Kidnapped British journalist's link to China's founding father

To viewers around the world, John Cantlie has become the unwilling voice of Islamic State, voicing the militant group's propaganda in a series of video released to the media.

The kidnapped British journalist was most recently seen in a video, purportedly filmed in the embattled Syrian town of Kobani, asserting that Islamic State fighters were defying US-led air strikes to close in on the town.

But what most television viewers - and probably the Islamist kidnappers - won't realise is that Cantlie's family has a long association with revolution. Indeed, his great-grandfather saved the life of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern China.

Sir James Cantlie was a doctor in Hong Kong who, in 1887, co-founded the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, later the University of Hong Kong.

Sun was one of its first students, qualifying with distinction as a doctor in 1892. He soon turned to revolutionary politics and, in October 1895, launched an uprising from Guangzhou against the Qing dynasty.

The authorities learned of the coup plot, a shipment of arms from Hong Kong never arrived, and most of the conspirators were arrested and executed. Sun, disguised as a woman, made it back to Hong Kong via Macau and went straight to Cantlie's home.