Chinese Community

CHINESE COMMUNITY

The Chinese people in Liverpool can be traced back to the early part of the 1800's, with the majority arriving towards the end of that century. Many of the Chinese Seamen came to Liverpool to work for the Alfred Holt and Company ( Blue Funnel Line ) who had established the first commercial shipping line that focused on the then China trade . Most were young Cantonese men from south China, though some came from Shanghai.

The men stayed in boarding houses near to the docks in the area of Cleveland Square, Pitt Street and Frederick Street. It allowed them to stay in touch with others of their own culture and language while they were on shore leave. Sadly at times some of the boarding house landlords, often Chinese settlers themselves, would exploit their fellow countrymen with huge rent charges.

Towards the end of the century a few of the Chinese began to set up businesses that would cater for the Countrymen sailors working for Holt's and the other shipping firms. Pitt Street was the home of one of the very first Chinese shops in Liverpool. Many seamen settled in the city and set up home with local women though a lot never actually married as it meant the woman could lose her British citizenship.

WORLD WAR ONE

China sent some 140,000 labourers to France and Belgium, and the mud and barbed wire of the Western Front. They dug trenches, carried ammunition, toiled in docks and railway yards or worked in arms factories.

Nearly 100,000 Chinese labourers served in Flanders, together with a few hundred Chinese students who had volunteered as interpreters. Mainly they served back behind the lines, but sometimes they would find themselves in the thick of the action, as when their locations were overrun by the sudden enemy advances in March 1918.Over 40,000 more Chinese were scattered across France, working in the factories, farms, and in the dock yards. They were volunteers, mostly poor farmers from coastal provinces like Shandong and Hebei, and some from Liaoning, Jilin, Jiangsu, Hunan, Anhui and Gansu. Attracted by high pay ( four times more than a labourer back in China ) They were told that they would be kept safely away from the fighting. when the contracts were drawn up, the administrators of the scheme genuinely believed that the Chinese would be safe from the fighting. They were neutrals until China declared war on Germany in 1917, then they were paid as volunteers in a civilian Chinese Labour Corps. As with other civilian corps, they endured military discipline and served under British and Canadian officers.

Home to the Chinese was in camps set up behind the front lines, often as far back as 10 miles. Those closer to the front lines could suffer from enemy shelling, while those in camps close to channel ports faced aerial bombing. Many died during the war as well as after it. Over 2000 Chinese are buried in cemeteries in Belgium and northern France. Eight members of the Chinese Labour Corps are buried at Efford Cemetery, Plymouth, six at Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Folkstone and five at Anfield cemetery, Liverpool.

Of the five men from the Chinese Labour Corps who are buried in Anfield cemetery, three are pictured below. The photographs have kindly been supplied by Yvonne and Charles Foley.

The graves of the three men of the Chinese Labour Corps. The grave at the front of this photograph is that of Liu Feng Hsiang (N°131474) It is believed that he came from the Shandong province in China. He died at Belmont Auxiliary Hospital, of gastritis.

The grave of KUO Te Hsiang (N°134274) It is also believed that he came from the Shandong province in China. He died at Belmont Road Hospital, of rheumatic fever.

The grave of FAN Ch‘uan Sheng (N° 70062) No date of death or Chinese characters adorn the headstone. He died 25 January 1918, aged 30, at the 1st Western General Hospital in Fazakerley, of diarrhoea.

The graves of SUN Chen Sheng, (N° 34559) Who died 3 September 1917, at Belmont Road Hospital, of dysentery and syncope, aged 22. and KUO Ch‘ing Shan, (N° 7473.) who died 6 June 1917, at Port Sanitary Hospital, of pulmonary tuberculosis, aged 26. Are also located within Anfield cemetery.

All five men were taken ill aboard ship on the way to England (or just after landing) before being transferred to France, and died after hospitalisation in Liverpool.

http://www.cwgc.org/admin/files/cwgc_clc.pdf CWGC leaflet about the Chinese Labour Corps

Lest we Forget

THE BLITZ AND WORLD WAR TWO

The Chinatown area of Liverpool was hit very heavily during the WW2 Blitz with large loss of life with many of the victimes coming from the Chinese community. The areas of Pitt Street, Cleveland Square and Great George's Square suffered terrible bombing during the raids.

