Tillson Harrison
Encyclopedia
Tillson Lever Harrison was a Canadian physician, army officer and adventurer. Moving to New York and enlisting in the United States Army at an early age, he later returned to Canada to attend the University of Toronto before practising as a physician in a number of dangerous positions, such as the Chief of Medical Staff to Pancho Villa
and the doctor for the Chinese Labour Corps
, a workforce of over 200,000 men. After World War I, he traveled throughout the Middle East, treating venereal disease
and operating an X-ray
facility in Lod, Israel
.
After attempting to elope with one of his Middle East hospital patients, Harrison was deported to Canada, but managed to jump ship in Morocco and join the Free State Army
. In the 1930s, he traveled through 15 countries and dependencies performing medical duties, and served as a ship's doctor on a liner that crossed the Indian Ocean during World War II . From 1946 until his death, he assisted in the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
(UNRRA) in China, saving many lives.
By the end of his life, Harrison could speak six languages, had participated in seven wars, and was married to four women at the same time. His daughter Rosalind said that the character Indiana Jones
was based on him. According to Rosalind, film producers George Lucas
and Steven Spielberg
contacted her after her father's death and conducted a series of interviews, during which she provided an account of his life.
, a town named for his great-grandfather George. His grandfather, Edwin Delevan Tillson, was the builder of what is now the Annandale National Historic Site
. As a child, Harrison was considered a troublemaker. On one occasion he locked his grandmother in her bedroom and on another became a local newspaper sensation after his attempt to travel to Cuba was discovered. In 1894, he was enrolled at the Upper Canada College
in Toronto
, but left the next year. At the age of 14, he ran away to join the 22nd Oxford Rifles militia, headquartered in Oxford County
, but was returned home when it was discovered that he was underage. Soon after, he moved to New York
to join the United States Army Engineers and serve as part of the peacekeeping force in the Philippines after the defeat of Spain in 1898, and for a brief period to help put down the Boxer Rebellion
in China. Mostly involved in the running of labor gangs building supply roads to remote areas, Harrison was involved in only one firefight. However, when his maternal grandfather, Edwin "E.D." Tillson (whose company evolved into Quaker Oats
), discovered what the 20-year-old was doing, he used his connections to influence General Adna Chaffee
into issuing a general order for the recall of Harrison from the field. While serving with the US Army, Harrison contracted cholera
and returned to Canada. Using the inheritance he had received from his recently deceased grandfather, Harrison began attending the University of Toronto
medical school before marrying Sybil Wilkin, a lawyer's daughter, in 1905.
After his graduation from medical school in 1907, Harrison gained employment with the Hudson's Bay Company
and began treating the Cree
community of Alberta
and acting as the local postmaster. Soon after, Harrison again moved his family to Washington, Idaho
and finally Drewsey, Oregon
, where he became a doctor, pharmacist, mayor, developer and rancher. In 1909, Harrison fathered a daughter, Rosalind, with his wife Sybil. In 1912, the Journal of the American Medical Association
published an article written by Harrison, titled "Cesarean Section Under Difficulties", which documented a caesarean section
he performed in a remote ranch-house lit by an oil lamp. Because of his restless nature, Harrison left his family in Oregon and traveled to London in 1913 to undergo postgraduate work in gynecology and obstetrics
. When World War I
began in 1914, Harrison assisted in the war effort in Belgium
. While there, he met a Turkish woman named Eva, and married her without divorcing his first wife. In 1915, Harrison and his new wife traveled to El Paso, Texas
, to settle down.
. In one situation, Harrison was captured by Villa's foe Venustiano Carranza
, later the President of Mexico
. The doctor was sentenced to death, but when Carranza became ill, Harrison was spared as he was the only qualified physician available. Harrison kept the general in a state of near-recovery, enabling him to escape and deliver military information to US forces stationed along the border.
