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.”

Claude Brown was a tried and tested minister of the good news. During World War I, he had endured ill-treatment in Canadian and English prisons for refusing to violate his Christian neutrality. He served in Sierra Leone for four years, greatly strengthening the local brothers and sisters.

Pauline Cole recalled, “Before I was baptized in 1925, Brother Claude questioned me carefully.

“‘Sister Cole, do you understand what you have learned from the Studies in the Scriptures?’ he asked. ‘We do not want you to drift away from the truth because you did not understand the Bible’s teachings.’

“‘Brother Claude,’ I replied, ‘I have read and reread what I have learned. I have made my decision!’”

Pauline served Jehovah for more than 60 years, much of that time as a special pioneer. She completed her earthly course in 1988.

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.”

All this training bore fine fruit. During 1923, a congregation was established in Freetown and 14 people were baptized. One of the new brothers was George Brown, who brought the number of “Brown” families in the congregation to three. The zealous activity of those three families moved many Freetown residents to label the Bible Students “Browns’” religion.

To the Provinces and Beyond

Fired with enthusiasm for the truth, the Freetown Congregation became “intensely occupied with the word.” (Acts 18:5) Alfred Joseph relates: “I often tied a carton of Bible books to my big Norton motorcycle. Then with Brother Thomas or Sylvester Grant riding pillion [as a passenger], we headed out into the rurals and small towns around Freetown to canvass, as we called it.”

Up until 1927, the publishers preached mostly in and around Freetown in an area called The Colony. But starting in 1928, every year before the rains set in, the congregation would rent a bus and travel to the provinces. Those who could not go helped to finance the trips, which were led by Melbourne Garber. The bus groups preached in towns and villages east to Kailahun and south to nearly the Liberia border. The first Sunday of each month, they returned to cultivate the interest found.

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.

In 1950, when poor health forced Brother Brown to return to Jamaica, he left behind a remarkable legacy. Over 27 years, he and his wife had seen the number of Witnesses in West Africa grow from 2 to more than 11,000. They had literally witnessed the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “The little one will become a thousand and the small one a mighty nation.” (Isa. 60:22) Today, just over 60 years later, “a mighty nation” of more than 500,000 Witnesses serve Jehovah in West Africa.

Steadfast Under Ban

When World War II cast its shadow over Africa, Jehovah’s people in Sierra Leone took their stand as Christian neutrals. (Mic. 4:3; John 18:36) The British authorities falsely branded them as subversive, so they monitored their activities and banned their literature. Customs officials in Freetown seized one literature shipment and burned it. Some brothers were arrested for possessing banned literature but were soon released.a

Despite the ban, the Witnesses kept on preaching. Pauline Cole explained: “A brother who was a steward on a ship that visited regularly continued to supply us with copies of The Watchtower. From these we typed up extra copies for the meetings. We also printed leaflets on Bible topics and distributed them to the public. And the brothers continued to give public discourses and to play recordings of Brother Rutherford’s radio lectures, especially in the outer villages.”

Those efforts, while modest, clearly had Jehovah’s blessing. James Jarrett, a long-time elder and special pioneer, recalls: “During the war, I was working as a stonecutter when an elderly sister gave me the booklet Refugees. Since many refugees were landing in Freetown, its title intrigued me. I read the booklet that night and immediately recognized the truth. The next morning, I tracked the sister down and obtained copies for my three brothers. All four of us accepted the truth.”

When the war ended in 1945, the Freetown Congregation had 32 publishers. The publishers had kept their integrity and remained spiritually active. They were ready and eager to move ahead.

Public Meeting Campaign

On August 29, 1945, at the weekly Service Meeting, the Freetown Congregation discussed a new campaign announced in the December 1944 Informant (now called Our Kingdom Ministry). Each congregation was to advertise and hold a series of four public meetings in “every city, town, and hamlet” in its territory. Each meeting would feature a one-hour talk by a brother (aged 18 or older) who had done well in the Theocratic Ministry School. After the four meetings, the brothers would arrange Bible study groups to assist interested people in each area.

How did the publishers react to this new direction? The minutes of the Freetown Congregation’s Service Meeting record the following comments:

Chairman: “How do you think we could go about this new campaign?”

Brother One: “We should not expect the same success as in America. People here are different.”

Brother Two: “I agree.”

Brother Three: “Why not give it a try?”

Brother Four: “But there will be difficulties.”

Brother Five: “Yet, we must follow the direction given by Jehovah’s organization.”

Brother Six: “But the odds in this country are against us.”

Sister One: “Nevertheless, the Informant’s direction is clear. Let’s try it!”

So they did. From the coast of Freetown to Bo in the southeast to Kabala on the northern plateau, the brothers held meetings in schoolrooms, marketplaces, and private homes. This activity energized the congregation, and “the word of Jehovah went on growing and spreading.”​—Acts 12:24.

Still, the publishers needed theocratic training. And that is what Jehovah provided.