A celebration was held from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th June 2022 to mark the end of 70 years of WhitCamp. I went along to meet the team, hear some stories and understand more about what made this Camp so special. Around 100 people came to thank God and enjoy canoeing in the River Wye, stories around the evening bonfire, and a tour of the farm of the host farmers, Henry and Esther Rudge, who have shared their land with us for decades.
WhitCamp has always been a ‘Boys Only’ Camp so it was fitting that many of the wives and daughters were able to come and see where their men had disappeared to every Whitsun for decades. And I do mean decades. Ken Morgan has attended 55 WhitCamps from 1965 to 2019, Jeremy Dix started the same year and led for 38 years, John Perham started in 1966 and led for 46 years, Graham Patey started leading in 1977 and continued up until 2019 – a total of 41 years, Lawrence Tebboth has served 36 years etc etc. There is not space here to list many others of similar vintage but mention must be given to Simon Mason who headed up the Camp in later years but seems a comparative youngster, serving for a ‘mere’ 35 years!
WhitCamp started in the early 1950s after Rob Miles saw the rich spiritual fruit gained from camps he held near Malvern and then Jamaica in 1936. Rob, by then a Crusader Leader at Painswick, started the annual Camp on the Whitsun weekend. This became an annual Camp for boys, initially for those from around the Gloucester area but soon expanded, and was first based on the Avon, moving to the Wye valley at Sellack near Ross on Wye in 1961 on land farmed by David Rudge. In 1968, a late decision by the landowner not to allow a camp at Sellack caused Rob to issue an urgent call for prayer. Amazingly a new site close by at Backney became available.
Camp continued at Backney until 1978 after which access became unavailable, and once more at Sellack in 1979 when both the site and equipment storage no longer became possible. Rob had also decided to step down as Leader, and once again they turned to prayer. In God’s good grace, the Carter family at Ballingham Court Farm near Hereford came to the rescue, providing both equipment storage and a camping field; a link strengthened by the marriage of David Rudge’s son, Henry, to Esther Carter.
Crusaders had previously used Ballingham Court Farm as a base for the Crusader Wye Valley Canoe Camp, and WhitCamp was thrilled to come to such a beautiful spot for a new home. With the exception of the Foot and Mouth epidemic year in 2001, WhitCamp has continuously been at Ballingham from 1980 to 2019.
Rob’s team were all Crusader Class Leaders, and there was encouragement for boys to become Leaders. Most of the Core Team in 2019 had either come through Crusader Camps or come as boys to WhitCamp. One of the special qualities of this Camp was seeing the baton being passed on through the generations, with a number of fathers bringing their sons who became leaders, and then the grandsons.
A number of factors came together making it clear that now was the right time to finish the Camp, and the Camp finished well, ending in style with a farewell around the campfire, looking back on what God had enabled. Young and old alike shared their memories of what WhitCamp had meant to them.
“WhitCamp is a taste of heaven.”
“I thank God for Rob Miles who started WhitCamp. He cared for the boys and prayed for them throughout the day at camp. He took me to another level in my faith, and I came back as a leader. Thank you to all the leaders. You have come to mind so often through my life.”
“I made my first profession of faith round the campfire here. When I come back, it is like coming home. It always existed in my imagination but then I would come back for five days. We love the Rudge family (the farmers) - we love the Kingdom work you do here.”
“This is such a special place. So many memories. I’m so grateful WhitCamp existed for me at this time of my life. I met God here. The experiences here have really helped me through my life. If it wasn’t for WhitCamp, certainly my life would not be where it is. I’m so grateful to be a part of it.”
“My first camp here was in 2014. The sense of fellowship here has really been quite remarkable which I’ve never found anywhere else. I may forget the names of people but the feeling of being in that big marquee with 60 or 70 other voices - that will always stay with me. Thank you.”
As with many of our Crusader / Urban Saints campsites, we owe so much to the faithful and open-hearted farmers, such as Esther and Henry Rudge, who share their land with us. The final word must go to Esther, who is the only female who has been to WhitCamp every year since 1980. The Leaders have been part of her life for over forty years. They are the people to whom she and Henry turn for advice, wisdom, prayer support and practical help (such as coming to pick apples over lockdown), and the relationships are deep and strong. “We invest”, says Esther, “but the return is far greater than the investment”. Isn’t that often the case with Kingdom work?
As we celebrate with the WhitCamp Team for finishing their race well, we also look to the future. Countless boys and men have met Christ here and are already serving God in a multitude of ways because of the Camp’s legacy. Others are considering what might be next for them in a new sphere of ministry, and Urban Saints is also exploring fresh opportunities for what might be ahead. To all those who have served at WhitCamp – we honour you and thank you. Please know that you are always a very special part of the Crusaders / Urban Saints family. We look forward to the next chapter!
Jo Slater - Supporter Relations Coordinator
