Other family members deserve more than honourable mentions too: Finlay (Florence’s brother), who speaks so intelligently on art as well as China; Louise (Florence’s sister), who knits faster than Usain Bolt can run; Sue, the daughter of Eric’s brother Ernest, and Joan, the daughter of Eric’s sister Jenny, who both so willingly talked to me about their parents.
I regard – and I sense ‘the girls’ do too – Bob Rendell as an honorary member of the Liddell-MacKenzie clan. Bob is now the former ‘CEO’ of the Eric Liddell Centre in Edinburgh. When I first spoke to him – a ‘cold call’ on the telephone – I suspect he thought I was ever so slightly crazy in wanting to trek across the globe. If so, it didn’t deter him from doing whatever he could to make it easier. Bob is a star, an all-round nice guy.
My friend Simon McGee, who no doubt one day I’ll be compelled to call ‘Sir’, made diplomatic introductions for me in regard to China.
Once there, no organizations could have been more accommodating than the British Embassy in Beijing and the officials in Weifang. To be the recipient of two banquets in China made me feel VIP-like. I am tremendously grateful to Wang Hoa, Director of Weifang Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs; Song Yuelin, the Deputy Director; Qi Yanling (the lovely Emily); and C. U. I. Xvexian, party secretary of the Middle School. Baoshu Xia, who has intently studied both Eric’s life and the history of the Weihsien camp, was inexhaustible in his help both on the day and afterwards.
Nick Douse, the First Secretary (Regional City Engagement) of the British Embassy, shepherded me to Weifang and, on occasions, acted as my interpreter too. His company was not only integral to the success of the visit, but also a pleasure. I can no longer look at the results of AFC Wimbledon without remembering his passion for that club.
Through various sources, I was able to track down the descendants of those who played integral parts in Eric’s story. Harry and Brian McKerchar, grandsons of Tom McKerchar; Doreen Grandon, wife of Aubrey Grandon; Margaret Buchan, Annie Buchan’s niece; Joanna Cullen-Brown, daughter of A. P. Cullen; Sir Arthur Marshall, who shares his father’s name; Ian Stone, related to Alec Nelson; Susan Liberta, the daughter of Horatio Fitch.
Our view of something always depends on the perspective from which we observe it. Sometimes that is simply geographical (where we are standing in the room, for example). Sometimes it is because we think/judge/recall a certain person or specific happening in a particular way. As I stress in the main text, memory can also be a very fickle beast. For each of these reasons, no one account of an action or a speech is normally identical to another. It can differ in tiny or even big ways. We are only human. We recollect things differently. That became more apparent than ever to me as I read eyewitness accounts of Weihsien. So I must pay particular tribute to those who experienced the camp and contributed towards the picture I have drawn of it. Desmond Power was fabulous in every way. Estelle Horne proved so generous in providing her own, pitch-perfect recollections. Peter Bazire acted as my ‘chauffeur’ at one stage. Pamela Masters spoke so freely and well about her experiences too. Mary Previte pointed me in many important directions. Margaret Holder was able to tell me about what it was like in one of Eric’s classrooms. Ron Bridge was illuminating about the bricks, the mortar and the measurements of the place. Yvonne Finlay, the wife of Donald Finlay, related to me the stories her husband told her. So did Joan Michell, wife of David Michell, one of those who called Eric ‘Uncle’; I am also grateful to their son Ken.
I count myself as fortunate to have met three exceptional people. The first was Steve Metcalf, who I interviewed in his London flat and spoke to again subsequently. I imagine that talking to Steve is a bit like talking to Eric would have been. There was such a gentle warmth about him, a point I particularly wanted to make to his son Stephen jnr. Joe and Joyce Cotterill were superb interviewees – two wise heads who put things into perspective for me. I left their home proud to say I’d spent time with both of them.
