'Inspired' Charles tracked down famed Liddell's grave

Published on Tuesday 1 December 2009 08:49

CHARLES Walker, a well-known Edinburgh engineer who discovered the unmarked grave of Olympic athlete Eric Liddell, has died, aged 65.

Born in Ayr on 31 May, 1944, Mr Walker attended Ayr Academy before going on to read civil engineering at Strathclyde University.

He joined the Edinburgh City engineers' department in 1968, but in 1977 he and wife Elizabeth moved to Hong Kong, after he was chosen to work for Maunsell Consultants Asia on the prestigious Sha Tin New Town project.

He was also selected to work on the structurally complex approach links to Hong Kong's new international airport and the construction of a container port in Malaysia.

Mr Walker had always been fascinated by the life of Eric Liddell, the Scots Olympic athlete and rugby player whose story featured in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire.

Liddell died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in 1945 after serving as a missionary in China for almost 20 years.

Mr Walker's investigation into Liddell's burial place involved months of research, as there was no record of his grave made following the end of the Second World War.

Eventually however, Mr Walker discovered a fellow internee at the camp, who had actually dug Liddell's grave and was able to mark its position on an old prison map.

A school had since been built on the site, but

in 1989, Mr Walker was finally able to pinpoint the grave where the body of Eric Liddell was buried, and he organised funds for an impressive two-metre-high granite stone cairn from the Isle of Mull, with a detailed inscription, to be transported to China and erected as a permanent memorial.

It was unveiled in 1991 and later that year Mr Walker helped to create the Eric Liddell Foundation, an international charity based in Hong Kong.

In 1997 Mr Walker returned to work in Scotland,

and also wrote the book A Legacy of Scots, detailing the lives of distinguished Scots.

In 2008 he was appointed a trustee of the Eric Liddell Centre in Morningside, which operates projects in the community for the elderly and those suffering from dementia.

Bob Rendall, who works at the centre, said: "Charles was a member of the centre for many years and was very supportive of our work. He brought insight and experience to property matters and was anxious that the centre should not only maintain its caring role locally, but should continue to be a source of information internationally about Eric Liddell, who was such an inspiration to him."

In 2006 Mr Walker was diagnosed with cancer, an illness he met with courage and good grace.

He is survived by his wife and four children.