After a brief stay among the Mormon
community of southern Utah
, Harrison enlisted in the Canadian Army
Medical Corps in 1917 and was stationed at a French hospital, where he tended to the needs of the Chinese Labour Corps. Quickly learning the language and customs of this group of some 200,000 men, Harrison successfully treated many bilharzia
, catarrh
and tuberculosis
cases, significantly reducing the number of sick members of the Corps during the winter of 1917–18.
, Harrison traveled the Middle East
performing medical duties such as treating prostitutes afflicted with venereal disease
in Constantinople
and operating an X-ray
facility in Lod, Israel
. Although still not legally divorced from his first two wives, Harrison married a Maltese
woman at Alexandria
in 1920. However, the newlyweds could not find escape from the adventure that had followed Harrison all his life. Harrison and his new wife's train was ambushed by a band of Syria
ns disillusioned with a group of politicians. The quick thinking of the recently thrice-married physician prevented his new wife's broken leg from developing into gangrene
.
Still in charge of the Constantinople hospital, he attempted to elope with one of his patients, but was captured and tried for breach of conduct, as the female patient was in fact the wife of a Turkish
officer. While being deported to Canada, Harrison escaped while his ship was docked in Morocco
. Making his way to Ireland
, Harrison posed as a Catholic and joined the Free State Army
. After he was discovered, he quickly crossed to Wales to treat the coal miners there for silicosis
. In 1923 Harrison married his fourth wife, Eva Olwen Bowen in Cardiff
, still without divorcing his three previous wives, and set off with her on an adventure in the Caribbean
. It is thought that Harrison deserted her sometime in the mid-1920s. During the 1930s Harrison worked in 15 countries and dependencies across Latin America and the Middle East. For one year, he served as the physician for a guerrilla army fighting the Japanese, who were then engaged in the Second Sino-Japanese War
with China. After 1938, Harrison traveled to Shanghai
using borrowed funds from a medical school classmate in Jamaica
and from his own brother in Ontario
, and set up a private medical practice, assisting the Chinese Red Cross
wherever possible.
(UNRRA), but had to falsify his records by subtracting seven years off his age to qualify for service. During this time, he served in China delivering much-needed supplies to a country devastated by the long Second Sino-Japanese War and once even saved the lives of 90 students by sheltering them from a Kuomintang
officer. By donning an American army
officer's uniform, Harrison was able to convince the Kuomintang officer to not check a barge which held the students hidden inside.
On December 4, 1946, Harrison set out from Shanghai
with approximately 50 tonne
s of supplies. On this train journey, he was to be accompanied by a Russian UNRRA worker and Chinese welfare representatives. Due to repeated Kuomintang
inspections, the train journey constantly suffered from delays. The first such delay occurred at Nanjing
and lasted four days; the second such delay, at Xuzhou
, was of equal duration. At one station, the medical supplies were unhooked from the train's engine car and left on a bleak plain. The two UNRRA workers did not have clean water to drink and were forced to boil ditch water which was polluted with human waste. To add to the dire situation, Harrison's blanket and shoes were stolen, and due to the cold, he began to suffer from frostbite. Two weeks after Harrison left Shanghai, his train was permitted to move again, but there were problems still ahead. At each one of the 20 stations en route to Kaifeng
, the train was delayed for up to three hours. Upon arrival at Kaifeng, the journey had to be completed by truck and ox cart. After completing one delivery, he returned to Kaifeng to pick up a second load, but could not continue past the Zhangqiu
branch of the receiving hospital. Harrison died of exposure
on January 10, 1947, near Kaifeng
in China, aged 66.
By the end of his life, Tillson Harrison could speak no less than six different languages, had participated in seven wars and, although this was not discovered for several years after his death, was married to four women at the same time.
