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Blanche Louise Mary Boleyn Brenton Carey (1856- 1950) was a CEZMS pioneer missionary to Karachi (1885 -1950).

Blanche's ministry in Karachi spanned a number of cataclysmic world and national events: plague epidemics, War World I, The Great Depression, political unrest, the spiritual decline in Britain, World War II and the Partition of India and the new state of Pakistan. When Blanche first arrived in Karachi in 1885 there was one school of fifteen girl pupils, this grew over time to be nine schools with c900 girl students, an Orphange, a Teacher Training College, and a Widows' Industrial Class. The schools used different languages spoken at the time in Karachi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Marathi, and Arabic.

The education for girls in Karachi in 1885 was sadly lacking with just one other girls' school in addition to the mission school. At one stage Blanche was responsible for nearly fifty percent of all the girls' educated in Karachi.

Blanche was known for her love and support for the women of Sindh and her great zeal for evangelism. Blanche visited the villages outside of Karachi often travelling many miles by railway and then camel.

Family
Blanche 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. Her brothers were Jahleel Brenton Carey Captain in the British Army, Reginald Orme Brenton Carey Admiral in the Mexican Navy, Cranstoun Adolphus Brenton Carey, Sidney Pelham De Burgh Brenton Carey, Pelham Adolphus Brenton Carey, and Leopald Hunsdon Carey. Her sisters were Ella Constance Josephine Brenton Carey, and Florence Victoria Emily Brenton Carey.

Her father became the vicar of Brixham, Devon, England in 1861 and the family settled down to live in the fishing village. Blanche's formative years were spent here. Blanche was confirmed when she was fourteen and helped in the Sunday School. As she got older she helped her father in the parish as she visited many of the young women.

In 1884 she applied to become a missionary for the CEZMS. She was accepted and was sent out to Karachi in 1885.

Early years in Karachi
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 used in the streets but many spoke Marathi, Arabic, Sindhi, and Gujarati.

Blanche was sent out to Karachi as a second to a more experienced missionary Miss M T Condon. Blanche started to learn Sindhi as soon as she arrived so that she could talk to the parents and girls in their native language. Many people didn't think that they would be able to recruit the teachers they needed to establish the mission work. However they were able to find a number of Christian women who were able to assist them in the work and to speak the necessary languages.

There was opposition to educating the girls from many families in the community. Some wanted them to read and write but nothing else. Some, because of the caste system in India, would not let their children touch craft or model equipment. Some families kept their children away so that they could work, due to the poverty. Many girls were married at twelve.

Growth
Through much perseverance the work began to grow and many new schools were opened. The staff were found to teach the girls in their own languages and assistant missionaries joined to visit the parents.

In 1894 due to ill health Miss M T Condon had to leave Karachi and Blanche took over 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 could be distributed to the sick.

People started to ask Blanche if she would be willing to house orphans as many parents died by famine and disease. So in 1902 Blanche started an orphanage for the destitute girls.

Due to famine, and plague there were a good number of orphans and widows and Blanche responded to the need of the people of Karachi by opening an Orphanage later to become the girl's hostel and a Widows' Industrial Class. The widows in the Industrial Class would learn to read and write and develop needle work skills to help them earn a living.

A new school building was needed and after much fund raising the Queen Alexandra School was built and opened in 1921.

Recognition
In the 1928 Royal Birthday List Blanche 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 in the early part of the twentieth century. A number of students would die. 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 and her team of teachers went to help the people in the segregation camps.

The girls' education would also end when they married at a young age.

In 1921 the missionaries' accommodation collapsed and they had to wait seven years before a new mission bungalow was built to accommodate the workers. This was a serious trial to all those who worked there.

In 1929 The Great Depression caused great financial hardships to all the mission stations. The mission station in Karachi was hit hard because of the number of schools, staff and resources needed to educate the children. The parents did not pay tuition fees.

In 1929 Blanche became ill and the illness was misdiagnosed as malaria. However Blanche did not recover and a second opinion was sought. It was discovered that she had cancer of the uterus, and she had to undergo an urgent operation. Most of the cancer was removed and Blanche was sent home to recuperate.

Blanche recovered and returned to Karachi in 1931.

There was also political opposition to British rule in India and in 1935 there was a riot in Karachi.

The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 meant an increase in financial constraints.

In 1947 the partition of India took place and Karachi became part of the new state of Pakistan. Most of the pupils in the schools were from a Hindu background and subsequently many of these families left Karachi to go to India. The Queen Alexandra School became a haven for Muslim refugees who were flooding into Karachi from India. Most of the mission station schools closed.

Jubilee
Blanche celebrate her fiftieth year in service in 1935. The actual day of her jubilee was set aside as a day of prayer as requested by Blanche. The following day there was a less formal celebration with bus loads of children attending and Blanche was given flower garlands by all the schools.

Last Days
Blanche continued to work into her nineties. She was much loved by her colleagues, girls and parents of the children. By now Blanche was old and infirm. She died in 1950, many of the young women who had known Blanche since they were children looked after her as she was dying. Blanche was buried in Karachi. A new primary school was opened called the Brenton Carey Primary School, and the Brenton Carey Hostel remained open.

Archive
The Cadbury Research Library (University of Birmingham) holds the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society archive collections concerning Blanche Brenton Carey: her magazine articles, annual reports, application form and correspondence.

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