Blanche Brenton Carey

Blanche Louisa Mary Boleyn Brenton Carey (1856 - 1950) was a Church of England Zenana Mission Society (CEZMS) pioneer missionary to Karachi (1885 to 1950).

Blanche Brenton Carey's ministry in Karachi spanned a number of cataclysmic world and national events: plague epidemics, World War I, The Great Depression, political unrest, World War II and the Partition of India and the new state of Pakistan. When she first arrived in Karachi in 1885 there was one school of fifteen girl pupils. with about 900 girl students, an orphanage, a Teacher Training College, and a Widows' Industrial Class.

Blanche Brenton Carey was known for her love and support for the women of Sindh

Family Blanche Louisa Mary Boleyn Brenton Carey was born in Bath, Somerset, England in 1856. Her father was the Rev. Adolphus Frederick Carey and her mother was Harriet Mary Brenton (a distinguished author and poet). Her grandfather was Vice admiral Jahleel Brenton. Blanche Brenton Carey had two sisters and six brothers. Amongst her six brothers were Jahleel Brenton Carey, Captain in the British Army, and Reginald Orme Brenton Carey, Admiral in the Mexican Navy.

Her father became the vicar of Brixham,

Early years in Karachi At the time of her arrival Karachi was a port town and there were many different languages spoken by the people in the town. Urdu was the common commercial and business language to teach the girls in their own languages, and assistant missionaries the responsibility of the mission station in Karachi.

The mission set up an outstation in the village of Jhirak, outside of Karachi, with accommodation, a school, and a place where simple medicines The widows in the Industrial Class would learn to read and write and develop needle work skills to help them earn a living.

Recognition In the 1928 Royal Birthday List, Blanche Brenton Carey was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind medal for her services to the women and girls of India.

Trials The Plague (disease) was a constant source of interruption for the mission station. At the time of the great plague epidemic in 1896, the schools in Karachi closed and much of the population left the city to live in segregation huts. Blanche Brenton Carey went to help the people.

In 1921 the missionaries' accommodation collapsed and they had to wait seven years before a new mission bungalow was built to accommodate the workers.

The mission station in Karachi faced financial difficulties as a result of the world wars.

In 1929 Blanche Brenton Carey became ill and the illness was misdiagnosed as malaria.

In 1947 the partition of India took place and Karachi became part of the new state of Pakistan. The Queen Alexandra School became a haven for Muslim refugees

Jubilee Blanche Brenton Carey celebrate her fiftieth year of service in 1935. The day of her jubilee was set aside as a day of prayer many of the young women who had known her since childhood looked after her as she was dying.

Adam Matthew Digital holds the digital Church Missionary Society archive collections which includes the CEZMS periodical India's Women and China's Daughters where there are many articles written by Blanche Brenton Carey.