Others who deserve a salute are: John Keddie, the doyen of Scottish athletics history; Ronald Clements, who worked with Steve Metcalf on his life story; Rev. Jim Cowie of the Scots Kirk in Paris; Robert Gilmor, who knew Eileen Soper; Mark Stickings of Eltham College; Thomas P. Jabine; Frank Bardgett, the biographer of D. P. Thomson; Rev. James McMillan of the Peterhead Congregational Church; Jill Forest, Clare Button and Denise Abbott of the Edinburgh University Library; Ray Dingwall of the Armadale History Association; Paul Dudman of the British Olympic Association Archive; Neil Fraser of SCRAN; Brian Stanley, Professor of World Christianity and Director for the Study of World Christianity; Lord Jonathan Porritt, son of Arthur Porritt; Joseph Romanos and Graeme Woodfield, the biographers of Arthur Porritt; Dr Alister Bull, of the Church of Scotland; David Wootton of the Chris Beetles Gallery in London; and Chris Beetles himself. Staffs at the following institutions were a credit to their profession: Edinburgh University Library; the London Library; SOAS, the University of London; BBC Written Archives Centre; the Bodleian Library; the Manchester Social Sciences Library; the Imperial War Museum; the National Archives of Scotland; the Library of Congress (particularly Amber Paranick); the National Gallery of Scotland; Archive of the Cambridge Athletics Association; the Philip Noel-Baker Archives; the Sir Winston Churchill Archives; the British Library; Birmingham University Library Cadbury Special Collections (which hold the archives of Joe Binks, Wilf Richards, Gus Tatham and the minutes of the General Olympic Committee); Alton Library, Iowa; the Historical Archives, Iowa; the University of Pennsylvania Library; the British Film Institute.
No author can survive without editors. I’ve been extremely fortunate to lean on the advice and expertise of Virginia Smith, Giles Elliott and Craig Pyette, each of whom made sage and sensible recommendations and, like the archetypical good coach, were always there for me. They were Tom McKerchar-like during the making of this book. I’d also like to thank Annie Badman, particularly for her stoicism in regard to my total lack of technological savvy, and Vivien Thompson for her patience as well as her assiduous checking.
As ever, my agent Grainne Fox was indispensable, her contribution worthy of a line of gold stars. The very admirable Christy Fletcher, of Fletcher & Company had the inspiration to suggest the book, and Grainne guided me to and through it. I can’t praise Grainne enough for her patience, her persuasive powers, her all-round nous and her sense of humour. Most of all, she puts up with me; and for that I’m truly thankful, believe me.
Also at Fletcher and Company, I came to rely a great deal on the marvellously efficient Rachel Crawford, who answers some of the nuts and bolts questions about the publishing industry that still flummox me.
I often wonder how any book of mine would ever get started, let alone finished, without my wife Mandy. I think of each of them as a collaborative effort. So of course she came to China. Of course she came to America and Canada too. And of course she read and re-read drafts and created the good weather that made it possible for me to write them.
We met in an obscure bar (sadly no longer in existence) during an otherwise nondescript Thursday night in Leeds. The bar was around the corner from Dyson’s clock in Lower Briggate. That’s the landmark, familiar to any Loiner, which Tony Harrison writes about so memorably in the poem ‘Under the Clock’ – ‘where my courting parents used to meet’.
Staying in Weifang, and staring through the early morning smog from the balcony of our hotel room, I reflected quietly on how far we’d travelled together as a consequence of that first meeting. It also reaffirmed this: no step I’ve taken in the past decade is as important as the one that carried me to her.
Lazoi will know what I’m talking about. He did, after all, believe that ‘love is of all passions the strongest’.
A wise man indeed . . .
Timeline of Eric Liddell’s Life
1898: James Liddell posted to China as a missionary.
1899: Marriage of James Liddell and Mary Reddin.
1900: Rob Liddell born in Shanghai.
1902: Eric Lid
dell born in Tientsin.
1903: Jenny Liddell – christened Janet Lillian – born in Siaochang.
1907: Liddell family return to Britain on furlough.
1908: Eric and Rob enrolled in LMS School at Blackheath. The rest of the Liddell family returns to China.
1912: Ernest Liddell born in Peking. Eric and Rob become pupils at Eltham College after LMS School is moved and renamed.
1920: Liddell family is reunited after James Liddell is given furlough.
1921: Eric begins his athletics career as an Edinburgh University student on the grass track of Craiglockhart. Launches his partnership with coach Tom McKerchar and wins two individual Scottish AAA titles that summer.
1922: Makes international rugby debut for Scotland against France in Paris – the first of three appearances that season. Retains his Scottish AAA titles. James and Mary Liddell are posted to Tientsin.
1923: Collects four more international rugby caps for Scotland. Again retains his Scottish AAA titles – and wins the 100 yards and 220 yards titles in the national AAA Championships at Stamford Bridge. Newspapers christen him the ‘Flying Scot’. Speaks at Armadale after accepting a personal invitation to do so from D. P. Thomson. Travels to America for the University of Pennsylvania relays. Tells the British Olympic Association that he cannot run in the Olympic 100 metres or either of the relays because of his policy of not competing on a Sunday.
1924: Wins the Olympic 400 metres gold medal in Paris and a 200 metres bronze. Graduates from Edinburgh University.
