Rev. Shapurji Edalji, Great Wyrley

Description:George Edalji's father, Revd. Shapurji Edalji. Born in Mumbai in about 1842, Shapurji Edalji was a Parsee Indian who is believed to have been the first South Asian to be made vicar of an English parish. He converted to Christianity in 1856 and travelled to England in 1866 in order to train as a missionary. Instead, he was later ordained as a priest and after a number of curacies was appointed Vicar of St. Mark's, Great Wyrley in 1876. When his son George was imprisoned in 1903 he campaigned vigorously on his behalf, supported by, amongst others, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, leading to George's pardon in 1907. Shapurji Edalji remained Vicar of St. Mark's until his death in 1918.

In 1903 George Edalji was convicted of maiming horses and received a seven year sentence. The charge was unproved however, and it is thought Edalji may have been the victim of racism. Edalji was granted a pardon and released in May 1907.

George Edalji's father was a Parsee Indian who became the vicar of Great Wyrley in the 1870's. The people of Great Wyrley did not understand how an Asian could convert to Christianity, and the family suffered an amount of racial intolerance.

A press photograph originally published in the 'World's Graphic Press' in 1903.