Henry Lunn facts for kids
Sir Henry Simpson Lunn was an important English person who lived from 1859 to 1939. He was known for helping people and for his strong religious beliefs. He also started a very big travel company called Lunn Poly, which became one of the largest in the United Kingdom.
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Henry Lunn's Early Life
Henry Lunn was born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, in 1859. His parents were very religious Methodists, and he grew up following their faith. He went to Horncastle Grammar School. Later, he studied at Headingley College in Leeds to become a church minister and was officially appointed in 1886. He also trained to be a medical doctor at Trinity College, Dublin.
Family and Writings
Henry Lunn married Mary Ethel Moore. They had four children together. One of his sons, Arnold Lunn, became famous for being a pioneer in alpine skiing. Henry Lunn also wrote two books about his own life: Chapters from My Life (published in 1918) and Nearing Harbour (published in 1934). He passed away in 1939.
Henry Lunn's Career and Travel Companies
After working for one year as a missionary in India, Henry Lunn had to return home in 1888 because he became ill. He believed strongly in Christian unity, which means different Christian churches working together. This idea was an early part of what is now called the Ecumenical Movement.
In 1893, he started a company called Co-operative Educational Tours. He organized meetings for church leaders, especially from England, at the annual Grindelwald Reunion Conferences in Switzerland from 1892 to 1896.
In 1902, he began organizing special trips to places like Adelboden and Wengen, Switzerland. These trips combined religious retreats with exciting winter sports. This helped make winter sports popular for British visitors. Many Anglican churches were even built in these popular winter resorts.
Expanding Travel and Sports
In 1905, Henry Lunn created the Public Schools Alpine Sports Club. This club helped secure major hotels and health resorts for people to use. With Lord Bryce, he also founded the Hellenic Travellers Club in 1906.
His success led him to start a second company, Alpine Sports Limited, in 1908. This company helped open up many new winter sports resorts by organizing tours. In the same year, he helped create the Alpine Ski Club, which was a club for people who loved ski-mountaineering.
Politics and Later Life
Henry Lunn was made a Knight Bachelor in 1910, which means he was given the title "Sir." He was also active in Liberal politics and became good friends with a leading politician named H. H. Asquith. He tried to become a Member of Parliament twice, in 1910 and 1923, but he was not successful.
In 1924, he became the first editor of a magazine called The Review of The English Churches. He also helped form the Irish Protestant Home Rule Association.
Henry Lunn continued to travel and promote his idea of churches working together, linking it with the League of Nations, an early international organization for peace. His travel company, later known as Sir Henry Lunn Travel, grew to be one of the biggest travel agents in Britain. In the 1960s, his company joined with another one to form Lunn Poly, which became a very well-known travel brand.
