A Visit After 126 Years | British Writer Mr. John Gimlette Donates Family Archives to PUMCH
CopyFrom: PUMCH UpdateTime: 2025.12.25
Recently, Mr. John Gimlette, a British writer and the great-grandson of the British missionary doctor Eliot Curwen who once worked at the Peking Hospital, visited Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) to trace his ancestor's footsteps. He donated precious family archives concerning the Peking Hospital and the Union Medical College. The hospital warmly received the fourth generation of the Curwen family visiting after 126 years, and presented a certificate of appreciation to Mr. John Gimlette.
△ Mr. John Gimlette’s narrative
John Gimlette recounted that his great-grandmother, Annie, was the first in the family to come to Beijing. After completing her nursing training in Liverpool, UK, she was sent to China in 1888 by the London Missionary Society. While returning to China by ship after a holiday back in England, she met the British London Missionary Society doctor Eliot Curwen. The two soon were engaged and married. From 1894 to 1899, Eliot Curwen and Annie Curwen worked together at the Peking Hospital and lived in Beijing. Their first child, Eliot Cecil Curwen, future grandfather to John Gimlette, was also born in Beijing.
△Peking Hospital staff, probably taken in 1896. In the back row, starting from the left, Eliot Curwen is fifth and Annie Curwen sixth.
John Gimlette expressed great interest in this period of his great-grandparents' lives. He has read the diaries, personal letters (totaling 160 pages), and old photographs from Eliot Curwen's time working and living in Beijing, preserved by his family. He explained that Eliot Curwen was the only doctor at the Peking Hospital at that time, responsible for all medical work for male patients, including surgery and dental treatment. Annie Curwen was responsible for all treatment for women. Eliot Curwen also trained a very capable Chinese assistant, Li xiao-quan. In May 1899, Eliot Curwen fell seriously ill and returned to England for recuperation. After that, the Boxer Rebellion happened and the Peking Hospital was completely destroyed. The Curwens decided not to return to Beijing and remained in England.
John Gimlette's special visit to PUMCH this time was assisted by Ms. Zhao Mei-yuan, a young faculty member at the University of International Business and Economics. John Gimlette donated three historical items to PUMCH. First, the annual report of the Peking Hospital written by Dr. Eliot Curwen in 1896. Second, letters from Li xiao-quan to the Curwens in 1900 and 1901, bearing the news of the Boxer Rebellion and Peking Hospital’s destruction. Third, historical photographs of the Peking Hospital and the Union Medical College.
△Dr. Thomas Cochrane (Second from the left) treating patients at the Peking Hospital, probably taken in 1901. The photograph was preserved by Dr. Eliot Curwen.
The successor of Eliot Curwen, Dr. Thomas Cochrane rebuilt Peking Hospital in 1901 and promoted the establishment of Union Medical College in 1906.
The Rockefeller Foundation took over Union Medical College and Peking Hospital in 1915. Drawing on ideas from American medical education reform, the founders committed to create a leading hospital in the Far East that is comparable to those of the best in the Western institutions. Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) was thus established in 1921.
Achieve reserved and provided by Gimlette / Savile family
Written by Fu Tan-ping
Edited by Chen Xiao
Video by Fu Tan-ping, Du Yu-fu, Ye Xiao-lin, Dong Jing-ge
Chief Editor Duan Wen-li
Supervised by Wu Pei-xin
