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National Museums Liverpool Blog - Where has my father gone?

 Monday, March 21, 2011

Where has my father gone?


Monday 21 March 11

Francesca Aiken, assistant exhibition curator for the Museum of Liverpool's Global City Gallery writes:


David YipDavid Yip narrated 'Where has my father gone?' for East meets West – The Story of Shanghai and Liverpool. With special thanks to David Yip and Lisa O’Neil for providing these images.

“How could it happen? How could I not know about this?” was David Yip’s response when he heard for the first time about the enforced repatriation of hundreds of seamen from Liverpool’s Chinese community that took place in 1946.

For many of those directly affected, the wives and children of Chinese seamen who worked for the Merchant Navy during the Second World War, the truth about their sudden disappearance wasn’t known until decades later – many thought they had been abandoned. Now, 65 years later, more and more are discovering the truth.

After the war ended, the Home Office took steps to reduce the number of Chinese seamen in the citiy to pre-war levels while at the same time shipping companies slashed wages. Over 200 were forcibly removed during night raids; some were tricked onto ships that would never return - leaving many children without fathers, and wives without husbands.

Championing the truth behind these hushed up events, David recorded the narration for Where has my father gone? in a studio in London today. Displayed in East meets West – The Story of Shanghai and Liverpool, this film will feature new recordings of personal stories that explore the affects on those families torn apart in 1946.

East meets West – The Story of Shanghai and Liverpool will feature as a special exhibition in the Global City Gallery for the new Museum of Liverpool which will open on July 19th of this year.


Posted by Lucy | 21/03/2011 10:31   | Comments [0]

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