Gaskoin Richard Morden Wright

Wright attended Surrey County School, a public school in Southeast England.[3] For medical school, Wright attended St. Bartholomew's Teaching Hospital in West Smithfield, London.[3] Upon graduating from St. Bartholomew, Wright became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Manchester in 1883.[3] In 1883 he also became Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians in London. [3]  After this, he briefly worked as a house-surgeon in Lancashire.[3]

In October 1885 Wright married Catherine Elizabeth Denton (1860–1890) in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England.[1] Wright had one daughter and two sons with Catherine named Herbert Morden Wright (1886–1969), Dorothy Hope Wright (1889–1979) and Eric Devereux Morden Wright.[1] After his wife's death Wright remarried Elizabeth (Elise) Kauffmann, a fellow C.M.S missionary. They had four children Morden Hutfield Wright (1897–1967), Winifred Hope Wright (1899), Kathleen Ethel Wright (1902), and Gaskoin Montague Morden Wright (1904–1970).[1] Wright's children were all born in Palestine due to his missionary work. Furthermore, his son, Gaskoin Montague Morden Wright also became a physician and surgeon and was a C.M.S missionary.[3]

On November 4, 1890, Wright was accepted as a missionary by the Church Mission Society (C.M.S). Wright's first mission was in Equatorial Africa in 1891.[3] Wright volunteered to be part of the missions in Uganda in a town hall meeting in Salford, England in 1981.[4] Wright was the first member of the Manchester Lay Workers Union to volunteer to work in a foreign country.[5] On April 21, a meeting was held at the C.M.S Manchester Association Hall to bid farewell to Wright and his companions before they left for Africa.[6] Wright left for Africa on May 7, 1891 and was accompanied by the Rev. R.P Ashe, Rev. G. H. V. Greaves, Mr. Hubbard, and Mr. Walter Collins.[7] Rev Greaves died of dysentery on July 12. Wright and Collin reached Uganda on October 31, 1891.[7]

Shortly after arriving in Uganda, Wright and his crew began working with patients.[8] Work included daily prayer and bible reading and church on Sunday with the Church of England service.[8] Wright strongly believed that spreading the word of God was an essential part of his missionary work and felt that God had sent him on his mission to Uganda.[9]

Wright's service in Uganda was marked by significant illness. Wright was sick for several months in Spring 1892.[10] Months later, in August 1892, Wright suffered an extreme case of Blackwater Fever.[11] After that, he had an attack of dysentery, which caused him to lose his strength. After this, he was ordered by Macpherson of the I.B.E.A company to return to England.[11] Wright left Africa on September 26, 1982, accompanied by Mr. F.C. Smith, who was also sick.[11] They arrived in London on January 17, 1983.[3]

On his return, he stayed engaged in missionary service as documented by a sermon about the manners and traditions of the native people of Uganda during the annual C.M.S Sermon in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England in October 1893.[12]

In November 1983, Wright was forbidden by the Medical Board to go to Uganda and was instead appointed to Palestine.[13] On January 5, 1984, Wright left London for Constantinople en route to Jaffa with the support of St. Philips Episcopal Church.[14][15] Wright reached Nablus, Palestine, the site of his most significant missionary work, on February 14, 1894.[16] After arriving at Nablus, Wright opened a temporary hospital.[17] After people found out that a European doctor opened a hospital nearby, patient volume increased, with Wright and his team treating about 200 to 250 cases each week.[18] Wright also opened a dispensary nearby despite opposition from the local authorities.[18]

Opposition to Wright's work came from his attempts to teach the local people about Christianity. On November 8, 1895, Wright's team and a German clergyman were attacked by a mob of about 500 people.[19] While a Syrian C.M.S. worker was hit with a rock on the head, nobody was fatally injured.[19] During the attack, Wright was in a conference in Jerusalem and tried to get the female workers of his team to Jaffa.[19] Their arrival was inhibited by military activity.[19] After the attack, the C.M.S Wali in Beirut requested protection from the governor for the Christian missionaries.[19] In response, the governor sent 3500 troops to protect the CMS missionaries including Wright and his team.[19]

Opposition continued to Wright's missionary work, and many people sent petitions to the governor to shut down the hospital.[20] Despite this, Wright continued working and expanded the Women's wing to accommodate the 10,000 person yearly increase in patients.[20] In 1896 Wright requested funding from CMS for a new building, as the hospital he built frequently flooded.[20] Wright expressed wanting to talk openly about Christ and aid people that wanted to convert to Christianity.[21] The request for funding for a new hospital was denied due to lack of funds.[21]

In 1898 Wright applied for funding for a small hospital again.[22] He was initially denied by the new governor, who reportedly requested a bribe.[22] However, the Secretary for the British Embassy, Arthur Ponsonby went to Nablus and demanded that Wright's team be able to build a wall to expand their existing hospital.[22]

In 1989 Wright became sick again for three months and his team took over his work.[22] On April 2, 1898, he went back to England with his wife to attend the May 17th C.M.S. committee.[23] Wright and his wife returned to Nablus on December 8, 1898.[3]

On February 27, 1900, Gaskoin briefly went back to England and returned on March 29 back to Nablus.[3]

In 1900 Gaskoin reported that the new hospital increased efficiency and patient treatment volume.[24] This hospital became the only hospital opened in the region as both the government and military hospitals closed.[24] St Luke's hospital offered church services in the mornings and evenings.[24] There was also a catechist in the women's ward. In this hospital worked Wright, Daoud Katibeh, a local doctor and nurses, Ms. Bedells, Ms.Kitchen, and Ms. Lawford.[24] The hospital had forty beds and was essential during the cholera outbreak of 1902 when 500 people died.[25] Hospital volume was approximately 400 people a year.[25] The government referred sick prisoners to the hospital to be treated.[25]

On May 26, 1903, again sick, Wright went back to England. In his place was first Lasbrey, who had a hospital in Old Cairo.[26] Lasbrey had to leave shortly after to return to Old Cairo.[26] Afterward, Doctor Cooper, another C.M.S. missionary took control of the hospital.[26] After the hospital closed in September, Doctor Daoud was left solely in charge of the hospital for October.[26] Afterward, Cooper was called back by the C.M.S. until Wright returned to Nablus on March 25, 1904.[26]

In 1906 Wright added two recovery wards to accommodate the growing number of patients that visited the hospital.[27]

On June 27, 1910, Wright and his family went back to England. They returned on September 29 to Nablus.[3]

In 1917 Wright retired from missionary service because of the start of World War I.[3]