Lale, Donald (1931–1981) and Ann E. (Smith) (1932–1981)

By Godfrey K. Sang

Godfrey K. Sang is a historical researcher and writer with an interest in Adventist history. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Eastern Africa Baraton and a number of qualifications from other universities. He is a published author. He is the co-author of the book On the Wings of a Sparrow: How the Seventh-day Adventist Church Came to Western Kenya.

First Published: February 15, 2023

Audio

Don Lale and his wife Ann were Adventist teachers serving as missionaries in Zimbabwe when in 1981 they were brutally murdered by suspected Mozambican rebels in a dawn attack at the school where they taught. The rebels were carrying out reprisals against an attack by South African forces, and the Lales were innocent victims of their rage.

Early Life and Education

Don Lale was born in 1931 on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. He was the son of S. A. Lale, also from the Isle of Wight. As a young man, he joined the Royal Air Force and, while serving in Mauritius, began taking Bible studies from a French family that led him to become an Adventist.¹ When he returned to England, he was baptized and attended Newbold College. For a time Lale began working at the Stanborough Press in the Photo-Litho Department and was a leader of a Sunday school run by Stanborough Park Church.²

On March 18, 1962, Lale married Ann E. Smith.³ Ann’s father, Frank Smith, worked at the Granose Foods Factory on Stanborough Park, and she was one of his three daughters. She attended Newbold College, where she graduated as a Bible instructor. Ann had worked at the Stanboroughs Sanitarium and as a Bible instructor⁴ at the New Gallery Seventh-day Adventist Church⁵ in London.⁶ They were married by Pastor Matthew C. Murdoch, who had been a missionary in Western Kenya in the 1920s and 1930s.⁷

When the Stanborough Press relocated to Grantham in 1966, the Lales moved with it. Lale continued to work for the press until both he and Ann enrolled for a three-year teacher-training course at the Stoke Rochford College of Education in Grantham. After graduating they both worked at schools in Grantham.⁸

Moving to Africa

In January 1975 the Lales were called to serve at the Teacher Training College in Gwelo (now Gweru) in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).⁹ The country was undergoing a period of instability following the war of liberation that pitted nationalist forces fighting the regime of Prime Minister Ian Smith. In a letter published in the British Advent Messenger in 1975, the Lales had evidently embraced and fitted well to the life in Africa, visiting and enjoying the attractions that Rhodesia had to offer. They wrote, “The political situation becomes more uncertain by the day and the terrorist war has been stepped up, but we believe that the Lord will be our refuge and our strength.”¹⁰ They served at Gweru for two years, and their two sons attended local schools. Timothy, the elder of the two, went to boarding school while Andrew commuted to school.

In August 1977 they moved to Anderson School, 17 km (10 miles) east of Gweru.¹¹ They relocated due to insecurity in the Gweru area and remained at Anderson for three years. Other than the normal teaching load, Don was in charge of the boys’ dormitory. In July 1978, they returned to England on furlough with their sons Timothy and Andrew, after which they returned to the Anderson School.¹² In April 1980 Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.

Death and Aftermath

In December 1980 the Lales moved to Inyazura Secondary School (now Nyazura Adventist High School) in Eastern Zimbabwe, about ninety kilometers from the border town of Mutare. They had responded to a call by the acting headmaster to move to Nyazura to fill a gap. The school was established in 1910 by M. C. Sturdevant and was one of the oldest Adventist schools in Zimbabwe.¹³ In 1976 it had been shut down during the war of liberation, reopening in 1979, and the Lales were part of its revival program.¹⁴ The Trans-Africa Division and the Zambesi Union had approved the move.

The Lales had just settled in to teach when, on Tuesday, February 3, 1981, they were attacked by two armed men and murdered in cold blood. Ann was hit on the head with a stool and then shot at close range. Don rushed to the office to get help but was followed by one of the gunmen who hit him across the chest with a blunt object.¹⁵ Don fell and the staff who were there tried to help him, but the assailant threatened to shoot them if they dared. They watched helplessly as he bludgeoned Don to death.¹⁶ The assailant then forced the staff to recite nationalist slogans and forced them out of the building before fleeing into the dark.

The murder of the Lales sent shockwaves across the world, and the major news networks carried the story. The BBC reported that they had been killed by Mozambican guerrillas carrying out reprisal attacks after South African forces had invaded capital Maputo ostensibly to flash out ANC cells.

Their two sons, Timothy and Andrew, were orphaned. At the time of his parent’s deaths, Timothy was in England studying at Stanborough Secondary School while Andrew was in Zimbabwe.¹⁷ Timothy flew to Zimbabwe to attend the funeral. The couple were laid to rest next to each other at the Solusi Cemetery in Bulawayo.