Searching the civilian blitz death records I can only find a few Chinese victims listed. However I know the total is much higher, so why are they not listed? If we look at the deaths of all people within these areas then it becomes clear that many victims were Merchant Seamen from many nations, Belgian, Dutch, Scandanavian as well as chinese. It is probable to assume therfore that many Chinese Seamen died in the bombings but were not identified.

Many of the Chinese Seamen who came to Britain had to take and pass a English language test to gain entry, however those from Hong Kong were admitted without this test. So for most of the men coming here the easy option was to tell the authorities that they were from Hong Kong, and in some cases they would use a false name. It got them in to work on the shipping lines, so it was a great idea. What it also did was make it almost impossible for us today to trace who they were and find where they came from. Sadly it also means that some of these men will be Blitz victims who will remain unidentified.

The May blitz of 1941 was relentless and the authorities would have been under pressure to deal with those killed to prevent disease spreading. On 13th May 1941, 550 victims of the May Blitz, many of them unidentified, are buried together in a communal grave at Anfield Cemetery. We can not tell if any of these people were Chinese, but we can accept in all probability that many of them would have been. What we can do is remember them and all the Merseyside Chinese who suffered in one way or another during these trying times.

Below I have listed the Chinese victims that I have managed to locate. I welcome any input or help from anyone, and I hope that this webpage can grow as a tribute to them.

FOO CHAN
died 03/05/1941, aged 52.
Seaman; of 18 Hardy Street. Husband of Ma Kiu, Tar Maleng, Taiping
Tung, Kwangtung, China. Died at Greenland, Gt. George Square.

JULIA CHEW
died 20/12/1940, aged 27.
of 270 Great Howard Street. Daughter of John and Magdalen Green, of 25
Orrell Street, Parr, St. Helen's, wife of Joseph William Chew (H.M.
Forces). Died at Bentinck Street Shelter.

MICHAEL CHEW
died 20/12/1940, aged 20 Months.
of 270 Great Howard Street. Son of Joseph William Chew (H.M. Forces),
and of Julia Chew. Died at Bentinck Street Shelter.

HARRY CHONG
died 03/05/1941, aged 62.
Seaman, Merchant Service; of 8 Handel Street, Lodge Lane. Died at 58
Pitt Street.

LUEN FOOK
died 05/05/1941, aged 42.
Seaman, Merchant Navy; of 18 Hardy Street. Died at Greenland, George
Square.

MARY ANN KARANTINE
died 03/05/1941, aged 56.
of 32 Upper Pitt Street. Widow of G. N. Karantine. Died at 20 Greetham
Street.

PEW MOK
died 07/05/1941, aged 29.
of 18 Hardy Street. Died at 18 Hardy Street.

RONALD LUNG PO
died 07/05/1941, aged 21.
(otherwise LEW). Died at 18 Hardy Street.

AH SING
died 03/05/1941, aged 66.
of 58 Pitt Street. Son of the late Cow Sing; husband of Mary Louisa
Sing. Died at 58 Pitt Street.

MARY LOUISA SING
died 03/05/1941, aged 60.
of 58 Pitt Street. Daughter of the late James E. Curphey; wife of Ah
Sing. Died at 58 Pitt Street.

TAM SING
died 05/05/1941, aged 45.
(otherwise SIN, WA), of 18 Hardy Street. Died at 5 Great George Square.

KEUNG TSANG
died 07/05/1941, aged 22.
of 18 Hardy Street. Husband of Ying Chan, of 256 Keelung Street, 2nd F.
L. Yaumati, Hong Kong. Died at Hardy Street.

KI TSANG
died 05/05/1941, aged 29.
of 8 Pitt Street. Died at Great George Square.

MAUD LUM WONG
died 03/05/1941, aged 46.
of 20 Greetham Street. Wife of R. Wong. Died at 20 Greetham Street.

