Daughter of ‘Flying Scotsman’ Eric Liddell accepts Scotland rugby cap in his honour
● Reissued cap of sports legend presented at fundraising gala
He was the athlete dubbed The Flying Scotsman who stood by his religious principles at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell refused to run the 100m because the race fell on a Sunday – but then went on to win gold in the 400m.
His prowess on the athletics track has meant Liddell’s achievements as a rugby player are often overlooked. The winger won seven caps for Scotland, with the first of those coming at Colombes in Paris – the same stadium where he raced to Olympic gold.
But last night one of Liddell’s daughters, Patricia Russell, accepted a re-issued cap from Scottish Rugby in her father’s honour at the Eric Liddell Centre’s inaugural Going for Gold fundraising gala and auction in Edinburgh. The centre specialises in care for the elderly and dementia services.
When officials at the Scottish Rugby Union heard one of Liddell’s caps had been lost over the decades, they decided to replicate it and return it to his family. The gift received the blessing of the current Scotland management, led by head coach Gregor Townsend.
Ms Russell, the eldest of Liddell’s three daughters, who travelled from her home in Canada for the ceremony, said: “We were so touched when John Macmillan, [chief executive officer of the Eric Liddell centre] called saying the rugby people were giving this cap. It is an extraordinary honour.”
Speaking about Liddell ahead of the gala, she revealed how her father – who died in an internment camp in China in 1945 when she was aged ten had tried to instil his principles into his children.
She said: “I remember he was lots of fun, but quite strict with us. We were in a race and I had to run and hand him a handkerchief and then he would run. I didn’t want to hand it over and he said, ‘If you’re going to do something, you do it well.’
“We didn’t have many years with him. But we spent the summer of 1940 in Scotland and I’ve always felt like Scotland is my home.”
Liddell, who was born in China to Scottish missionary parents, graduated from Edinburgh University after the Paris Olympics and returned to China as a missionary. In 1943 he was interned in a Japanese camp after the invasion of China and died there in 1945.
The Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire in 1981 portrayed the drama of Liddell’s Olympic gold medal win.
Mr Macmillan said: “Eric was an amazing sportsman. He was an outstanding rugby player, and international athlete, so we are delighted to see his cap return to his family.
“With Patricia’s support we are very keen to get Eric Liddell into the wider psyche. When I speak to schools, I tell them he was the 1920s version of Usain Bolt, and that grabs their attention.”
Ian Rankin, a past president of the SRU and chairman of its charity, the Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation, said: “Eric Liddell is part of our rugby family and his achieve– ments on both rugby field and track were truly inspiring.
“There is huge symbolism around a cap. It means as much today as it did 95 years ago when Eric made his first appearance for Scotland.”
Speakers at the event, held at the Sheraton Grand, were award-winning author Alexander Mccall Smith, CBE, and Scottish Rugby’s pointsrecord holder Chris Paterson MBE.
“Eric Liddell is part of our rugby family and his achievements on both rugby field and track were truly inspiring” IAN RANKIN