NEW EXTENDED EDITION WITH FOREWORD BY MICHAEL WOOD, HISTORIAN & BROADCASTER - The discovery of a cache of family letters written between 1859 and 1937 has made it possible to compile a remarkable history. In Days of Sorrow, Times of Joy, Fran Clemmow tells the story of her Scottish grandfather, Dr Thomas Gillison, who went out to China as a medical missionary in 1882 under the auspices of the London Missionary Society. The letters give a fascinating reflection of the social history of the time and, in some instances, provide first-hand accounts of historical events such as the commencement of the Chinese Revolution of 1911 and an account of a major battle of the Boer War.
Thomas Gillison married Dr Bessie Harris - one of the first generation of women doctors. They brought up their family of six children (two of whom died young) while working in the Mission Hospital in Hankow and, such was their commitment to and love for the Chinese people, that they devoted ninety-eight years of service to them. "This family story is interwoven with the grand picture of modern Chinese history with dramatic first had insights into the sufferings of the Chinese people between the late 19th century and the Second World War. There are graphic glimpses of the civil conflicts and rural risings in the twenties, and then the Japanese occupation in the thirties - the 'perfect storm' which gave rise to the communist revolution. The family lived through all of this, experiencing it close up: the killings in the streets, the looting and burning of their own Hankow, when China was forced to 'drink deep of the cup of suffering' as US journalist Theodore H White wrote." Michael Wood, Historian & Broadcaster "Readers of this impressive and enjoyable book will surely long remember the vivid scenes in which one family's commitment enabled its members to play a part in events that have helped to shape our world" Professor Anthony Bradley