Gladys Aylward

Gladys Aylward (1902–1970)

Gladys Aylward was a British missionary best known for her work in China during the early twentieth

century. Born February 24, 1902, in Edmonton, London, she worked as a domestic servant before

independently traveling to China in 1932 after being rejected by a formal mission board (Aylward, 1957;

Bays, 2012).

In Yangcheng, she co-founded the Inn of the Eight Happinesses and later became a

government-appointed foot-binding inspector, helping enforce reform laws. During the Second

Sino-Japanese War, she led nearly one hundred orphaned children across mountainous terrain to

safety in 1940 (Aylward, 1957; Bays, 2012).

After the Communist Revolution, Aylward left China and later continued orphan care work in Taiwan.

She died on January 3, 1970. Her life inspired the book The Small Woman and the film The Inn of the

Sixth Happiness.

Sources:

Aylward, G. (1957). The Small Woman. Hodder & Stoughton.

Bays, D. (2012). A New History of Christianity in China. Wiley-Blackwell.