During WWII, the sailors of the British merchant navy played a vital role keeping the UK fed and armed. They carried essential supplies across the treacherous Atlantic - and many paid with their lives. What's less well known is that many of those sailors were Chinese - volunteers who came to Britain to help the war effort. Joe Phillip's father was one of those seamen, and after the war he returned to Liverpool to rejoin his wife and children. But shortly after returning home, he disappeared without a trace.
The mystery of what happened to him, and hundreds of other Chinese sailors who also vanished, is only now being solved - thanks to newly released Government papers. In this exclusive History Hit investigation we tell the story of those brave men and the families they left behind, and reveal the shocking truth hidden in those files.
Up Next in Investigations
-
Independence or Death: The Haitian Re...
The Haitian Revolution caused a seismic shift in global politics. When a mixture of different groups on the French colony of Saint Domingue rose against the colonists, few expected the rebellion to succeed. However, under the leadership of figures such as Toussaint L'Ouverture, Henry Christophe a...
-
Forgotten Heroines of the East End
Katie Wignall, founder of Lookup London, shines a light on the stories of several heroines who transformed the East End of London: Annie Besant, Annie Brewster and Sylvia Pankhurst. From writers to activists and nurses, Katie explains how the legacy of these women endures to this day.
-
Henry VIII: Statesman or Tyrant?
On Midsummer's Day in 1509 a 17 year old was crowned king of England. He would go on to transform his realm over almost four decades on the throne. He would revolutionise its religion, reforge its politics and its relations with neighbouring countries, and establish a royal navy. But, by the time...
17 Comments