While he is virtually unknown in Canada, Harrison is widely honored in China. A statue in his likeness stands tall in Shanghai
, his burial site at an Anglican compound in Kaifeng is home to the Dr. Tillson Harrison Memorial School, and the Harrison International Peace Hospital in Hengshui
treats approximately 800 outpatients every day. The town of Tillsonburg, Ontario (named for Harrison's great-grandfather) maintains a lasting relationship with the hospital, which was renamed as such from the previous name of Handan International Peace Hospital in 1947. In 1988, the Prime Minister of Canada
, Brian Mulroney
, sent a commemorative letter to the Chinese ambassador to mark the centenary of his birth. However, at that time, it was not made clear that Harrison had falsified his age when enlisting in the UNRRA, and the celebrations took place seven years after the actual centenary. The same year, Harrison's remains were re-interred in a large tomb in a public ceremony, which many Canadians were invited to attend.
According to Harrison's daughter, Rosalind, several decades after her father's death, film producers George Lucas
and Stephen Spielberg
contacted her, and in a series of interviews, Rosalind provided an account of her father's illustrious life. This, she claims, became the inspiration for the highly successful Indiana Jones
film series. In recent times, Harrison was the subject of a five-part CBC Radio
Morningside
dramatization of his life, written by Antanas Sileika
.
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
and the doctor for the Chinese Labour Corps
Chinese Labour Corps
The Chinese Labour Corps was a force of workers recruited by the British government in World War I to support the troops by performing support work and manual labor.-History:...
, a workforce of over 200,000 men. After World War I, he traveled throughout the Middle East, treating venereal disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
and operating an X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
facility in Lod, Israel
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
.
After attempting to elope with one of his Middle East hospital patients, Harrison was deported to Canada, but managed to jump ship in Morocco and join the Free State Army
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
. In the 1930s, he traveled through 15 countries and dependencies performing medical duties, and served as a ship's doctor on a liner that crossed the Indian Ocean during World War II . From 1946 until his death, he assisted in the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
(UNRRA) in China, saving many lives.
By the end of his life, Harrison could speak six languages, had participated in seven wars, and was married to four women at the same time. His daughter Rosalind said that the character Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
was based on him. According to Rosalind, film producers George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
and Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
contacted her after her father's death and conducted a series of interviews, during which she provided an account of his life.
Early life
Harrison was born on January 7, 1881, in Tillsonburg, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, a town named for his great-grandfather George. His grandfather, Edwin Delevan Tillson, was the builder of what is now the Annandale National Historic Site
Annandale National Historic Site
Annandale National Historic Site is a National Historic Site of Canada located in Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1883 by Edwin Delevan Tillson and his wife Mary Ann as part of Mr...
. As a child, Harrison was considered a troublemaker. On one occasion he locked his grandmother in her bedroom and on another became a local newspaper sensation after his attempt to travel to Cuba was discovered. In 1894, he was enrolled at the Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College , located in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an independent elementary and secondary school for boys between Senior Kindergarten and Grade Twelve, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The secondary school segment is divided into ten houses; eight are...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, but left the next year. At the age of 14, he ran away to join the 22nd Oxford Rifles militia, headquartered in Oxford County
Oxford County, Ontario
Oxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...
, but was returned home when it was discovered that he was underage. Soon after, he moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to join the United States Army Engineers and serve as part of the peacekeeping force in the Philippines after the defeat of Spain in 1898, and for a brief period to help put down the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
in China. Mostly involved in the running of labor gangs building supply roads to remote areas, Harrison was involved in only one firefight. However, when his maternal grandfather, Edwin "E.D." Tillson (whose company evolved into Quaker Oats
Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by Pepsico since 2001.-History:Quaker Oats was founded in 1901 by the merger of four oat mills:...
), discovered what the 20-year-old was doing, he used his connections to influence General Adna Chaffee
Adna Chaffee
Adna Romanza Chaffee was a General in the United States Army. Chaffee took part in the American Civil War and Indian Wars, played a key role in the Spanish-American War, and was instrumental in crushing the Boxer Rebellion in China...
into issuing a general order for the recall of Harrison from the field. While serving with the US Army, Harrison contracted cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and returned to Canada. Using the inheritance he had received from his recently deceased grandfather, Harrison began attending the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
medical school before marrying Sybil Wilkin, a lawyer's daughter, in 1905.
