Eric Henry Liddell was born on 16th January 1902 in Tientsin (Tianjin) North China, second son of the Rev. & Mrs. James Dunlop Liddell who were missionaries with the London Mission Society.

He was educated from 1908 to 1920 at Eltham College, Blackheath, a school in England for the sons of missionaries. Eric, with his older brother Rob, were left at their English boarding school while their parents and sister, Jenny, returned to China.

At Eltham, Eric demonstrated his ability as an outstanding athlete, earning the Blackheath Cup as the best athlete of his year, and playing for the First XI and the First XV by the age of 15, later becoming captain of both the cricket and rugby union teams.

During the boys’ time at Eltham College, their parents, sister and new brother Ernest came home on leave two or three times and were able to be together as a family – mainly living in Edinburgh.

Although born in China and educated in England, Eric Liddell lived in Scotland at various times during his life.

In 1920, Eric joined his brother Rob at Edinburgh University to read for a BSc in Pure Science. During this period athletics and rugby played a large part in Eric’s University life. He played rugby for Edinburgh University and in 1922 played in seven Scottish Internationals as a wing-three-quarter, scoring four tries thanks to his amazing speed as a sprinter.

Eric ran in the 100 yards and the 220 yards for Edinburgh University and later for Scotland.

While at the University of Edinburgh, Eric became famous for being the fastest runner in Scotland. Newspapers carried stories of his athletic feats and many believed he was a potential Olympic winner.

As a result of not having enough time for his studies and both running and rugby, he chose the running, aiming for the 100 metres in the 1924 Paris Olympics. However, at the 1924 Olympics, Liddell, a devout Christian, dropped out of the 100-metres run—his strongest event—because the qualifying heats were scheduled for a Sunday. Instead, he trained for the 200 and 400-metre sprints.

At the Games, he finished third in the 200-metre run gaining a bronze medal and turned in a stellar performance to win the 400 metres. Starting in the outside lane, Liddell sprinted out of the blocks and set such a speed that two other runners fell trying to keep up. He won the race in a record time of 47.6 seconds which was an Olympic and World Record.

In 1924, Eric also travelled briefly to the USA to compete in an athletics tournament and returned to Edinburgh where he graduated from Edinburgh University.

In 1925 Eric returned to China to follow in his parents’ chosen work to serve as a missionary teacher from 1925 to 1943 – first in Tianjin and later in the town of Xiaozhang.

During his time in China as a missionary, Eric continued to compete occasionally, including wins over members of the 1928 French and Japanese Olympic teams in the 200- and 400-metre races at the South Manchurian Railway celebrations in China in 1928 and a victory at the 1930 North China championship.

Eric’s first job as a missionary was as a teacher at an Anglo-Chinese College where he used his athletic experience to train boys in a number of different sports.

One of his many responsibilities was that of leading the Sunday school at Union Church where his father was pastor. Eric lived at 38 Chongqing Dao (formerly known as Cambridge Road) in Tianjin, where a plaque now commemorates his residence.

Eric also helped build the Minyuan Stadium in Tianjin which was modelled on London’s Stamford Bridge, his favourite sports ground.

During his first furlough from missionary work in 1932, he was ordained a minister of the Congregational Union of Scotland.

Eric returned to Scotland only twice, in 1932 and again in 1939. On one occasion he was asked if he ever regretted his decision to leave behind the fame and glory of athletics.

Eric responded,

“It’s natural for a chap to think over all that sometimes, but I’m glad I’m at the work I’m engaged in now. A fellow’s life counts for far more at this than the other.”

On his return to China he married Florence Mackenzie, daughter of Canadian missionary parents in Tianjin in 1934. Eric courted his future wife by taking her for lunch to the Kiesling restaurant, which is still open in Tianjin.  The couple had three daughters, Patricia, Heather and Maureen, the last of whom, sadly Eric did not live to see. The school where Eric taught is still in use today.

In 1941 life in China had become so dangerous because of the threat from the Japanese that the British government advised British nationals to leave. Florence (who was pregnant with Maureen) and the children left for Canada to stay with her family when Eric accepted a position at a rural mission station in Xiaozhang, which served the poor.

He joined his brother, Rob, who was a doctor there. The station was severely short of help and the missionaries there were exhausted. A constant stream of locals came at all hours for medical treatment. Eric arrived at the station in time to relieve his brother, who was ill and needing to go on furlough and Eric himself suffered many hardships by staying on at the mission, continuing to do all he could to help people.