TIN WONG
died 02/09/1940, aged 47.
Husband of Choi Wong, of 493 Prescot Road, Old Swan. Injured 31 August
1940, at Cleveland Square Shelter; died at Smithdown Road Hospital.

EVA YEN
died 03/05/1941, aged 45.
Wife of Tung Yen, of 49 Pitt Street. Died at 58 Pitt Street.

LAI YUNG
died 07/05/1941, aged 39.
of 18 Hardy Street. Died at Hardy Street.

Jonquil Keen has provided the following information. My grandad sadly passed away early this year and didn't like to talk about his childhood, I have since discovered that he was born in Greetham Street Liverpool in 1923 and his father was a ships cook from the blue funnel line, his name was Chang Sing Keen. I obtained a copy of of Chang's marriage certificate and have discovered that my great grandmothers sister Mary Louisa Sing was one of their witnesses, she is on your list of those killed in the blitz.

I am quite overwhelmed with this as my grandad told me that when he was serving in the war he was sent for to come and identify 26 members of his family, including his mother. I also understand he went to China as a boy and was shown how to prepare and cook snake and crispy duck, he was also a master of martial arts and could break planks of wood and bricks with his hand (something of a party trick I remember at Christmas and party's when I was little).

Stone left upon the WW2 Blackstock Gardens bombing memorial on Vauxhall Road, Liverpool

Pitt Street fell victim to the enemy bombs on the night of 3rd May 1941. St Michael's church was hit and destroyed. Reports state that many died in the attack, with up to 30 people alone being killed when number 14 Pitt Street took a direct hit.

Numbers 12 and 14 Pitt Street in the 1930's. The Vine Hotel and grocer store at number 12 run by Kwong Shang Lung and number 14 next door that took a direct hit during the bombing raid

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

The devastation. St Michael's church after the May 1941 bombings

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

WARTIME LIFE IN A CHINESE LAUNDRY

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/79/a3904779.shtml

A very interesting story from the BBC WW2 People's War Website about living through the war in a Chinese Laundry in Birkenhead.

RONALD SOO

Ronald was born in 1920 in Liverpool. His father was a Chinese seaman named Our Quong Soo (can also be transliterated as Ah Kwong Soo) his mother was English and called Beatrice Whittam. They had married in Chorlton, Manchester in 1908. It is believed that Ronald's father was later the Chinese Charge d’ Affaires in Liverpool.

Ronald's siblings were Norman, Hong Y " Frank ", Phyllis, Jack, Harold and Kenneth. By 1920 the family was living in the West Derby area of Liverpool, they later moved to the Litherland area.

Ronald joined the RAF with the service number 1052600. He trained as a Mid Upper Gunner and rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant. He spent time with the 75 Sqd at Feltwell before going over to the 166 Sqd.

On 14th January 1944 as part of 166 Sqd Ronald boarded the Lancaster III EE137 AS-C2 at the airfield in Kirmington, Lincolnshire. They took off at 16.29 hours for a bombing mission at Brunswick, Germany. Events went wrong and the plane Crashed into woods 5 km south west of Stockse near Wienberg-Weser. Sadly Ronald lost his life in the crash, aged 23.

The crew consisted of the following members. W/O. W V. Butler ( Killed ) Sgt. R E W. Cheeseman ( Killed ) F/S. J W. Thomas ( pow ) Sgt. J. Holden ( pow ) Sgt. F C. Collins ( killed ) Sgt. R. Soo ( Killed ) Sgt. J M. Preston RCAF ( Killed )

Details from- ' Bomber Command Losses' Vol.5 - W R. Chorley

Graves of 5 of the crew. Left to Right, Cheeseman, Preston, Butler, Collins, Soo. Hanover War Cemetery, Germany.

