Career
Missionary work in Pakhoi
Hill was accepted into CMS in August 1893. [6] [11] After his marriage to Grabham, the couple was sent by CMS to the South China Mission in Pakhoi, China in 1895. [6] Hill worked at the local CMS mission hospital under the guidance of Edward George Horder and collaborated frequently with Rev. Edward Barnard Beauchamp. [3] [12] He worked extensively with the leprosy patients that lived in the colony attached to the hospital during his stay in the area. [3] [13] Hill divided his remaining time between overseeing the construction of new hospital buildings in Kotak, superintending the mission boys' school in Rev. Beauchamp's absence, and serving nearby villages with medical chest visits. [14] [15]
With his wife, Hill made it his mission to provide an "object in life" to his patients. [3] He was immensely involved in the religious affairs of the South China Mission, believing that preaching, rather than healing, was the primary goal of the hospital. [2] This belief motivated Hill to learn Chinese with the hopes of introducing scripture to the colony residents alongside Rev. Beauchamp. [16] Additionally, he often addressed local religious meetings to assist with monetary collections for the hospital and to spread the gospel. [14]
In the summer of 1899, Hill applied for a brief leave of absence, citing the deteriorating health of his wife and the need to recover from the physical strain of working 5 years at the undermanned mission hospital. [17] He left for London in February 1900 while unsure about continuing his service in Pakhoi due to the declining health of his mentor, Dr. Edward Horder. [17] Hill returned to Pakhoi in 1902 to continue all his previous work at the Mission Hospital, while also welcoming new staff to Pakhoi in the absence of both Horder and Beauchamp. [6] In 1903, Hill was joined by Rev. Charles Isaac Blanchett and Dr. Harry L. Cliff to serve the growing population of the leper colony. [18] [19]
During his time of missionary service, Hill was appointed Consular Medical Officer and Physician to the Imperial Maritime Customs Service by the European colony in Pakhoi, a position he held until his retirement from the South China Mission. [3]
Return to England and continued work with CMS
Hill left Pakhoi for a final time in April 1904 on another medical certificate and returned to his residence in London to recuperate from health issues. [6] Citing family reasons, Hill resigned from missionary work in July 1905. [20] By the time of his retirement, he had completed 10.5 years in service (with 3.5 years of absence). [3] Hill settled into private practice in London while maintaining participation in CMS as a Medical Board member. [8] As a Medical Board committee member, Hill oversaw the missionary work that was continuing at his former station in South China. [21]
Hill was appointed as a Physician to the CMS in 1911, and eventually as Honorable Physician in October 1922. [3] [4] As Physician to the CMS, Hill verified and reported the leaves of the missionaries he oversaw. [4] He was responsible for approving the transfers and returns of missionaries he deemed as too ill to continue service. [22]
Additionally, Hill was a medical examiner to the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Colonial and Continental Church Society. [4] During World War I, Hill served as a civil surgeon at the City of London Military Hospital. [3] He also served as an Honorary Anesthetist at Mildmay Memorial Hospital. [8]
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission partners during its 200-year history. The society has also given its name "CMS" to a number of daughter organisations around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, which have now become independent.
Medical missions in China by Protestant and Catholic physicians and surgeons of the 19th and early 20th centuries laid many foundations for modern medicine in China. Western medical missionaries established the first modern clinics and hospitals, provided the first training for nurses, and opened the first medical schools in China. Work was also done in opposition to the abuse of opium. Medical treatment and care came to many Chinese who were addicted, and eventually public and official opinion was influenced in favor of bringing an end to the destructive trade. By 1901, China was the most popular destination for medical missionaries. The 150 foreign physicians operated 128 hospitals and 245 dispensaries, treating 1.7 million patients. In 1894, male medical missionaries comprised 14 percent of all missionaries; women doctors were four percent. Modern medical education in China started in the early 20th century at hospitals run by international missionaries.