As fighting between the Chinese Army and invading Japanese troops reached Xiaozhang, the Japanese took over the mission station and Eric returned to Tianjin.

In 1943, he was interned at the Weihsien Internment Camp (in the modern city of Weifang) with the members of the China Inland Mission, Chefoo School (in the city now known as Yantai), and many others.

Eric became a leader and organiser at the camp and busied himself by helping the elderly, teaching Bible classes at the camp school, arranging games, and teaching science to the children, who referred to him as Uncle Eric.

One of his fellow internees, Norman Cliff, later wrote a book about his experiences in the camp called “The Courtyard of the Happy Way” in which he described Eric saying

“in all the time in the camp, I never heard him say a bad word about anybody”.

Langdon Gilkey, who also survived the camp said of Eric:

“Often in an evening I would see him bent over a chessboard or a model boat, or directing some sort of square dance – absorbed, weary and interested, pouring all of himself into this effort to capture the imagination of these penned-up youths. He was overflowing with good humour and love for life, and with enthusiasm and charm. It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known.”

In his last letter to his wife, written on the day he died, Eric wrote of suffering a nervous breakdown due to overwork.

He had an inoperable brain tumour and overwork and malnourishment may have hastened his death. Eric died on 21 February 1945, five months before liberation.

Eric was buried in the garden behind the Japanese officers’ quarters, his grave marked by a small wooden cross. The site was forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1989, in the grounds of what is now Weifeng Middle School in Shandong Province, north-east China, about six hours’ drive from Beijing. Read about it here

Eric’s legacy remains strong and he is known and celebrated all over the world.

The Eric Liddell Community (formerly Centre) was set up in Edinburgh in 1980 its aim to act on behalf of four Edinburgh churches; the Morningside Baptist Church, Christ Church Morningside, North Morningside Church and Morningside Congregational Church as an expression of their joint Christian witness to further the provision of community services to all members of the community of whatever age and whatever circumstance, irrespective of denominational life.

The charitable status was granted in July 1981. In October 1981 the Centre purchased North Morningside Parish Church for £20,000.  The Sycamore Café was set up in 1984 and it provided teas, coffees, snacks and lunches at reasonable prices. It also sold cards, books and souvenirs.

In 1987 the Holy Corner Church Centre was named as the Eric Liddell Centre to honour Eric’s belief in community service whilst he lived and studied in Edinburgh. Local residents dedicated it to inspiring, empowering, and supporting people of all ages, cultures and abilities.

The Eric Liddell Community is an Edinburgh based care charity and community hub committed to a vision for all people to live in a society where no one feels lonely or isolated.

The charity has a central mission to bring people together in their local communities to enhance health and well-being and have a positive impact on their lives.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has agreed to be the Patron of The Eric Liddell 100 in 2021. This will secure, develop and celebrate Eric Liddell’s legacy and his legendary gold medal win in the 1924 Olympics in Paris.

China

In 1991 the University of Edinburgh erected a memorial headstone, made from Isle of Mull granite and carved by a mason in Tobermory, at the former camp site in Weifang.

The simple inscription came from the Book of Isaiah 40:31: “They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary.”

The city of Weifang commemorated Liddell during the 60th anniversary of the internment camp’s liberation by laying a wreath on his grave.

Here is a link to a BBC article from 2012 describing how Eric is viewed by Chinese people as a hero: BBC Scotland article here:

England

Eltham College School in London, originally founded for the children of missionaries where Eric and his brother Rob were pupils, renamed its sports centre to the “Eric Liddell Sports Centre” in his memory.

Hong Kong

Eric’s legacy is also celebrated in Hong Kong and you can read more about it here

Hong Kong has a strong connection to Eric Liddell. In 1991, Charles Walker a Scottish engineer working in Hong Kong, formed the Eric Liddell Foundation which for several years organised athletic events among young athletes from Scotland, Hong Kong and Weifang, Shandong Province, where Eric Liddell is buried. In 1995 and 1996, the “Eric Liddell Games”, organised by the Foundation, were held in Weifang. These brought together many young athletes from schools within Shandong Province to compete in “mini-Olympics” and to learn about the life and lived values of Eric Liddell. The Foundation has also donated funds in Eric’s memory towards a Youth Development and Vocational Training Centre in Zhaojue County, Sichuan Province.