BLUE PLAQUE FOR THE DEPORTED CHINESE SEAMEN AND THE CHILDREN AND WIVES LEFT BEHIND
A Blue Plaque With A Powerful Story
On Great George Square stands a simple blue plaque.
For many people it marks another historic building.
For Liverpool's Chinese community it marks one of the city's deepest wounds.
The plaque remembers the Chinese merchant seamen who were forcibly deported from Liverpool in 1946 and the wives and children they were forced to leave behind.
It transforms a forgotten building into a place of remembrance.
Liverpool's Chinese Community
Liverpool is home to Europe's oldest Chinese community.
Chinese seamen worked from Liverpool for generations, serving aboard merchant ships that supplied Britain throughout the Second World War. Many settled in the city, married local women and raised families. They became part of Liverpool's social fabric.
Few expected everything to change after the war ended.
The Deportations
In 1946 the British Government organised the removal of hundreds of Chinese seamen from Liverpool.
Police entered boarding houses across the city during the early hours. Men were arrested without warning and taken directly to Liverpool Docks before being placed aboard ships leaving Britain.
Many never saw their wives or children again.
Families often received no explanation.
Children grew up believing their fathers had abandoned them.
Only decades later did many learn the truth.
Great George Square
This plaque sits beside the former Chinese Boarding House at 19 Great George Square.
The boarding house belonged to Kwok Fong, a respected member of Liverpool's Chinese community who also owned the neighbouring Far East Restaurant.
Family accounts describe Kwok Fong and his son Tony watching police arrive before the men were escorted towards waiting ships on the River Mersey.
For many families this became the final goodbye.
Why The Plaque Matters
For decades this chapter of Liverpool's history remained largely unknown.
The plaque gives public recognition to those whose stories were overlooked.
It honours the courage of the seamen.
It recognises the wives who rebuilt their lives alone.
It remembers the children who spent years searching for answers.
Every visitor who stops to read it helps keep this history alive.
Preserving Community Memory
The Sound Agents have spent years recording oral histories throughout Liverpool's Chinese community.
Working alongside residents, descendants and community organisations, they continue to preserve photographs, documents and personal memories before they disappear.
Every interview strengthens the historical record.
Every photograph becomes evidence.
Every story matters.
Help Preserve Liverpool's Chinese Heritage
Do you have photographs, letters, documents or family stories connected to Liverpool's Chinese community?
The Sound Agents are building a living archive for future generations.
If you have memories or memorabilia that deserve to be preserved, we would love to hear from you.
Contact us at:
hello@thesoundagents.com
A city remembers through the stories it chooses to preserve.
This plaque stands for every family separated without warning, every child left searching for answers and every voice that refused to let this history disappear.