After his graduation from medical school in 1907, Harrison gained employment with the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
and began treating the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
community of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and acting as the local postmaster. Soon after, Harrison again moved his family to Washington, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and finally Drewsey, Oregon
Drewsey, Oregon
Drewsey is an unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon, United States. Before White settlement, the area was a favorite camping spot for the Paiute tribe of Native Americans. It is located on the middle fork of the Malheur River, about 45 miles east of Burns, off U.S...
, where he became a doctor, pharmacist, mayor, developer and rancher. In 1909, Harrison fathered a daughter, Rosalind, with his wife Sybil. In 1912, the Journal of the American Medical Association
Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association is a weekly, peer-reviewed, medical journal, published by the American Medical Association. Beginning in July 2011, the editor in chief will be Howard C. Bauchner, vice chairman of pediatrics at Boston University’s School of Medicine, replacing ...
published an article written by Harrison, titled "Cesarean Section Under Difficulties", which documented a caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
he performed in a remote ranch-house lit by an oil lamp. Because of his restless nature, Harrison left his family in Oregon and traveled to London in 1913 to undergo postgraduate work in gynecology and obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
. When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began in 1914, Harrison assisted in the war effort in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. While there, he met a Turkish woman named Eva, and married her without divorcing his first wife. In 1915, Harrison and his new wife traveled to El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, to settle down.
North American conflict and World War I
Shortly after arriving in Texas, Harrison took the dangerous job of Chief of Medical Staff to Mexican revolutionary general Pancho VillaPancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
. In one situation, Harrison was captured by Villa's foe Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
, later the President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
. The doctor was sentenced to death, but when Carranza became ill, Harrison was spared as he was the only qualified physician available. Harrison kept the general in a state of near-recovery, enabling him to escape and deliver military information to US forces stationed along the border.
After a brief stay among the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
community of southern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Harrison enlisted in the Canadian Army
Canadian Forces Land Force Command
The Canadian Army , previously called Land Force Command, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. The current size of the Army is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers...
Medical Corps in 1917 and was stationed at a French hospital, where he tended to the needs of the Chinese Labour Corps. Quickly learning the language and customs of this group of some 200,000 men, Harrison successfully treated many bilharzia
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...
, catarrh
Catarrh
Catarrh is a disorder of inflammation of the mucous membranes in one of the airways or cavities of the body. It can result in a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling of the mucous membranes in the head in response to an infection...
and tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
cases, significantly reducing the number of sick members of the Corps during the winter of 1917–18.
Interwar period
After World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Harrison traveled the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
performing medical duties such as treating prostitutes afflicted with venereal disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and operating an X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
facility in Lod, Israel
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
. Although still not legally divorced from his first two wives, Harrison married a Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
woman at Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in 1920. However, the newlyweds could not find escape from the adventure that had followed Harrison all his life. Harrison and his new wife's train was ambushed by a band of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
ns disillusioned with a group of politicians. The quick thinking of the recently thrice-married physician prevented his new wife's broken leg from developing into gangrene
Gangrene
Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
.
Still in charge of the Constantinople hospital, he attempted to elope with one of his patients, but was captured and tried for breach of conduct, as the female patient was in fact the wife of a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
officer. While being deported to Canada, Harrison escaped while his ship was docked in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Making his way to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Harrison posed as a Catholic and joined the Free State Army
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
. After he was discovered, he quickly crossed to Wales to treat the coal miners there for silicosis
Silicosis
Silicosis, also known as Potter's rot, is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in forms of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs...
. In 1923 Harrison married his fourth wife, Eva Olwen Bowen in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, still without divorcing his three previous wives, and set off with her on an adventure in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. It is thought that Harrison deserted her sometime in the mid-1920s. During the 1930s Harrison worked in 15 countries and dependencies across Latin America and the Middle East. For one year, he served as the physician for a guerrilla army fighting the Japanese, who were then engaged in the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
with China. After 1938, Harrison traveled to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
using borrowed funds from a medical school classmate in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and from his own brother in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and set up a private medical practice, assisting the Chinese Red Cross
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
wherever possible.
