Leopold George Hill

Leopold George Hill (16 December 1866 - October 1922) was an English medical missionary who worked as a member of the Church Mission Society (CMS) treating leprosy patients in Pakhoi (now known as Beihai), China. Hill was motivated to join missionary work by his religious upbringing and intended to treat his patients to not only recover physically but also gain a sense of religious purpose. After retiring from missionary service, Hill continued his contributions to CMS through administrative work as a Physician to the Society. He acquired his license of practice from the Royal College of Surgeons of England (MRCS) and the Royal College of Physicians of London (LRCP). Hill began working at the London Hospital as a receiving casualty room officer and house surgeon in 1888. They traveled together for their work in South China until Hill's eventual retirement.

Career

Missionary work in Pakhoi Hill was accepted into CMS in August 1893. After his marriage to Grabham, the couple was sent by CMS to the South China Mission in Pakhoi, China in 1895. He worked extensively with the leprosy patients that lived in the colony attached to the hospital during his stay in the area. Hill divided his remaining time between overseeing the construction of new hospital buildings in Kotak, superintending the mission boys' school in Rev. Beauchamp's absence, and serving nearby villages with medical chest visits.

With his wife, Hill made it his mission to provide an "object in life" to his patients. Additionally, he often addressed local religious meetings to assist with monetary collections for the hospital and to spread the gospel. He left for London in February 1900 while unsure about continuing his service in Pakhoi due to the declining health of his mentor, Dr. Edward Horder.

During his time of missionary service, Hill was appointed Consular Medical Officer and Physician to the Imperial Maritime Customs Service by the European colony in Pakhoi, a position he held until his retirement from the South China Mission. By the time of his retirement, he had completed 10.5 years in service (with 3.5 years of absence).

Hill was appointed as a Physician to the CMS in 1911, and eventually as Honorable Physician in October 1922. He was responsible for approving the transfers and returns of missionaries he deemed as too ill to continue service.

Additionally, Hill was a medical examiner to the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Colonial and Continental Church Society.

Death Hill died on 26 October 1922 at his home residence in Stoke Newington. In addition to using religion to alleviate the lives of his patient, Hill was also one of the earliest pioneers in the use of limb amputation as a treatment for leprosy-induced nerve damage.

Along with more common cases of leprosy, cholera, and smallpox, Hill treated some of the first spirillum-infected patients in South China. Hill additionally published literature on lip chancres caused by the oral-transmission of congenital syphilis.