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Dr. Geoffrey D. Lehmann

Dr. Geoffrey D. Lehmann (January 1904 – 21 April 1994) was a British Missionary Doctor in the Himalayas. Though little is known about his upbringing and educational background, Lehmann spent the majority of his life in India and the Himalayas. He spent the last 58 years of his life in his home in Herbertpur, where he practiced medicine and constructed the Herbertpur Christian Hospital. His practice emphasized the treatment of people regardless of race, caste, or wealth and the education of his Christian faith onto his patients. Much of his work also focused on the treatment of eye diseases and tuberculosis, the most frequent cases in the Himalayas. His contributions to the hospital led to the eventual management by the Emmanuel Hospital Association in 1973, which still runs the hospital to this day with Dr. Lehmann’s vision in mind.

Dr. Geoffrey Lehmann
Born	January 1905
Nationality	English
Citizenship	England, India, Himalayas

Early Life

Personal Life

Dr. Lehmann was born and raised in England in the early 1900s. He married Monica Allen, daughter of Henry Deacon Allan, in 1934. The wedding was held in Venice, Italy. Lehmann also had four children: Priscilla, Petronella, Donald, and Susanna. He also had four grandchildren from Donald and Susanna. Dr. Lehmann lived with his family in the Himalayas from 1934 to his death in 1994.

Education

Little is known regarding Dr. Lehmann's medical education today. However, during his time doing medical service in Uttar Pradesh at the Kachhwa Christian Hospital, he learned to speak the native language of Hindustani. There, he also developed skills in tropical medicine, which eventually lended him the foundation for providing medical care in his own hospital. Later, he furthered his education in Ophthalmology due to the high demand for eye care in his hospital.

Missionary Work

Journey

In 1934, upon his marriage to his wife Monica, Lehmann set out on his quest to practice medicine in India. He joined the Kachhwa Christian Hospital, located near Varanasi. Here is where he learned tropical medicine and Hindustani. With this newly gained knowledge and experience, it is said that Dr. Lehmann, along with his wife, prayed to God to lead them down a path where they could preach the Gospel and do medical mission work at the same time. After praying over a railway map, they decided to build a hospital in Herbertpur. This hospital would eventually become Herbertpur Christian Hospital. Initially, he began his service by simply opening medical clinics every morning on a tea planter’s veranda. Then, he bought a plot of land near the tea estates and began construction for "Lehmann Hospital."

Service (1934-1994)

Dr. Geoffrey Lehmann was the only doctor at the 120-bedded Herbertpur Christian Hospital for most of the 40 years that he served the people of the Himalayas. He mainly treated tuberculosis and eye diseases due to their high frequency. In addition to his certification in Ophthalmology, he ran his reputable Eye Camps, which drew people from up to 40 km away. Unfortunately, Lehmann had to take a hiatus from his work during World War II to serve in the Indian Army.

Along with his medical work, he also served on the Board of Governors at the Wynberg-Allen School for close to 37 years.

Lehmann's primary focus during his time serving the Himalayan people was to serve the poor and marginalized, and most importantly, to spread the Word of the Lord. He called himself a “missionary medic” rather than a “medical missionary.” He stressed the importance of preaching God’s word, which was made apparent by the verse etched in front of the hospital: "Preach the Kingdom of God and heal the sick."

Legacy

In 1973, the hospital was handed over to the Emmanuel Hospital Association as a research and training hospital. Today, the hospital is often called Lehmann Hospital. Herbertpur Christian Hospital continues to offer services in the specialties of pediatric surgery, pediatrics, orthopedics, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, dentistry, clinical psychology and counseling, physio and occupational therapy, as well as a program for children with special needs. They also developed a nursing school in 2013. Lehmann's parting wish was “that no patient be turned away because they cannot afford the treatment, and no patient should leave the hospital without hearing about God.”