Lily of the Valley

Charles W. Fry in 1881 wrote a hymn titled The Lily of the Valley in London for the Salvation Army. The opening verse and chorus:

I’ve found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.

Refrain:
He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

Fry and his family were members of the Salvation Army organization founded by William Booth which was then in crisis. It is recorded that Fry did not like the abuse he saw hurled at the Salvation Army. Mr. Fry, who was a bricklayer, and his three sons offered to serve as bodyguards for the Salvation Army workers. The next day the four men arrived with their “weapons”. These weapons consisted of two cornets, a trombone and a small tuba. In between fighting off the troublemakers, the Fry men played, and their music attracted a crowd for the Salvation Army preachers.

This was the first Salvation Army brass band with Mr. Fry as the leader of the band as inscribed on his grave stone. Charles Fry died the year after publishing the hymn, on August 24, 1882, in Park Hall, Polmont, Scotland.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://prisonerbynocrimeofmyown.com/2022/06/02/lily-of-the-valley/