The man who would not run on a Sunday

The exhibition focuses on this lesser-known side of Eric Liddell's life, and picks up on the fascinating story of what happened next as he chose to step out of the limelight of Olympic success.

The exhibition looks at Liddell's family background (he was born in China to Scottish missionary parents), his personal motivation for becoming a missionary, his work as a teacher at the Anglo-Chinese College in Tianjin and his eventual imprisonment and premature death in a Japanese internment camp in 1945.

Material on display will include photographs, application papers submitted to the London Missionary Society and his annual reports and correspondence back to the mission directors in London, which reflect on his work and life in the context of the Japanese occupation of China in the lead-up to and during World War II.

It also includes letters and medical reports relating to his death at Weihsien Camp, and the impact this had on his family and colleagues.

A selection of the papers relating to Liddell has been digitized as part of a project to commemorate his achievements in the context of the London 2012 Olympics, which will start on July 28.

Date: July 13-Sept 22

Venue: Brunei Gallery, London

Website: www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/liddell

(China Daily 07/13/2012 page31)