others cultivate good spiritual habits. Alfred Joseph relates: “When I met Brother Brown early in the day, our conversation would go something like this: ‘Hello, Brother Joe. How are you this morning? What’s the Bible text for today?’ If I couldn’t answer, he would impress on me the need to know each day’s text from the book Daily Manna. [Now called Examining the Scriptures Daily.] The next morning, I would read the text right away, so he would not catch me off-guard. At first, I did not fully appreciate the invaluable training I was getting, but later on I did.”

About that time, Brother Brown visited the West Indies and returned with a car, one of the first to enter Sierra Leone. The vehicle was equipped with a powerful sound system that was designed for public witnessing. Brother Brown would park the car in a public area and play stirring music to attract a crowd. He would then deliver a short talk or play a recorded lecture and invite the crowd to obtain Bible literature. The speaking car​—as it came to be called—​was a public sensation, and people flocked to listen to it.

Brother Brown next turned his attention to spiritually untouched territory​—the rest of English-speaking West Africa. During the late 1920’s, he embarked on a series of preaching tours to The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria. Brother Brown found interest in each country, but Nigeria seemed to be exceptionally fertile. In 1930, he and his family moved from Freetown to Lagos. From there he continued to oversee the Kingdom work in West Africa.