By Norman Cliff
172 pages. £8.95
ISBN 1 0 9533295 1 8
Available from Dr Norman Cliff, Yantai, 4 Hall Terrace, Harold Wood, Essex RM1 3LP
The author's parents, Howard and Mary Cliff, served in China with the China Inland Mission from 1921 to 1942, and their son has used a range of material, including family papers, correspondence and articles written in China's Millions, to reconstruct their history.
But the story has wider implications, since the family roots go back to the Cliff family from the West country, which intermarried with the Broomhall and (Hudson) Taylor families, who were so significant in the last century. For example, Benjamin Broomhall not only served as the first Home Director of the China Inland Mission, but also played a prominent part in the anti-opium campaign in the 19th century. Source material is noted in general for each chapter, so the book is a useful reference tool for those researching the period.
