Tipson's first posting was to
Penang and he sailed there from England in November 1908. In October 1909, he traveled to
Canton (now Guangzhou) in China where he spent a year mastering the
Cantonese dialect. This was to be a vital tool in his missionary work and he went on to acquire the
Hokkien dialect. On his return from Canton (March 1911), Tipson married Agnes Millar in Penang and they settled in
Kuala Lumpur. His missionary work involved preaching the Gospel, evangelism, and visiting lepers and prisoners. As with most missionaries, in those times, there was the ever-present danger of ill-health and death due to the heat and humidity of
British Malaya. In August 1914, his youngest child, Teddie, then one, fell ill with
gastro-enteritis and died. Teddie was namesake of Tipson's 15-year-old brother who had died some 20 years previously. By 1917, Tipson became seriously ill, and suffered a
nervous breakdown, leaving immediately for Sydney, Australia, despite his wife being eight months pregnant. He could not return home to England due to the
First World War and finally arrived back in England in December 1918. After a few years on furlough, Tipson returned to Kuala Lumpur in 1920 and resumed his missionary work. In 1928, he moved to Singapore to take up the post of Secretary to the
British and Foreign Bible Society for Malaya. Nearing retirement, at the age of 58, Tipson was incarcerated in Changi Prison during the occupation of Singapore by the Japanese during much of
World War II. To begin with, he occupied Cell 24, along with
Shenton Thomas, the then
Governor of Singapore. His ministry in Changi was remarkable in terms of his strength of character and his support for fellow prisoners. Tipson's obituary in the
British Association of Malaysia, 1958, read:
"There were some gifted preachers in the internment camp (Changi), but no one appealed to the men more than Ernest Tipson." Tipson's survival, said his son, also Ernest, was probably due to his tremendous sense of humour and the good company and support of son-in-law David. Liberated in 1945, Ernest Senior traveled to
India to be reunited with his wife and son. "He was as thin as a stick!", remembered Ernest Junior. "We fell into each other's arms." After the war, Tipson resumed his work in Singapore briefly. In March 1948, Tipson retired from his British and Foreign Bible Society post and returned to England. Tipson died in
Cornwall during a preaching visit to a local Gospel hall. ==Publications==