West China Missions Digital Repository
For your best experience with this site, visit the About This Site page for navigation tips!
Beginning in the late 1880s, a small stream of Canadian and American missionaries made their permanent home in Sichuan Province in West China. Inspired by Social Gospel theologians, their numbers had swelled to hundreds by the 1920s, then began dwindling during the 1930s and lessened further during WWII. The missionary presence in China finally ceased in 1951 when they were forced to leave under the Communist regime.
Although these missionary men and women left their homes and families to “evangelize the world in one generation,” from the start their mission embraced not only evangelism, but also education and medicine. Their teaching fine arts, humanities and sciences in middle schools and universities was motivated by the premises that Christianity formed the foundation of a universal democratic society, and that liberal arts and science education was the route to effective Christian leadership. Their social engineering experiment provides a unique opportunity to analyze processes of rapid social and cultural change in both East and West.
This site is dedicated to presenting resources by and about the West China missionaries, especially photographs and ephemera held in the families of their descendants, compiled and researched mainly by Cory Willmott, a "Mish Kid II" herself, and also an emerita professor of anthropology.
I welcome feedback about the site and its contents. Please email me at cwillmo@siue.edu if you have questions or comments about anything on the site, including but not limited to corrections of fact and identification of subjects in photos.
Sneak Peek
-
Looking Out the Window of a Douglas C-54 Skymaster
The circular window of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster frames a shot of the wing while in flight. -
Don Willmott in Douglas C-54 Skymaster Enroute to Calcutta
Don Willmott's face is blurred by the bright sunlight coming through the window of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster that is transporting him from Kunming to Calcutta. -
US Troops on Plane from Kunming at End of WWII
US troops inside the Douglas C-54 Skymaster that took them over "The Hump" from Kunming to Calcutta. The plane has a large domed roof and benches along the sides on which the men are seated. Some of them appear to be reading letters. -
Don Willmott Awaiting Transport at Kunming Airbase
Corporal Don Willmott waiting for the Douglas C-54 Skymaster to board for his flight to Calcutta with other US troops. -
Loading a Douglas C-47 Skytrain with Equipment
A Douglas C-47 Skytrain sits on the runway at R2S getting cargo loaded into it. In the foreground are the ox carts that have carried the equipment from the base. The plane has the numbers "3" and "315907" written on the tail. -
Douglas C-54 Skymaster Landing at the R2S Drill Field
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster arriving at the R2S Drill Field. An army vehicle is driving on the dirt road in the foreground. Some small buildings can be seen in the background. -
Douglas C-54 Skymaster on the Tarmac at R2S
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster sitting on the tarmac at the R2S Drill Field, seen from under the wing of another stationary airplane. -
Douglas C-47 Skytrain at Liangshan Airbase
A Douglas C-47 Skytrain sits on the runway at Liangshan Airbase. The plane has "Joanna" written in cursive script near the nose and "3" near the tail. A number starting with "8" is on the nose. -
Omar Walmsley Holding Model Hawker Fury Biplane
Omar Walmsley is holding a model Hawker Fury biplane next to a brick wall with ironwork at the top. -
Teenage Boys with Model Airplanes
From left to right: Don Willmott, Omar Walmsley and Bill Phelps behind a table with model airplanes they have built. -
Fokker F.VIIb/3m Plane Taking Off
A Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane is seen from behind as it takes off from the the Chengdu Fenghuangshan Airfield (成都凤凰山机场). -
Lufthansa Junker Ju 52 on Chengdu Airfield
A Lufthansa Junker Ju 52 on the Chengdu Fenghuangshan Airfield (成都凤凰山机场), which had been recently built 15 miles northwest of the WCUU campus.