Gladys May Aylward was a British-born evangelical Christian missionary to China, whose story was told in the book The Small Woman, by Alan Burgess, published in 1957, and made into the film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman, in 1958.
10 Facts About Gladys Aylward
2.
On 15 October 1930, having worked for Sir Francis Younghusband, Gladys Aylward spent her life savings on a train passage to Yangcheng, Shanxi Province, China.
3.
Gladys Aylward was detained by the Russians, but managed to evade them with local help and a lift from a Japanese ship.
4.
Gladys Aylward traveled across Japan with the help of the British Consul and took another ship to China.
5.
Gladys Aylward met with much success in a field that had produced much resistance and even violence at times against the inspectors.
6.
Gladys Aylward became a national of the Republic of China in 1936 and was a revered figure among the people, taking in orphans and adopting several herself, intervening in a volatile prison riot and advocating prison reform, risking her life many times to help those in need.
7.
In 1938, the region was invaded by Japanese forces, and Gladys Aylward led more than 100 orphans to safety over the mountains, despite being wounded, personally caring for them.
8.
Gladys Aylward dedicated her life to the orphans in Taiwan and was buried in Taipei.
9.
Gladys Aylward's ministry continues to develop and is called Bethany Children's Home in Taipei, The new director, Sharon Chiang, is called from Seattle to develop Bethany Children's Home further for its new vision and new building.
10.
Gladys Aylward died on 3 January 1970, about a month and a half short of her 68th birthday, and was buried in a small cemetery on the campus of Christ's College in Guandu, New Taipei, Taiwan.