The Church Missionary Society in China was a branch organisation established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS), which was founded in Britain in 1799 under the name the Society for Missions to Africa and the East; as a mission society working with the Anglican Communion, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians around the world. In 1812, the organization was renamed the Church Missionary Society. The missions were financed by the CMS with the local organisation of a mission usually being under the oversight of the Bishop of the Anglican diocese in which the CMS mission operated.
Herbert Lankester was an English medical missionary. He led the Church Missionary Society (CMS) for thirty years. His research shifted the role of medical missionaries from agents of religion to agents of health care, leading to the twentieth century model of medical missionaries.
John Edward Church, commonly referred to as Joe Church, was a British missionary who served with Church Mission Society (CMS). Dr. Joe Church served primarily in Rwanda and Uganda. He left England in 1927 and served as a missionary for 44 years, alternating between medical and evangelistic missions. He is widely known for playing a key role in the East African Revival. Additionally he served as a doctor in Rwanda for over a decade and constructed hospitals and a church. He has been recognized for his work by governments in East Africa and Europe.
William Burns Thomson was a Scottish medical missionary born in Kirriemuir, Scotland to Christian parents. Thomson dedicated his life to the spread of the gospel and to medical missionary work. His work as part of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society(EMMS) transformed the organization from its focus on the slums of Scotland to an international missionary aid organization. During his time with EMMS, Dr. Thomson advocated for missionaries across the globe, including Dr. Kaloost Vartan of the Nazareth Hospital and Dr. William Jackson Elmslie in Kashmir. Dr. Thomson also served as a pioneer for medical missionary training by creating the original EMMS training school at the Cowgate dispensary. This led to more training schools being created in other parts of the world, like Bombay(now known as Mumbai) and Calcutta(now known as Kolkata), India.
Margaret Brown (1887–1978) was a Canadian nurse and author who worked in clinics in China, created schools for girls and women, taught Chinese nurses, built houses, did religious missionary work, and worked for the Christian Literature Society in Shanghai. She also founded The Women’s Star magazine.
Henry Graham served as a missionary to Sierra Leone, Africa with the Church Missionary Society from 1829 to 1832. Graham served as the first medical missionary within the Church Missionary Society, one of the largest organizers of mission trips at the time. As such, Graham was a trailblazer in the role and worked to find appropriate balance between medical and religious duties and values in missionary service.
Norman Cook was a British physician, medical missionary, and evangelist in Northern Nigeria from 1930 to 1933. As a member of the Hausa Band from Cambridge University, Cook was influential in the development of the hospitals and out-patient dispensaries in Zaria and Wusasa and was the leader in the building of the dispensary in Maska. His transfer of the leper colony in Zaria resulted the establishment of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Training Centre in Zaria, Nigeria in 1991. Cook’s missionary service was brief due to his unexpected death caused by septicaemia in the operating theater.
William Welton (1809–1858) was an English clergyman, physician, and surgeon. Born and raised in Wickham Market, Suffolk, England, Welton practiced as a surgeon for several years before shifting to study theology and become a medical missionary. He is credited with being the first Church Missionary Society doctor to go to China, as he went to Fuzhou, China from 1849 to 1856. He was one of two missionaries whose actions instigated the Shen-kuang-szu Incident in 1850-1.
Leonard E. S. Sharp was an English doctor and surgeon who served as a medical missionary in East Africa from 1914 to 1955. He worked in various regions across Uganda and modern-day Rwanda alongside his longtime professional partner and friend Algernon Stanley Smith. Together, the pair founded the Rwandan Mission and Sharp went on to establish a leper colony on Lake Bunyonyi. He received awards from the british queen Elizabeth II and the Royal African Society for his work.
Emmeline Stuart (1866–1946) was the first female doctor with an official medical degree to join the Church Missionary Society's Persia Mission. Working primarily in Julaf, Isfahan, and Shiraz, she is known primarily for spearheading the development and day-to-day operations of a prominent women's hospital and regional dispensary.
