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HISTORY |
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HISTORY
The End of the Mandate Period...
The character of St Andrew’s changed dramatically in 1947/48 with the end of the British Mandate and the establishment of the State of Israel and the associated war, which led to a division of both Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
The Scottish population of the city plummeted with the withdrawal of the British military administration and St Andrew’s found itself just on the western side of the Green line that divided the city, cut off from most of Jerusalem’s Christian community and the majority of the Holy sites, which were in the part of the land controlled by Jordan.
The minister of St Andrew’s used to ring St Bride’s bell at a fixed time each day to indicate that he was still alive; there was no more conventional contact between East and West Jerusalem.
The hospice during this time was operating only intermittently. The Rev Clark Kerr, who was in charge, was often the only person at church for the Sunday morning service. The hospice was in danger of being taken over by squatters and were only kept at bay by the caretaker, formerly of the Palestine Police, and his large dogs.
In 1955 the Rev & Mrs William Gardiner Scott took over the care of the church and hospice.
Bill and Dorinka recorded that the hospice was a terrible mess. Junk was stored everywhere, rooms had been let out to soi-disant missionaries, orange boxes were piled high to the ceiling, only primus stoves were available for cooking and laundry had to be washed in large metal tubs heated over stoves on the floor. As reliable domestic staff proved difficult, so the Gardiner Scotts did most of the work themselves.
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