George Neilson Patterson (born 19 August 1920 in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, died at

Auchlochan Auchlochan is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the River Nethan and is located near the villages of Birkwood, Braehead and Coalburn. The nearest town being Lesmahagow which is connected via New Trows Road. History From 1890 ...

Lesmahagow Lesmahagow ( ; sco, Lismahagie or ''Lesmahagae'', gd, Lios MoChuda) is a small town in the historic county of Lanarkshire on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a civil parish. It lies west o ...

, 28 December 2012) also known as Khampa Gyau (bearded

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

pa in

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

) and Patterson of Tibet, was a Scottish engineer and missionary who served as medical officer and diplomatic representative of the Tibetan resistance movement during the

Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China Tibet came under the control of People's Republic of China (PRC) after the Government of Tibet signed the Seventeen Point Agreement which the 14th Dalai Lama ratified on 24 October 1951, but later repudiated on the grounds that he rendered his ...

. He was married to the surgeon

Meg Patterson Margaret Angus Patterson MBE (9 November 1922 – 25 July 2002) was a Scottish surgeon and medical missionary in India and Hong Kong. She claimed to be able to treat drug addiction using electric shocks, something she called "neuro-electric the ...

Letter of Remembrance

The

International Campaign for Tibet The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) is a non-profit advocacy group working to promote democratic freedoms for Tibetans, ensure their human rights, and protect Tibetan culture and the environment. Founded in 1988, ICT is the world's larges ...

awarded him their

Light of Truth Award The Light of Truth Award is a human rights award which is presented nearly annually by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), an NGO aiming for the promotion of democracy and human rights for the Tibetan people. The award is presented since 1 ...

on 25 March 2011. In a letter presented with the award, a simple butter-lamp symbolizing the light the recipient has shed on the cause of Tibet, the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari said: "It is my honour to convey to you in writing the decision of the Board of the International Campaign for Tibet to award you the Light of Truth, the highest recognition in the Tibet world of service to Tibet. The Board of Directors, chaired by Mr. Richard Gere, took the unanimous decision with great enthusiasm and, on their behalf, I offer you heartfelt congratulations. It gives my added pleasure as a

pa to be the person to officially bring this news to you, Khampa Gyau bearded Khampa' the name by which His Holiness the Dalai Lama fondly and humorously called you."

Publications

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Joint publications

with Meg Patterson

* * * *

Contributor

* *

Documentaries

Advisor and scriptwriter

*1964: '' Raid into Tibet'' with

Adrian Cowell Adrian Cowell (2 February 1934 – 11 October 2011) was a British filmmaker, born in Tongshan or Tangshan, China. He was best known for producing documentaries about Chico Mendes and deforestation in the Amazon and the opium/heroin trade out of the ...

and

Chris Menges Chris Menges BSC, ASC (born 15 September 1940) is a British cinematographer and film director. He is a member of both the American and British Societies of Cinematographers. Life and career Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire, the son of ...

*1970 ''

Chasing the Dragon "Chasing the dragon" (CTD) (), or "foily" in Australian English, refers to inhaling the vapor from a heated solution of a powdered psychoactive drug on a sheet of aluminum foil. The moving vapor is chased after with a tube (often rolled foil) ...

'' *1980 ''

Synanon Synanon is a US-founded social organization created by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in 1958 in Santa Monica, California, United States. It is currently active in Germany. Originally established as a drug rehabilitation program, by the early ...

References

External links

Article, including photograph of George Patterson on his Tibetan horse
at ExplorersWeb.com 1920 births 2012 deaths People from Falkirk 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish Christian missionaries Tibet freedom activists Tibetan diplomats Scottish journalists Scottish explorers Explorers of Tibet Scottish travel writers Scottish autobiographers Christian medical missionaries Scottish engineers Scottish diplomats Scottish Plymouth Brethren BBC radio presenters Scottish Liberal Party politicians Scottish human rights activists Scottish radio presenters Scottish documentary filmmakers Scottish editors Scottish political writers Christian writers Tibet–United Kingdom relations Protestant missionaries in Tibet {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub