Ernest Black Struthers (1886-1977) was a physician, researcher, educator, father, and Canadian medical missionary who worked in the Far East. Specifically, he accomplished most of his work in the Alice Memorial Hospital in Hong Kong, Cheeloo University in Jinan, China, and Severance Union Medical College in Seoul, Korea. Additionally, he is known for his contributions to the treatment of kala-azar, including his published chapter in Cecil’s Textbook of Medicine. He is described as a remarkable man, and a kind, outgoing, and endearing intellectual.
Early life and education
Ernest Black Struthers was born in Ontario, Canada to Mary Kerr and Robert G. Struthers. Specifically, he was born on Rose Street in the town of Galt. Although the Ontario Register states that he was born on May 28, 1886, his birthday was recorded as April 28, 1886, in his family's Bible. He was given the middle name Black after his great-grandfather Robert Black. His father owned a hardware store, and they were a religious family. Struthers was exposed to missionaries at a young age, since his family would often host them at their home. Robert Gordon Struthers, also a medical missionary, was his younger brother by two years. During his first year in college, Ernest Struthers decided to live his life in accordance with the principles of Christianity. Struthers obtained a B.A in 1910 from the University of Toronto and a M.B (Bachelor of Medicine) in June 1912. After graduating, Struthers made prints for his father’s business, “The Galt Electric and Gas Fixture Company,” and decided to go to England in 1912,
Personal life
Struthers became engaged to Margaret Walks on October 5, 1915, and they married on May 10, 1916. Their first child, Gilchrist Struthers, was born on April 11, 1917, and their second child, David Struthers, was born February 22, 1922. Mary Struthers, their third child, was born June 6, 1926. Margaret died December 3, 1948. Struthers married Elda Daniels on July 20, 1957 in England. Altogether, he had 12 grandchildren.
Missionary work
Work in Hong Kong
In England in 1912, Struthers was accepted into the China Customs Service in Fuzhou. However family friends who he was staying with in London, the Merrys, disapproved of this because the China Customs Service was not “missionary” work. Ultimately, he changed his plans and traveled to Hong Kong under the London Missionary Society to replace Dr. Mitchell, due to Mitchell's illness, for a year and a half. Struthers arrived in Hong Kong February 20, 1913, and began working at the Alice Memorial Hospital. He lived with H.R. Wells. Along with a Dr Gibson, performed many unique operations, including a man with the congenital deformity of harelip and a boy with a tapering stone. He was responsible for the post-operative care and the eye ward. In September 1913, while still working at the Alice Memorial Hospital, Struthers also became the Warden of Morrison Hall, which was a hostel at the University of Hong Kong sponsored by the London Missionary Society. He oversaw students' activities and was responsible for the accounts. After his 18 month appointment in Hong Kong had ended, Struthers decided to leave for home and join the Canadian Presbyterian Board in September 1914 due to his lack of knowledge of Cantonese. However, in Welhei, he was convinced to stay and learn the language, and by 1915, he was working at the Henan province as part of a Canadian mission.
Work in the First World War
In 1916, Struthers received a message from the British Minister in Peking to the Presbyterian Mission asking for missionaries who knew the Chinese language to serve in France. Struthers volunteered and was a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He arrived in Noyelles-sur-mer, France, in July and started by running a gonorrhea and syphilis ward, helping at a hut with patients in serious condition, and monitoring the sanitation of a hospital. He also ran a hospital for the Chinese Labor Corps, and he worked in the Noyelles-sur-Mer hospital’s convalescent camp in the Crecy Forest as part of the Canada Army Medical Corps. In the summer of 1918, he worked 24 hours days at a shelter in Seignville.
After the war, he completed five weeks of postgraduate study in New York.