Harry Thomas Silcock (1882 – 1969), also known as Henry Thomas Silcock, was an English missionary of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and an academic administrator who served as vice‑president of the West China Union University in Chengdu, Sichuan, during its early years.
Early life and education
Born in Bath, Somerset, England, in 1882, Silcock attended Bath College and Fettes College before matriculating at Oriel College, Oxford. His education prepared him for a career in religious service and cross‑cultural engagement.
Missionary work in China
In 1908 Silcock traveled to China under the auspices of the Friends' Foreign Mission Association (FFMA). He married Margaret Standing in Chengdu the following year, and the couple eventually had five children. Silcock became a member of the Temporary Board of Management of the newly founded West China Union University (WCUU), working alongside figures such as Joseph Beech and H. T. Hodgkin. He began his tenure at the university in 1911 and was appointed vice‑president, a role in which he helped shape the institution’s academic and administrative structures.
Academic and administrative career
After returning to England in 1919, Silcock served as secretary of the FFMA until 1932, when he became secretary of the Universities' China Committee in London. He remained active in Quaker and China‑related societies, including the China Society. In 1938 he returned to China, contributing to the establishment of a Friends Centre in Shanghai in 1939. Throughout the 1940s and early 1950s, Silcock undertook extensive travel on behalf of the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), later receiving an honorary membership in 1961.
Later life and death
Silcock continued his involvement with Quaker missionary and educational activities until his death in 1969 at the age of 86–87.
Published works
Silcock authored several religious and missionary texts, including:
- Studies in the Personality of Christ (1912, co‑authored with M. Silcock)
- Christ and the World's Unrest (1927)
- “Are Missions Mischievous?” (1927, article in Foreign Affairs: A Journal of International Understanding)
Legacy
Silcock is remembered for his contributions to Quaker missionary work, his leadership at the West China Union University, and his writings on Christian theology and missionary ethics. His career exemplifies early twentieth‑century intercultural religious engagement between Britain and China.