Eric Liddell - Early Life

Early Life

Eric Liddell, often called the "Flying Scotsman" after the record breaking locomotive, was born in Tianjin (Tientsin) in North China, the second son of the Rev. and Mrs. James Dunlop Liddell, who were Scottish missionaries with the London Missionary Society. Liddell was born in 1902 and went to school in China until the age of five. At the age of six, he and his brother Robert, eight years old, were enrolled in Eltham College, Mottingham, a boarding school in England for the sons of missionaries. Their parents and sister Jenny returned to China. During the boys' time at Eltham, their parents, sister and new brother Ernest came home on furlough two or three times and were able to be together as a family, mainly living in Edinburgh.

At Eltham, Liddell was an outstanding sportsman, being awarded the Blackheath Cup as the best athlete of his year, playing for the First XI and the First XV by the age of 15, later becoming captain of both the cricket and rugby union teams. His headmaster described him as being "entirely without vanity".

Liddell became well known for being the fastest runner in Scotland while at Oxford College. Newspapers carried stories of his feats at track meets, and many articles stated that he was a potential Olympic winner.

Liddell was chosen to speak for Glasgow Students' Evangelical Union because he was a strong Christian. The GSEU hoped that he would draw large crowds to hear the Gospel. The GSEU would send out a group of eight to ten men to an area where they would stay with the local population. It was Liddell's job to be the lead speaker and to evangelise the men of Scotland.