Wellington College International Tianjin: The Eric Liddel Service Project

Thanks to the generous support of our benefactor and governor, David Mallinson (OW), the Eric Liddel service project was born. Liddell was a Scottish missionary and teacher who was born in Tianjin and spent much of his life in the city, although in Britain he is best known for his sporting prowess. He was a Scottish rugby international as well as winner of the 400m at the Paris Olympics of 1924, a feat recreated in the Oscar-winning film, Chariots of Fire. His work in supporting the people of Tianjin was the inspiration for the service project, and we have chosen the image of the Tianjin eye, as well as a reference to that famous film, as our logo for the project team.

As Angelina, one of our pupil organisers commented, “Eric Liddell devoted half of his life to missionary and charity work in China. We learned about the work that he has done for the children in China and we are inspired by his warm characteristics and altruistic spirit. Liddell gave us the determination to help, as well as inspire, the less-privileged children in our local area.”

The project will run as an annual school activity. For its inaugural year, the pupils leading the project have chosen to organise a sporting and activity-based day for pupils at a local school for disabled children – PeiZhi.

The team also collected 400kg of warm clothing for Tibetan minority children in Gansu.