The Rev. John R. Metcalfe (1889-1970) was born in Yorkshire and served as a Methodist missionary in the Solomon Islands for 37 years. He served as a home missionary in Great Britain before moving to Victoria in 1914. He became a candidate for the Methodist ministry in 1916, and after being ordained was appointed to the Solomon Islands in 1920. After a brief period at Roviana, he was appointed to Choiseul (Lauru island) as assistant to the Rev. V. LeC. Binet. Apart from four years at Teop, he remained on Choiseul (with a break during the war) until 1951. He was then appointed chairman of the Methodist Mission in the Solomons. He retired in 1957, but continued to take an active interest in the mission until his death.