Editor’s note: Eric Liddell, a renowned Scottish athlete and devout Christian, is remembered for his victory in the 400-meter race at the 1924 Paris Olympics. At the height of his athletic career, Liddell became a missionary in China, where he dedicated his life to service and later died in a concentration camp. Both on and off the track, Liddell remains a symbol of courage and integrity both on and off the track.
Named after him, the Eric Liddell Community (ELC) is an Edinburgh-based charity supporting dementia care and preserving Liddell’s legacy. In an exclusive interview with China Christian Daily, ELC CEO John McMillan shares the organization’s mission, Eric’s lasting influence, and its partnerships with China.
China Christian Daily: Please introduce yourself and share more about the mission and work of ELC.
John McMillan: I have been the chief executive of the Eric Liddell Community (ELC) for the past eight years, a care and dementia specialist charity aid based in Edinburgh. We've got four main kinds of key objectives: supporting people living with dementia, supporting unpaid carers, helping to grow our community hub, and securing, developing, and celebrating the legacy of Eric Liddell.
We work closely with Eric’s eldest daughter, Patricia Liddell Russell, who has said to us that our care work for vulnerable people, who are living with dementia or are unpaid carers is part of her father’s legacy.
China Christian Daily: What are the key initiatives of The Eric Liddell 100, a program to celebrate the centenary of Eric Liddell’s historic success at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, and how do they reflect Christian values in action?
John McMillan: First of all, ELC is not a Christian charity, but we respect and remember Eric Liddell’s Christian values and his commitment to Christianity. We aim to bring the life he achieved to everyone and inspire younger generations to make a positive impact on their communities.
Passion, compassion, and integrity are three values central to our work. Passion is about enthusiasm, dedication, optimism, and self-belief; compassion is about humility, selfishness, respect, care for others, and being community-minded; and integrity is about discretion, loyalty, self-sacrifice, and being principled.
The Eric Liddell 100 focuses on three areas: education, culture, and sports. With the support of an Olympic silver medalist from the London Olympics in 2012, we’ve provided a whole range of educational resources over 17 subjects teachers can use to bring their students up to date with the story of Liddell. We also worked with the University of Edinburgh to develop a normal education resource for people of any age that tells his story, reflects on that, and makes it relevant within the 21st century.
We’ve also developed a series of high-quality exhibitions about Eric. The main exhibition was hosted at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in September, where his three Olympic medals and personal artifacts, some of which were never shown, were presented. A chemistry book by himself who hand wrote in the Weihsien Concentration Camp for the young children there to support their ongoing education was on public display for the first time. More than 33,000 people attended the exhibition which lasted over two months. We were invited to develop an exhibition for the World Indoor Athletics Championships, which took place in Glasgow this year. In June, we launched an exhibition with partners in Tianjin in China; and there was an additional exhibition launched in Hong Kong in July. In late August, we developed another exhibition with the Weihsien West Civilians Concentration Camp Site Museum, China, in our charity.
The last work about sports and physical activity is celebrating Eric’s athletic and rugby career. In this centenary year of 2024, we have developed a range of initiatives that encourage people around the world to remember and celebrate the “flying Scotsman.”
China Christian Daily: We understand that Her Royal Highness is the Patron of The Eric Liddell 100. Could you share with us how this came about?
John McMillan: Princess Anne, a former Olympian herself, was successful in the equestrian area. As the chancellor of one of our key partners, the University of Edinburgh, Her Royal Highness serves as a patron of a range of charities that do similar work to ourselves, particularly supporting carers and vulnerable people. We just felt that she was the perfect patron to help us with the Eric Liddell 100. We wrote to her private secretary with the information about our background and what we are doing, asking if she would consider our request. I was delighted when we got a phone call from her private secretary to confirm that after thorough consideration, she was happy to become a patron.
She’s also spoken at and attended events to support the Eric Liddell 100. At an important dinner last year where we had Scotland’s most successful track and field athletes, Eilidh Doyle, Her Royal Highness delivered an inspiring speech to her guests. She also attended the inaugural Eric Liddell Lecture, where our guests were amazed by what she said in terms of Eric’s influence on modern society. In a special Chrisitan service (aired on BBC’s Songs of Praise) to celebrate the centenary remembrance of Eric Liddell at the St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh on June 22, she came up from London and delivered one of the readings, along with Eric’s eldest daughter Patricia Liddell Russell. Musicians from the Salvation Army played Eric’s favorite hymn, “Be Still My Soul.”