Photo Courtesy of the RAF 166 Squadron website http://home.cogeco.ca/~dswallow4/index.htm

The Brunswick raid 14/15 January 1944

496 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes on the first major raid to Brunswick of the war. 38 Lancasters lost, 7.6 per cent of the force. The German running commentary was heard following the progress of the bomber force from a position only 40 miles from the English coast and many German fighters entered the bomber stream soon after the German frontier was crossed near Bremen. The German fighters scored steadily until the Dutch coast was crossed on the return flight. 11 of the lost aircraft were Pathfinders. Brunswick was smaller than Bomber Command's usual targets and this raid was not a success. The city report describes this only as a 'light' raid, with bombs in the south of the city which had only 10 houses destroyed and 14 people killed. Most of the attack fell either in the countryside or in Wolfenbüttel and other small towns and villages well to the south of Brunswick.

'The Bomber Command War Diaries' - M. Middlebrook / C. Everitt

Ronald Soo pictured in flight gear

Photo Courtesy of the 75 Squadron, RAF Feltwell website, supplied by Audrey Bayley.

Captioned; V-Victor of No.75 Squadron at RAF Feltwell. Captioned “My plane & I. From Ron” Ronnie Soo (John Sandys crew)

Photo Courtesy of the 75 Squadron, RAF Feltwell website, supplied by Audrey Bayley.

RAF Feltwell website http://www.feltwell.net/raffeltwell/75sq_index.htm

A photo of the RAF Feltwell Football team. Ronald Soo holding the trophy. Names; Back Row: L-R Flt Sgt “Spud Murphy”, Petrol Bowser Driver, Lofty Hall (stores), Ernie Brook, Terry (Engine Fitter), Unknown, Alan “Abdul” Budds (Instrument Section), Referee. Front Row: L-R Unknown, Unknown, Ronnie Soo, Eric Cole, Unknown

Photo Courtesy of the 75 Squadron, RAF Feltwell website, supplied by Ken Flavell.

Ronald's brother Hong Y "Frank" ( known as Frank ) was a very good Footballer. The photo of Ronald above shows that he also had a passion for football. Frank was born Derbyshire in 1914 and brought up in Liverpool. He played for Prescot Cables, Stoke City, Leicester City, Luton Town and non-league Chelmsford City. He is famous for being the first non-white person ever to play for the English national team (albeit in semi-official matches only) and the only person of East Asian descent to date.

He also guest appeared for Everton, Chelsea, Reading, Millwall and Brentford. As well as going into management after his playing career was over. He passed away in 1991.

Frank Soo

Many thanks to the members of the World War 2 Talk forum for their help with information about Ronald Soo. Without them this story would not have been possible for me to create here. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/

SEAMEN

It just had to happen! Liverpool with its thriving and bustling sea port and the many Chinese seamen looking for work, they just had to come together. When the Alfred Holt and Company, Blue Funnel Line operated a shipping line as a trade link between Britain and China the deal was set. Many Chinese came to Liverpool to work the line and as the years passed some settled within the city, married local girls and set up business premises. Other notable employers of the Chinese seamen were the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum and Ben Line companies.

Chinese seamen enjoying refreshments at a Gordon Smith Institute mobile canteen

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

Up to 20,000 Chinese seamen worked out of Liverpool during WW2, helping to supply the country and the troops abroad, bravely taking to the seas that were full of danger due to enemy submarines, warships and planes. They played a vital role in helping Britain and her allies to victory.

None of their efforts however where reflected in their pay, which at the start of WW2 amounted to roughly one third of their British counterparts. Compensation paid to relatives when a Chinese seamen lost his life was also on the same scale. Unions brought in strikes to try and increase the pay to a more fair amount and to improve conditions for the men, some of whom were experiencing racism and violence.

In October 1940, 12 Chinese firemen appeared before a Liverpool Magistrate charged with refusing to obey the commands of a ships officer. They were accused of mutiny and attacking the 3rd and 4th officer with weapons before the ships master had to restore order with a pistol. The men denied the charges against them. 3 men were found not guily, 6 bound over and 3 recieved a prison sentence of 14 days.

The disbutes continued as the unions attempts to get a fair deal for the men failed. The strikes were then ended by force with men being jailed and threatened with deportation. Of course all this did was cause a grievance and sense of injustice among the seamen and a distrust on both sides. The Chinese seamen were regarded by the Government, shipowners and the ship's officers as constant trouble makers.