1925: Agrees to sit for a portrait in oils by Eileen Soper. Wins three Scottish AAA titles. Sets off for China, where he teaches at the Anglo-Chinese College in Tientsin. Meets nurse Annie Buchan.
1928: Says he will not compete in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.
1929: James Liddell is taken ill and returns to Britain. Eric Liddell races against German athlete Dr Otto Peltzer, who encourages him to enter the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.
1930: Becomes engaged to Florence MacKenzie. Joins the London Missionary Society.
1931: Returns to Scotland on furlough and takes part in a series of evangelistic meetings across the country.
1932: Ordained into the ministry and then returns to China.
1933: James Liddell dies, aged sixty-three.
1934: Marries Florence in Tientsin’s Union Church.
1935: The Liddells’ first daughter, Patricia, is born in Tientsin.
1937: The Liddells’ second daughter, Heather, is born in Tientsin. The family leave the Anglo-Chinese College and Eric becomes a country missionary in Siaochang, where he works beside his brother Rob and Annie Buchan.
1939: Arrives in Scotland on his second furlough.
1940: His family join him in Scotland for the summer before returning to China. Death of Tom McKerchar.
1941: Forced to abandon Siaochang and return to Tientsin. A pregnant Florence leaves China with Patricia and Heather. The Liddells’ third daughter, Maureen, is born in Toronto.
1942: Within a month of Pearl Harbor (at the end of 1941), Eric is held with other missionaries under house arrest in Tientsin. He begins writing a series of books and pamphlets.
1943: Sent to the Civilian Assembly Centre at Weihsien.
1944: Mary Liddell dies in Edinburgh, aged seventy-three.
1945: Eric dies in Weihsien of a brain tumour.
1984: Florence dies, aged seventy-two.
Notes and Sources
Prologue
1 He is crouching on the start line: Information about Sports Days at Weihsien, and what EL wore, from interviews with Steve Metcalf, Pamela Masters and Desmond Power. Other details from Joe and Joyce Cotterill (formerly Joyce Stranks), specifically on EL’s weight; Norman Cliff, Eric Liddell in Weihsien Camp (weihsien-paintings.org) and Courtyard of the Happy Way (Arthur James Evesham, 1977); Pamela Masters, The Mushroom Years (Henderson House, 1998); David Michell, A Boy’s War (OMF, 1988); I Remember Eric Liddell (OMF, undated); The Spirit of Eric Liddell (OMF, 1992).
2 A track of crimson cinder: Time, 14 July 1924.
3 Liddell claimed his gold medal in a snow-white singlet: Pathé News film from 1924 Olympics.
4 ‘A speck of glitter’: Quotation from David Michell; interview with Joan Michell. Also I Remember Eric Liddell and The Spirit of Eric Liddell.
5 Until the Red Cross at last got food parcels: Description of food relief and the condition of the internees before it: Norman Cliff, Courtyard of the Happy Way; Prisoners of the Samurai (privately printed, 1998); Memories of China (undated); Pamela Masters, The Mushroom Years; Langdon Gilkey, Shantung Compound (Harper, 1966); Myra Scovel with Nelle Keys Bell, The Chinese Ginger Jars (Harper, 1961); Mary Scott, Kept in Safeguard (Nazarene Publishing, 1977); Steve Metcalf and Ronald Clements, In Japan the Crickets Cry (Monarch Books, 2010); Mary Previte, Hungry Ghosts (Zondervan, 1995). Also interviews with Steve Metcalf, Joe Cotterill, Joyce Cotterill, Mary Previte, Peter Bazire, Estelle Horne.
6 Every few weeks he merely slits a new notch-hole: Interview with Joe Cotterill and Joyce Cotterill.
7 He is waiting for me: I travelled to Weifang in April 2014.
8 Guang-Wen Street: History and details from interview with Baoshu Zia in Weifang.
9 The Japanese called it a ‘Civilian Assembly Centre’: Details of the composition of the camp from both Weifang officials and the camp list (weihsien-paintings.org) compiled by Ron Bridge, who also answered supplementary questions.
10 The place already had a past: Hilary Spurling, Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China (Profile, 2010); W. A. Swanberg, Luce and his Empire (Scribner, 1972).
11 With infinite patience: Interview with Joyce Cotterill.
12 ‘You came away from his meetings’: Elsa Watson, BBC interview, not broadcast.
13 ‘Everyone regarded him as a friend’: Interview with Estelle Horne.
