Sunday school and he held our attention with a unique presentation of the parable of the sower. I did not realise then how closely I would work with him in the early 1990's when he became President of the PTS! It was in 1942 that I was led to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. By that time my father had been called to the pastorate of Rock Ferry Baptist Church, and I owed so much to him as he led me to the Lord. I was baptised in the same year, and soon became involved in Christian service, mainly within the Christian Endeavour movement. By the late 1940's I was preaching regularly at churches and mission halls on both sides of the Mersey, having become a member of the Merseyside Baptist Lay Preachers' Association. Our family moved to Liverpool in 1947 after my father had received a call to Speke Baptist Church, and it was while there, in 1952, that I was called into full time Christian work as a Wickliffe Preacher. The Wickliffe Preachers held a campaign in Liverpool that year to mark the 50th anniversary of John Kensit's death, and it was this, combined with concern at the strong influence of Roman Catholicism in Liverpool, that prompted me to apply for work in the PTS. In October 1952 I entered the Kensit Memorial College to train for ministry on the Society's caravans, and was ordained by the late Mr. J.A. Kensit to the work of the Wickliffe Preachers on June 28th 1953. I set out on the caravan with a colleague from Ulster, the late Sam Dalzell, and our first tour took us through East Anglia, reaching Ipswich by November. I little imagined that the Suffolk town would be my home base in my work for the PTS for twenty-three years from 1956 onwards.

At that time Wickliffe Preachers were obliged to serve for three years on the caravan without marrying. However, that did not prevent me from corresponding with a young lady from Speke Baptist Church, Olive Pickford. In December 1956 we married at Speke, and after a short honeymoon moved into our first home at Ipswich. For forty eight years Olive has given her wholehearted support both to me personally and to the work of the PTS, often through very difficult times, and I thank God for the support she has given, and still gives. We soon made many friends in Ipswich and East Anglia, and many opportunities were given for ministry in the churches. There was also scope for open-air ministry, especially at the seaside at Southend, Lowestoft, and Great Yarmouth. By the 1960's the annual witness at the Ipswich Martyrs' Memorial had commenced and it is encouraging to see that gathering being maintained by Peter Kinley. It was a great joy to us, as members of Bethesda Baptist Church, Ipswich, to see our son John baptised there in November 1974. He had received a good grounding in the Scriptures in the Sunday School and Bible Class at Bethesda, and is now being greatly used by the Lord in the Baptist ministry.

By the late 1970's we thought that we were settled at Ipswich for the rest of our days, but it soon became clear that the Lord had other plans. In 1977 I was appointed as Honorary Secretary of the United Protestant Council. I held this post for six years, and this led to closer contact with other Protestant Societies. However, the greatest change came when, at the end of 1978, I was asked by the late Mr. A.L. Kensit to move to London to take up the post of Assistant Secretary of the PTS with a view to succeeding him as Secretary. Having had no previous office experience, and facing the prospect of leaving so many friends behind at Ipswich, we spent some months prayerfully considering the invitation, but at last, when Olive and I felt clearly that this was the Lord's will, we moved to London on July 3rd 1979. I was greatly indebted to Mr. Kensit and Mr. D.C. Relf for helping me to get to grips with the administrative work of the Society, and in May 1981 Mr. Kensit retired from the Secretaryship and the Council appointed me as his successor. I immediately faced the challenge resulting from the Papal visit to Britain in 1982. However, this event brought opportunities for the Society which do not often come our way. There were radio interviews and discussions, the one best remembered being a two-way discussion with a young Roman Catholic priest for the Radio 4 programme `Sunday'. Our discussion centred on the veneration of Mary, and while there was strong disagreement between us we parted on friendly terms; the priest even offered me a lift home!

In 1986 I organised the first PTS Coach Outing to a venue connected with the Reformation, and we journeyed to Little Sodbury in Gloucestershire, visiting the Manor House where William Tyndale expressed his strong determination to translate the Scriptures into English. Since then the Society has held similar outings to various places of interest annually. In 1989 we marked the centenary of the founding of the Societywith a Rally at Orange Street Congregational Church, London. Greetings were received from other Protestant Societies, and a stirring address was given by the late Rev. W H. Davies.

1992 was a year of challenge both for the Society and myself following the sudden home call of Mr. A. L. Kensit in August. He was President and Chairman of the Council until his death, and was also editor of the Society's magazine. Mr. Leith Samuel was elected President, and Rev. Maurice Bowler appointed Council Chairman, while I became editor of the magazine. I retired from the Secretaryship of the Society in August 1994, and was then elected as a Council member. I count it a privilege to continue serving the Society in that position, but I consider it an even greater privilege to be still serving as a Wickliffe Preacher, now in an honorary capacity, fifty-one years after being ordained. There can be no greater privilege than that of preaching the Gospel, as it is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. "(Romans 1:16)

Alex Roberts