China Christian Daily: As a committed Christian, Eric chose not to run the 100-meter and 4x100-meter races at the 1924 Paris Olympics, but signed up instead for the 200-meter and 400-meter races, then he broke the world record in the 400m. What legacy do you think his faith leaves to us? How do you envision Eric Liddell's legacy influencing future generations of Christians, particularly young people?
John McMillan: Eric Liddell was a principled, committed individual because he decided not to run in the 100m race on a Sunday, which he viewed as a day for God. But he came under pressure from the press and other organizations linked to the sporting world. If he believed that a particular course of action was the right thing to do, particularly linked to his devout Christian beliefs, nobody on this planet was going to change his views or alter his deep-rooted commitment. This is relevant today and the Eric Liddell 100 brings these values to the 21st century.
We’ve worked with many Christian denominations to develop further educational resources that can be used within a Christian setting. It can be used for young people who may be linked to a particular church. There are some notes and ideas about services and other engagement opportunities for young people and other ages in the “Faith Resources” section.
China Christian Daily: Share more details with the new exhibition “Eric Liddell and Weifang” which was held from late August to mid-September in Edinburgh.
John McMillan: It was an endeavor to bring the story of Eric Liddell to society to ensure that we don’t forget about him and his achievements, what he stood for, and how he chose to live his life. It told the history story, whether it was about his Christian commitment or his parents’ commitment as missionaries. The focus was more on what happened at Weihsien and his short life, reflecting the spirit of optimism. The story of other individuals in that camp was also told. Now the exhibition is finished, but we hope to keep in contact with the Weihsien Internment Camp Museum and the Chinese community in Scotland. There’s some possible interest in displaying that exhibition in other parts of Edinburgh and Scotland and we’ll see how that goes.
China Christian Daily: Are there any plans to bring the exhibition to China?
John McMillan: We don’t have any further plans, but we were absolutely delighted to walk with the Scottish and UK governments via the British embassy in Beijing. They were key partners that enabled the exhibition to be opened in Tianjin, where Eric was born and spent most of his life in China.
The Hong Kong authorities and particularly the expat Scottish business community in Hong Kong would highlight the key role of rugby. Robbie McRobbie, former chief executive of Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR), played a key role in launching the exhibition in Hong Kong (in June).
In Edinburgh, we worked closely with Biao Zhang, the Chinese Consulate General in Edinburgh, who understands the importance of partnership and collaboration with countries and cities. We remain open to further discussions with future and existing partners.
China Christian Daily: Just as Eric Liddell contributed to China through missions and education, how do you see Scotland and China collaborating today for mutual benefit?
John McMillan: As Eric and his family made a huge commitment to Scotland and China, it would be a great opportunity to continue those links. I met the Chinese ambassador to the U.K. in Scotland, who spoke about the importance of cultural links between Scotland and China. I mentioned Eric as being one of the strong links that exist between us in a positive way. When we look at some challenges we both face throughout society and the world, it’s important to hand on some of the important values that are still relevant 100 years on.
What’s more, education is one of the ways. There’s an organization called Scottish China Education Network (SCEN) in Scotland that encourages the teaching of Chinese in Scottish schools. There are about 100 schools in Scotland who are teaching Mandarin in the classroom. With Chinese links, there have been Scottish school children visiting Tianjin schools. We hope our educational resources will be utilized in Chinese schools. We also work closely with the Confucius Institute in Scotland. For example, our colleagues are developing a whole range of Chinese-based educational classes and activities for Scottish people to enjoy as part of the ELC program. It will be exciting if we can include learning about Eric. We would love to develop them further with Chinese citizens, too.
China Christian Daily: Some Chinese Christians have voluntarily created short films to honor Eric Liddell this year. Do you have any messages you would like to share with Christians in China?
John McMillan: The values of compassion, integrity, and passion are key messages for all members of society, including Christians. My message is what would Eric Liddell encourage us to do? He would encourage us to treat others as we would want to treat ourselves with respect, compassion, and integrity.