14 Someone else saw an enigmatic side: Jeannie Hills, BBC interview, not broadcast.
15 ‘You knew you were in the presence’: Interview with Steve Metcalf.
16 ‘It is rare indeed’: Langdon Gilkey, Shantung Compound.
17 There are countless anecdotes of his sportsmanship: Neil Campbell, BBC interview, not broadcast in its entirety. Interviews with EL’s daughters, Patricia, Heather and Maureen.
18 ‘Seemed to do everything wrong’: New York Times, 4 June 1946.
19 The Daily Mail’s celebrated caricaturist: The British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent (www.cartoons.ac.uk).
20 One of my favourite stories: Interviews with EL’s daughters.
Chapter One
1 There was an impish look about him: Photographs supplied by the McKerchar family and the Church of Scotland.
2 The father of twelve children: Interview with the McKerchar family.
3 He began there as a paper ruler: Census information (1891, 1901, 1911).
4 Like most of his working-class generation: Interview with the McKerchar family.
5 McKerchar studied the physiology and psychology: Details of McKerchar’s methods and approach to athletes: EL’s own account of his running career in All Sports Illustrated Weekly, 5 June to 3 July 1926; R. Hadgraft, Beer and Brine: The Making of Walter George, Athletics’ First Superstar (Desert Island ebooks, 2006); R. McWhirter, Get to Your Marks: A Short History of World, Commonwealth and European Athletics (Kaye, 1951).
6 Athletics meetings during McKerchar’s early days: C. M. Usher, The Story of Edinburgh University Athletic Club (Constable, 1966). Climate of athletics in the 1920s and subsequently: G. Butler, Runners and Running (Herbert Jenkins, 1929); H. Abrahams and J. Crump, Athletics (The Naldrett Press, 1954); F. A. M. Webster, Great Moments in Athletics (Country Life, 1947) and Olympic Cavalcade (Country Life, 1946); Mark Ryan, Running with Fire: The True Story of Chariots of Fire Hero Harold Abrahams (JR Books, 2011). Neil Campbell’s memories recalled in John W. Keddie, Running the Race (Evangelical Press, 2007).
7 This attitude and approach: Mark Ryan, Running with Fire; inte
rview with Ian Stone, author of Alec Nelson, Professional Runner and Athletics Coach, which was part of the Sporting Lives Symposium at Wychwood Park, Cheshire, 2010; R. L. Quercetani, A World History of Track and Field Athletics, 1864–1964 (Oxford University Press, 1964).
8 Always saw them as a trio: EL’s own account of his running career in All Sports Illustrated Weekly.
9 Craiglockhart was a spacious expanse of grass: Description of Craiglockhart: C. M. Usher, The Story of Edinburgh University Athletic Club; J. W. Keddie, Scottish Athletics, 1883–1983, The Official Centenary Publication (Scottish AAA, 1983). Also, my visit to what remains of the facility.
10 The Americans complained: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Glasgow Herald, 21 July 2008; A. Guttmann, The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games (University of Illinois Press, 1992); B. Henry, An Approved History of the Olympic Games (Alfred, 1984).
11 Edinburgh University’s reluctant athlete: The account of EL’s climbing holiday, his first races and initial instruction with TM are his own and written in the first person. The publication in which these appeared was not attributed. Also, interview with Steve Metcalf. Details on German Max Sick and his book (available as an ebook): R. Tyrell, ‘Marvellous Max, the Iron Master’, Physical Culture Journal, April 2000. When EL first spoke about ‘Maxick’, the reporter covering the event mistakenly reported that the ‘muscle man’ was Mussolini.
12 Only another three years: I am grateful to John Keddie’s dedication in researching and listing EL’s races in Running the Race.
13 There was no sporting streak: Family details of EL’s parents, their background and early days in China come chiefly from interviews with EL’s daughters, Sue (daughter of EL’s brother Ernest) and Joan (daughter of EL’s sister Jenny). Other sources are Jenny’s unpublished manuscript Memories of China Days.
14 The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists: Accounts of the Boxer Rebellion come from Jonathan Fenby, The Penguin History of Modern China (Penguin, 2008) and Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the China He Lost (Free Press, 2005); Theodore H. White, In Search of History (Harper & Row, 1978) and, with A. Jacoby, Thunder out of China (Da Capo Press, 1980); Edgar Snow, China (Random House, 1981); David Silbey, The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China (Hill and Wang, 2013); Robert Bickers, The Scramble for China (Penguin, 2012); Richard O’Connor, Boxer Rebellion (Robert Hale, 1974).
For the Glory Page 37