Albert Midlane

Who was Albert Midlane?

Albert Midlane was a British poet who wrote several hundred hymns, most notably "There's a Friend for Little Children".

Midlane was born in Carisbrooke, a village in Newport on the Isle of Wight, into a large family. He was the youngest child of James Midlane and Frances Lawes. His mother, Frances, was a Congregationalist, and Midlane attended the church Sunday school from a young age. He first became an ironmonger, and later a Sunday school teacher. At the age of 23 he joined the Plymouth Brethren, but remained committed to Sunday school teaching and hymn writing. He was encouraged to start writing at a young age by his teacher, and he wrote his first hymn "Hark! in the presence of our God" in September 1842 while visiting Carisbrooke Castle; it was published in Youth's Magazine in November 1842 under the name of "Little Albert". His first hymn which brought his eventual fame was "God bless our Sunday schools", written on 24 May 1844, and used the National Anthem as its tune.

His most notable hymn, "There's a Friend for Little Children", was written on 7 February 1859 and published in December 1859 in a book called Good News for the Little Ones.