The brutal murder of noncombatants who had no connection with any conflict serving only as missionaries pained and angered many people. A memorial service was held at Stanborough Park church on March 1, 1981, and was attended by the deputy mayor of Watford, N. C. Trywhitt, and the local member of Parliament, Tristan Garel-Jones.¹⁸

The BBC interviewed Timothy Lale soon after he and his brother returned from Zimbabwe. He spoke eloquently about the incident, his faith in God, and his hope in the soon return of Christ. He was heard by millions of listeners across England.¹⁹ The major newspapers also carried the story in their headlines, and the Adventist church in England received unprecedented attention in a nation where many had not even heard of the church.²⁰ A fund to assist the Lale boys had raised £4,794.57 by August 1981.²¹ Timothy Lale became a writer and editor, and one of his books, We Can Trust the Bible, is a children’s book about the Adventist Fundamental Beliefs.²² He currently lives in the United States.²³

Sources

Arthur, W. J. “Don and Ann Lale Memorial Service.” British Advent Messenger, April 3, 1981.

Arthur, W. J. “Unprecedented Focus on Adventists.” British Advent Messenger, March 13, 1981.

Arthur, W. J. “Communication.” British Advent Messenger, July 24, 1981.

Blewitt, Frank. “Home From Rhodesia.” British Advent Messenger, July 21, 1978.

“Institutions and Other Entities Located in The Zambesi Union Mission.” Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996.

Marshall, D. N. “Tragic Deaths in Zimbabwe.” British Advent Messenger, February 13, 1981.

Muderspach, J. “Lale Fund.” British Advent Messenger, September 30, 1981.

“New book of the week – We Can Trust the Bible.” British Advent Messenger, June 8, 2012.

Sang, Godfrey, K. Kili and Hosea K. On the Wings of a Sparrow: How the Seventh-day Adventist Church came to Western Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: Gapman Publications, 2016.

Warren, Edgar. “Lale-Smith.” British Adventist Messenger, April 27, 1962.

Vine, R. D. “Open Letter— from well-known Britons serving in Rhodesia.” British Adventist Messenger, February 18, 1977.

Notes

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (1996), s.v. “Lale, Don.”↩
Edgar Warren, “Lale-Smith,” British Adventist Messenger, April 27, 1962, 14.↩
Ibid.↩
R. D. Vine, “Open Letter— from well-known Britons serving in Rhodesia,” British Advent Messenger, February 18, 1977, 2.↩
The New Gallery Seventh-day Adventist church was founded on a listed building at 121 Regent Street, London. It was a former art gallery (1888 to 1910), a restaurant (1910 to 1913) a cinema (1913 to 1953) and a Seventh-day Adventist Church from 1953 to 1992 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Gallery_(London), accessed June 30, 2021).↩
Vine, 2.↩
Godfrey Sang, K. Kili and K. Hosea, On the Wings of a Sparrow: How the Seventh-day Adventist Church came to Western Kenya (Nairobi, Kenya: Gapman Publications, 2016), 213; Edgar Warren, “Lale-Smith,” British Adventist Messenger, April 27, 1962, 14.↩
Vine, 2↩
Sang et al., 213.↩
Vine, 2.↩
Frank Blewitt, “Home From Rhodesia,” British Advent Messenger, July 21, 1978, 13.↩
Ibid.↩
“Institutions and Other Entities Located in The Zambesi Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996), 118.↩
Ibid.↩
D. N Marshall, “Tragic Deaths in Zimbabwe,” British Advent Messenger, February 13, 1981, 1.↩
“Zimbabwe: Two British Missionaries Murdered,” video, British Pathé, February 5, 1981, accessed June 30, 2021, https://britishpathe.com/video/VLVA3UV0D29PZBYJCU1BE13M2ISFG-ZIMBABWE-TWO-BRITISH-MISSIONARIES-MURDERED/.↩
Ibid.↩
W. J. Arthur, “Don and Ann Lale Memorial Service,” British Advent Messenger, April 3, 1981, 2↩
W. J. Arthur, “Unprecedented Focus on Adventists,” British Advent Messenger, March 13, 1981, 8.↩
W. J. Arthur, “Communication,” British Advent Messenger, July 24, 1981, 13.↩
J. Muderspach, “Lale Fund,” British Advent Messenger, September 30, 1981, 7.↩
“New book of the week – We Can Trust the Bible,” British Advent Messenger, June 8, 2012.↩
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timlale/ (accessed June 30, 2021).↩