Broomhall was born in Chefoo (Yantai), China, the son of Benjamin Charles Broomhall and Marion Broomhall of the Baptist Missionary Society and grandson of Benjamin Broomhall. He was educated at the Chefoo School and in England at Monkton Combe, Bath, and at the London Hospital, where he received his medical training.
He joined the China Inland Mission (CIM) and sailed for China in 1938. In 1942 married Theodora Janet Churchill. They began pioneer work among the Nosu tribe in southwest China, but soon the Sino-Japanese War forced them to flee to India.
After the war they spent four more years among the Nosu doing medical and evangelistic work. In 1951 they and their four daughters were expelled from China by the Communists after several months of house arrest.
Broomhall then explored the possibility of the CIM doing medical work in Thailand, which led to the founding of three hospitals. He also pioneered for 11 years among the Mangyan people on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, mastering the Tagalog language and laying the foundation for a strong church. In 1988 he paid a return visit to Nosuland and met the grandchildren of early converts.
Attribution
This article is reprinted from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Macmillan Reference USA, copyright (c) 1998 Gerald H. Anderson, by permission of The Gale Group; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. All rights reserved.
Sources
Anthony James Broomhall, Strong Tower (1947), Strong Man's Prey (1953), Fields for Reaping (1953), Time for Action (1956), and his seven volume magnum opus, Hudson Taylor and China's Open Century (1989). Obituaries in Fast Asia Millions, October-December 1994, pp.87, 88, and in Overseas Missionary Fellowship's Pray for China Fellowship, September 1994, pp. 1, 2.
About the Author
Retired Minister, United Reformed Church, Essex, England
