by Wendy Mansfield
The Eleventh Wickhambrook WI Literary Lunch was held in the WI Hall on Friday 21st June. This year we were very fortunate to have Terry Waite as our guest speaker.
58 people had each paid £10 to take part in a lunch laid on by the WI members and listen to Terry Waite talk about his life and writings.
After a buffet of sandwiches, sausage rolls, pork pies and savoury flans followed by the usual array of delicious puddings, tea and coffee was served and we settled down to listen to Terry speak. At 6 feet 7 inches tall it was no surprise to learn that Terry was in the Grenadier Guards 62 years ago. After studying Theology at University he then travelled to Uganda and was there at the time of Idi Amin’s coup. This was the first time he became involved in negotiating the release of political prisoners. He was at pains to point out that he is not in fact a clergyman but rather a lay preacher. In the introduction to one of his books he is described as a Quaker. Returning to Britain he was recruited by Robert Runcie, the then Archbishop of Canterbury as an advisor and travelled the world in this capacity. One of his books is titled “Travels with a Primate” and apparently has been mis-catalogued in the past as being a book about wildlife!
During the 1980’s there was a spate of abductions and people came to Lambeth Palace to ask for help. Terry travelled to Iran and Libya during the time of Colonel Gadaffi and then went to Beirut in order to negotiate the release of hostages. In his own words he was betrayed by the rebels, Hezbollah, and was himself captured. He has written a book about these experiences so did not dwell on this episode, but he was held for almost five years most of the time in solitary confinement. He suffered torture and even a mock execution whist being held in an underground cell. Denied books or writing paper, he began to write in his head and one of these books “Out of the Silence”, contains thoughts and poems about these times.
On returning to this country he became a fellow at Trinity College and began to write various books which are a product of his time in captivity. One theme he became particularly interested in was the theme of “solitude” and how it affects people. During his time in Africa Terry met Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu and was struck by both men’s refusal to become bitter about their treatment. This thought seems to have played a large part in his life and is reflected this extract taken from “ Out of the Silence”:- Anger should not be allowed to turn to bitterness, for bitterness is like a cancer that enters the soul. It does more harm to those who hold it than it does to those against whom it is held.
It seems we could all benefit from these sentiments. Terry was thanked by the president and then kindly signed books for those who wished to purchase a copy.