In 1942 Japan invaded Hong Kong and took over Singapore and Shanghai, thus ending the British threat to deport striking seamen. A pay deal was then offered along with a compensation bonus, although it still fell short of the British pay. It was not the end of the matter however and with the Chinese Seamen now UK based and under no threat of deportation they had a stronger hand to play with.

A Union meeting in Liverpool was broken up by police, fights broke out that lead to several Chinese seamen being imprisoned, tensions flared once again on both sides. In September 1940 the ' Empress of Scotland ' was docked in Liverpool when the police were called to arrest 12 members of the Chinese crew who had refused to carry out orders in protest of pay. The court in Liverpool reported events in a very unfair and dramatised way. " A riotous scene on board ship, Chinese crew of over 400 armed with axes, daggers, swords, mallets and other weapons attacked a handful of police officers "

The whole crew were described as making a cowardly attack on just 9 police officers, using anything they could find as a weapon. The riotous events left policemen seriously wounded on deck while the wild mob hacked their way through the chartroom door to realese the men being held. Order was later restored and 421 Chinese seamen were taken into custody. The newspapers also reported events in a one sided light when in fact the dispute had been over the non payment of the war risk bonus that had been agreed. 24 men were jailed for 3 months, 15 for one month and 368 men were fined £10

As the war came to its close the shipping lines were keen to rid themselves of the Chinese workers. Pay was slashed making it impossible for them to survive. Then the British government gave the shocking deportation orders for Chinese seamen, the very same men who had helped the British cause during the war were now thanked by being thrown out of the country. Those men who were married to British Girls were under no obligation to leave, though this was never made clear. They were refused work so were unable to feed their familes, given false information and threats, and generally intimidated, shoved, nudged and pushed from the country. Families were left behind, some never knowing what happened, some assuming that their Husband/Father had simply just ' done a runner ' It would take many years for some to learn the truth of this shocking event.

I can not do this story the justice it deserves. I would advise readers to follow the link below and read Yvonne Foley's Half and Half website that covers this story in detail.

http://www.halfandhalf.org.uk/index.htm Half and Half Website

The memorial plaque at the Pier Head in Liverpool. Remembering the Merchant Seamen who gave their lives during WW2, those forced into deportationand their wives and children.

CHINATOWN

Liverpool is home to one of the oldest Chinese communities in Britain or Europe, with its roots appearing around the Frederick Street, Pitt Street and Cleveland Square areas. After the first world war Dickenson Street, Kent Street, Greetham Street and Cornwallis Street became a regular home to the Chinese. Pitt Street itself by this time had no fewer than 14 eating places, including 5 restaurants. Kwong Shang Lung had his grocers at 12 Pitt Street. It specialised in Chinese food and was one of the first shops to be established within the area.

The area was not just home to the Chinese community, it also housed Jewish, Dutch, Scandanavian, West Indian, Belgian, African, Russian, Indian and many other settlers. Seamen from around were attracted here when on leave. It may not have been the most affluent of places, but it thrived and bustled. Sadly just as with the Irish and Italian communities to the north of the city, Chinatown was looked upon by some with distaste.

The Liverpool city council drew up plans in the 1930's to demolish most of the Chinatown and replace it with more modern buildings and tenement blocks. Their plans were helped along by the WW2 Blitz which destroyed a large part of the area.

                                                                      Barrage balloon in Pitt Street 1939

                                                            Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

51-53 Pitt Street 1929

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

Pitt Street 1930

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

Pitt Street 1930's

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

   Number 3 Pitt Street in 1935

                             Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

These three articles from the Liverpool Post and Mercury show a shocking media attitude towards the Liverpool Chinese community. The information comes from the Chinese Diaspora website at http://gregorylee.pagesperso-orange.fr/lee_diaspora.htm

POST AND MERCURY, April 19, 1934 "Chinatown"

I am told that many residents in Pitt-street and Frederick-street are becoming increasingly resentful of that particular area being dubbed "Chinatown". My informant, a Liverpool alderman, says that there has been a considerable reduction in recent years in the number of Chinese nationals resident in and around Pitt-street, which he attributes to the depressed state of shipping. And the fact that the Corporation has been responsible for some attractive housing developments in Pitt-street has accentuated still further the inaptness of the term "Chinatown" as locally applied.