World War II and beyond
Between 1941 and 1946, Harrison was the ship's doctor on board the Demodocus, a steam liner ferrying supplies to Allied forces across the Indian Ocean. After the war, Harrison wanted to assist the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation AdministrationUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
(UNRRA), but had to falsify his records by subtracting seven years off his age to qualify for service. During this time, he served in China delivering much-needed supplies to a country devastated by the long Second Sino-Japanese War and once even saved the lives of 90 students by sheltering them from a Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
officer. By donning an American army
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
officer's uniform, Harrison was able to convince the Kuomintang officer to not check a barge which held the students hidden inside.
On December 4, 1946, Harrison set out from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
with approximately 50 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of supplies. On this train journey, he was to be accompanied by a Russian UNRRA worker and Chinese welfare representatives. Due to repeated Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
inspections, the train journey constantly suffered from delays. The first such delay occurred at Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
and lasted four days; the second such delay, at Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
, was of equal duration. At one station, the medical supplies were unhooked from the train's engine car and left on a bleak plain. The two UNRRA workers did not have clean water to drink and were forced to boil ditch water which was polluted with human waste. To add to the dire situation, Harrison's blanket and shoes were stolen, and due to the cold, he began to suffer from frostbite. Two weeks after Harrison left Shanghai, his train was permitted to move again, but there were problems still ahead. At each one of the 20 stations en route to Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
, the train was delayed for up to three hours. Upon arrival at Kaifeng, the journey had to be completed by truck and ox cart. After completing one delivery, he returned to Kaifeng to pick up a second load, but could not continue past the Zhangqiu
Zhangqiu
Zhangqiu City - History :Originally called Zhangqiu County with Mingshui as its capital, Zhangqiu City was established in August 1992. Located in central Shandong province, Zhangqiu is 50 kilometers to the east of Jinan, the capital of Shandong province. It is 120 kilometers north from Mount Tai...
branch of the receiving hospital. Harrison died of exposure
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
on January 10, 1947, near Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
in China, aged 66.
By the end of his life, Tillson Harrison could speak no less than six different languages, had participated in seven wars and, although this was not discovered for several years after his death, was married to four women at the same time.
While he is virtually unknown in Canada, Harrison is widely honored in China. A statue in his likeness stands tall in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, his burial site at an Anglican compound in Kaifeng is home to the Dr. Tillson Harrison Memorial School, and the Harrison International Peace Hospital in Hengshui
Hengshui
Hengshui is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, China. It has an urban population of 460,240 in the built up area and a population of 4,340,373 at the 2010 census in its administrative area...
treats approximately 800 outpatients every day. The town of Tillsonburg, Ontario (named for Harrison's great-grandfather) maintains a lasting relationship with the hospital, which was renamed as such from the previous name of Handan International Peace Hospital in 1947. In 1988, the Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
, sent a commemorative letter to the Chinese ambassador to mark the centenary of his birth. However, at that time, it was not made clear that Harrison had falsified his age when enlisting in the UNRRA, and the celebrations took place seven years after the actual centenary. The same year, Harrison's remains were re-interred in a large tomb in a public ceremony, which many Canadians were invited to attend.
According to Harrison's daughter, Rosalind, several decades after her father's death, film producers George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
and Stephen Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
contacted her, and in a series of interviews, Rosalind provided an account of her father's illustrious life. This, she claims, became the inspiration for the highly successful Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
film series. In recent times, Harrison was the subject of a five-part CBC Radio
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
Morningside
Morningside (radio program)
Morningside was a nationally broadcast Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio from September 20, 1976 to May 30, 1997. It was broadcast from 9AM to 12 Noon, Monday to Friday...
dramatization of his life, written by Antanas Sileika
Antanas Sileika
Antanas Sileika is a Canadian novelist and critic.He was born in Weston, Ontario - the son of Lithuanian-born parents.After completing an English degree at the University of Toronto, he moved to Paris for two years and there married his wife, Snaige Sileika , an art student at the Ecole des...
.