 He was married to Rose Piaget (1894-1965) in Guiyang in June 1931.On 1 October 1934, exactly 12 years after he had left for China, while returning from a prayer conference with Rose and several other missionaries, they were captured by soldiers of the Red Army led by General Xiao Ke.Rose was later released, but he and a fellow CIM missionary, Arnolis Hayman, from New Zealand, were forced to join the Red Army on the weary trek, which later became known as the Long March.