POST AND MERCURY, April 25, 1934 "Chinatown"

There can be no doubt that Liverpool to-day, as a Liverpool alderman suggests, has no longer a Chinatown. The nickname will continue to stick, I dare say, to the region of Pitt-street and Frederick-street, but nowadays there is nothing discreditable in it. As "Chinatown" it is known to sailors all over the world; and when shipping revives, if Chinese seamen come here again, they will probably flock there again whenever in Liverpool. At the end of the war over 6,000 Chinese lived in Liverpool;; but shipping depression has changed all that . The University survey three years ago showed that Liverpool had only about 500 adult Chinese males and there had been considerable inter-marriage with white women. Many out of work have been deported, and the present small Chinese community is sprinkled all over the city, chiefly as laundry keepers.

POST AND MERCURY, November 19, 1934 "Chinatown Doomed"

Plans have been provisionally approved for the rebuilding of Chinatown , and indeed of the whole area on each side of Pitt-street and Upper Pitt-street. A block of flats erected in Pitt-street some years ago and the two churches of St. Michael and St. Vincent de Paul --the latter designed by the famous Pugin -- will remain; but otherwise the entire district will be demolished, replanned and rebuilt in harmony with the new block of flats fronting St. James-street. Upper Frederick-street will disappear and Pitt -street will be widened to sixty feet, while both Cleveland-square and Kent-square, dating from the time of Queen Anne, are doomed. The much dwindled Chinese colony will have to find a new home.

Old run down property on the corner of Park Lane and Greetham Street, Liverpool 1902

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

After WW2 and the destruction of their areas by the Blitz and the City council the Chinese community began to settle in the areas of Nelson Street, Upper Parliament Street, Duke Street, Great George Street and Berry Street. Today the Liverpool Chinatown still centres around this area. Some moved into the new tenements of Pitt Street, Kent Street and Upper Frederick Street, thus keeping going the Chinese tradition within these areas.

Above Duke Street with corner of Slater Street 1939. Heaton Tabb and Company Decorators building can be seen. The photo below shows a Policeman ( With tin helmet ) outside the same building. Again taken in 1939, probably on the same day.

Photo's Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

With the community firmly established and growing a number of projects came about including a Chinese Language School ( 1939 ) Chinese Bank ( 1944 ) Chinese Newspaper called ' Chung Hua Chow Pao ' ( 1944 ) Chinese Seamen's Welfare Centre ( 1947 ) later followed by a Liverpool Chinese Gospel Mission in 1956 and a Chinese Seamen's Club in 1961 along with other community projects.

Buses at Cleveland Square 1956 and below a public toilet in Cleveland Square in 1907

Photo's Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

Some of the older buildings in Cleveland Square 2008

Cornwallis Street and Upper Pitt Street 1930. Taken from St Michael's church

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

Looking South East along Upper Pitt Street 1968

Photo Courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

Upper Pitt Street showing the same blocks as the 1968 photo above

Upper Pitt Street turning into Hardy Street

Georgian Buildings on Nelson Street 2008

The Chinese Ceremonial Archway. Unveiled in 2000, made in Shanghai and shipped to Liverpool piece by piece before being erected by craftsmen from China. Standing 15 meters in height it is one of the largest archways outside of China. Its vivid colours and 200 dragons make it a magnificent sight to see. Built to commemorate the twinning of Shanghai and Liverpool the structure has become a popular tourist attraction within the city.

Looking up Nelson Street towards The Ceremonial Arch 2008

WITH THANKS

I would like to thank Yvonne and Charles Foley, Wing W Wong, and Ged Fagan for their help with this project. Also Colin Wilkinson, Georgie from Yo Liverpool and again Ged Fagan for the help with obtaining the photographs.