Edward George Horder was an English medical missionary to China notable for his work with leprosy patients. As a member of the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.), Horder spent 25 years in the city of Pakhoi–now Beihai–building and operating the first mission hospital in the Guangdong province. In addition to becoming the second-largest C.M.S. mission hospital in China, Horder's Pakhoi mission station was the first institution in the region to treat leprosy patients. Even after Horder's departure, the hospital remained a health center in Beihai and was the site of service for a generation of new missionaries. Although the leper wing closed in 1936, the hospital itself still survives as the Beihai People Hospital.
Baring Baring-Gould was a late 19th and early 20th century Anglican missionary who is known for his work in China and India overseeing and reporting on all sites. He began his missionary work in the UK working for the Church Mission Society (CMS) straight out of schooling. Traveling abroad for the first time in 1899, Baring-Gould was sent to oversee the progress of missions across the “Far East” and report his findings back to the CMS. Appointed as the CMS secretary of Far East and India missions, Baring-Gould's daughter, Edith Baring-Gould, accompanied her father on these missions and recorded their findings and opinions. Deeply rooted in the CMS organization, Baring-Gould was a key member to organizational and especially faith related aspects of mission projects.
Gaskoin Richard Morden Wright was an English surgeon and missionary who founded the St Luke’s Hospital of Nablus while he served with the Church Mission Society(CMS). St. Lukes Hospital remains the only charitable hospital in Nablus, Palestine as of 2022. Wright attended Surrey County School and St. Bartholomew's Teaching Hospital. He also published on the use of turpentine in gallstone disease. He was registered as a surgeon and physician in 1883. In 1890 he was accepted by the CMS working initially in Uganda. In October 1893, Wright went to Palestine, where he had his largest impact. Wright died in 1923 in Metheringham, Lincolnshire, England.
Niels Høegh Brønnum was a Danish missionary and physician who served in Northern Nigeria from 1913 to 1950. He is regarded as the founder of the Lutheran Church Christ in Nigeria, a novel Church in Nigeria that would eventually go on to have its councils run by Nigerian elected councilmen and pastors. Throughout his missionary career, he participated in the construction of the first medical facilities, hospital, biblical schools, secondary schools, and the incorporation of a Christian curriculum in the Adamawa Region. He took the position of Secretary to the Danish mission in 1922 where his influence continued to spread in Nigeria, and was eventually honored by many Nigerian Christian fellows. Brønnum's achievements include translating the Gospel of Mark into the traditional Bacama language and receiving Danish Knighthood in 1950 for 37 years of service to the mission. His evangelistic work was coupled with the medical skills and techniques that he brought to the natives of Northern Nigeria.
Francis John Harpur was an Irish Protestant, doctor, medical missionary, and minister for the Church Missionary Society. Harpur actively served for nearly 40 years through missions predominantly in Northeastern Africa. Harpur made several contributions with regard to accessibility, establishment, and administration of medicine in the form of dispensaries and hospitals. Harpur mainly headed a medical mission in Old Cairo but also initiated missions in Arabia, Sawakin, Omdurman, Khartoum, and along the Nile.
Elizabeth Mary Wells (1863–1918), also known as Elizabeth Hooper, was a Roman Catholic British physician and medical missionary. She worked for the Church Missionary Society in Equatorial East Africa, especially in Kahuhia and Jilore. In Kahuhia, she was instrumental in the long-lasting success of the hospital and served as the President at Kennaway Hall, leading the only training center for female missionaries at the timem as well as leading two branch dispensaries. While in Jilore and Kahuhia, she dealt with a variety of medical conditions, primarily rheumatic gout, dysentery, and pneumonia.
Constance Bryant was an English missionary who served for the Fukien Mission under the Church Missionary Society(CMS). Bryant worked for over thirty years in East Asia. Her work led to founding the Fukien Christian University in 1916 that merged with the Fujian Superior Normal School and the Hua Nan Women's College to form today's Fujian Normal University.
Beatrice Marian Smyth (1894-1965) was an American physician and missionary who was a member of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society (CEZMS). Smyth was in charge of the CEZMS mission in Rainawari, a locality in Srinagar City in Jammu & Kashmir State, India. She led the opening of the Elizabeth Newman Hospital in January 1937, and started a training school for nurses in Kashmir.
