HELM, Charles Daniel, Rev. ^{1 2 3}

  Events

• Alt Birth Date: According to printed LMS Registry, Sep 22, 1844, Zuurbraak, Cape Colony, Southern Africa.

• Occupation: Matabeleland Zimbabwe. ^{4 5 6} Charles took charge of the Zuurbraak Mission for a year before heading off for Matabeleland. He was one of the first missionaries to Zimbabwe

• Historical. ⁴ He went to New College, London for theological training where he married Baroness Elspeth Puttkamer, whose mother was related to Bismarck. After a year in Zuurbraak he headed for Matabeleland in 1875 where they spent the rest of their lives. He served as a missionary to the Matabele at Hope Fountain (not far out from present Bulawayo) until 1913. Lobengula never accepted Christianity but became great friends with Helm. "The Harvest and Hope" describes him as "a big man in every sense, physically, mentally, and spriitually, such was the confidence he evoked from others that, when Rhodes was negotiating with Lobengula, both men chose Helm to observe the negotiations which led to the concession to the British South Africa Company. A monument to him still stands at Hope Fountain along with a museum built in his honour.
His critics complain that he served too many masters, involved himself too much in the politics of the day, and did not allign himself with the interests of his flock. The international media even went further accusing him of siding with Rhodes to the detriment of the interests of the Matabele, but this reference says that the worst that can be said of him was that he was naive and too trusting. He believedthat "a gentleman stands by his word" and himself was oblivious of Rhode's grandiose schemes. More accurately, he was widely known as " the friend of the Matabele"

• Historical. ⁷ See Photo attached of a citation in the Anotated Register of Missionaries held in the L.M.S. Archives by the Society for Oriental and African Studies, King's College, London.

Charles married Baroness Elizabeth Eduardine VON PUTTKAMER, daughter of Baron Alexander VON PUTTKAMER and Unknown, on Aug 12, 1873 in London, England.^{1 2} (Baroness Elizabeth Eduardine VON PUTTKAMER was born in Sulzow, Pommere, Germany ² and died on Nov 1, 1913 in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia, Southern Africa ².)