LINKS

A few links to websites that may be of interest to the reader

http://www.halfandhalf.org.uk/index.htm                      Yvonne Foley's Half and Half website

http://www.liverpoolchinatown.co.uk/          Wing W Wong's Liverpool Chinatown website

http://www.zakkeith.com/articles,blogs,forums/chinese-in-britain-history-timeline.htm    Chinese in Britain History Timeline

http://gregorylee.pagesperso-orange.fr/chinatownmuseum/project.html              Chinatownmuseum

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/chinese_in_britain3.shtml Radio 4 Chinese in Britain

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/stories/Story581/Story581.htm?identifier=stories/Story581/Story581.htm The Moving Here Website-Story of Liverpool's Eurasians

http://streetsofliverpool.co.uk/                      Colin Wilkinsons Streets of Liverpool website

http://www.inacityliving.piczo.com/?cr=7    Ged Fagan's Inacityliving website

PITT STREET FIRE

The following story is from the book ' Liverpool's Finest ' by Gavin Bassie.

Gavin has researched fire brigade records and this is one of the stories he chose to highlight. I have added it here as it concerns the Chinese community and these people deserve to be remembered.

The book gives a detailed account of the Liverpool Fire brigade history. A must read for anyone with an interest in this subject.

Tuesday 2nd September 1930

Rescue at Pitt Street

At 02.49 hours a fire was reported at 20 Pitt Street and Hatton Garden turned out its 1st turn engine and crew, arriving at 02.51 hours. Upon arrival it was found that the premises were well alight on the staircase, the flames having reached the uppermost floors and also coming out through the front and rear windows. It was observed that the tenants were trapped within the building and a man was standing on the ledge outside a window on the 1st floor. Auxiliary fireman Con.307A Scott, who had climbed a downspout, to prevent him jumping into the street, was holding him in that position. This man later proved to be a blind China man named AH SIM and he was rescued by Con.333H Mullin, by means of a " Ajax " fire ladder.

An escape was run up to the rooms on the top floor where there where several people at the window. SGT.121H Lobley, Con.455H Grimshaw and Con.395H Davies mounted the escape, and from a window rescued and passed down the escape, Cora Lee aged 3, Nina Lee aged 9 months, William Yen aged 11, Francis Yen aged 1 and Mrs Jenny Lee the mother of the first 2 children. Main branches and the first aid jet were brought into operation to quell the flames to enable this rescue to be performed.

Chief officer Oakes then made enquiries as to the total number of people sleeping in the house; he ascertained that there were still 3 children still supposed to be in the building. Frantic efforts were made by the firemen to cross the landing to the rear portion of the premises but this was found impossible at the time. The fire had gained such a good hold and there was a collaspe of part of the roof and staircase, which entirely cut off this means. strenuouse efforts were made to force a way through the floor at the rear of the premises. A stairway from the 2nd to 3rd floor, which had previously been boarded up and temporarily made good, was hacked away to gain access to the top back bedroom. Con.395H Davies and the Chief arrived there at the samr time as Sgt 121H Lobley and Con.455H Grimshaw who had made their way across the front portion of the house after extinguishing the main body of the fire on the staircase.

A search was then made for the children in the bedding despite the room being still on fire, but no one was found in this compartment. A search was then made in the middle back room in the debris, the ceiling and plaster had collasped and the whole of the room was practically consumed. The bodies of 3 children, Edith Yen aged 8, George Yen aged 6 and Joan Yen aged 3 were found and were later removed to the mortuary. The " Fire Under " was passed at 03.55 hours and the engine and crew returned to the station at 04.15 hours after being relieved by a sergeant and 5 constables. The fire originated in the kitchen at the rear of number 20 which was entirely burnt out, the brickwork in many places having collasped, but the actual cause was not determined.

The chief later said everything humanly possible was done, and he commended the work of the whole staff who were engaged, particularly the work of Sgt.121H Lobley, Con.455H Grimshaw and Con.395H Davies.