Source: Global Chinese Ministries Newsletter, December 2015
Eric Liddell, the British Olympic champion who later became a London Missionary Society (LMS) missionary, has been honored for his commitment to the Chinese people. In a rare gesture of respect and admiration, a statue of the Christian athlete has been erected in the northern city of Tianjin. It was unveiled in a ceremony attended by his daughters, as well as survivors of the Japanese internment camp where he was held during the Second World War.
The actor Joseph Fiennes has been cast as Liddell in an upcoming film. The film, called The Last Race, will focus on the latter half of Liddell’s life when he had left sports and moved to China as a missionary. It serves as a sequel to the well-known earlier film Chariots of Fire which depicted his gold medal race at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
Fiennes said: “It is one thing to preach the Bible, but it is another to actually live out your beliefs in an internment camp.”
» Read full story and its source. See also another story about the film, The Last Race (The Independent).
A reader writes:
“The statue is in Weifang, not where he labored — I was a P.O.W. with the China Inland mission school — I knew Eric Liddell. He died of a brain tumour when a P.O.W. You will find the statue and the memorial grave stone in a garden in the former camp—in Weihsien now called Weifang in Shandong province. I was invited to the celebration in August 2015 where his daughters were and where the statue is — please research for yourself — If you want more information I can send you plenty. A former Chefusian and a former P.O.W. of the Japanese for three to four years. Look up on the internet for Aug. 17, 2015 in Weifang, Shandong”
Indeed, a closer look at the story from “The Independent” makes the same distinction, stating that “A memorial stone in Isle of Mull granite stands in his honour near his grave in Weifang and a plaque marks the Tianjin address, 38 Chongqing Dao – formerly known as Cambridge Road – where he used to live.”
This suggests that the Christian Institute / GCM story we reprinted was incorrect on this point. Our apologies!