Plaque

Swire war memorial - 2

Inscription

AD MCMXIV-MCMXVIII {1914 – 1918}
In honoured memory of those Chinese members of Taikoo who died during the wars.
MCMXXXIX – MCMXIV {1939 – 1945}

{Below this is a panel in Chinese characters that we guess repeats the message.}

The names, given on the other plaque, are not Chinese (being Smith, etc.) so by "Chinese members" they must mean something like "working in China and enlisted there".

Site: London Scottish Regiment + Swire war memorial (3 memorials)

SW1, Buckingham Gate, 59, Swire House

Disappointingly we have failed to find a photo of the building that used to be on this site.

Swire is an international shipping company and 'Taikoo' is its Chinese name. We'd never heard of the company and then, just a few days after working on this entry, a character in a film we were watching explained his past presence in China by "I was working for Swire", and we knew what he meant.

2017: someone who tried to view these memorials has told us that he was told they are not here and never were. We took our photos in 2015 so they were in situ then.

2019: Andrew Behan has researched some of the names on this memorial. While doing so he spotted a discrepancy concerning the S.S. Shuntien: 'The Roll of Honour of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets 1939-1947' held at The National Archives, Kew lists a total of 71 officers and men who died when that ship sank. But the data we received from the CWGC gives, on panel 97, a total of only 48 officers and men lost from that ship.

The sad story of the SS Shuntien is told on Brynberg's page. When the ship went down it was carrying a large number of prisoners of war. This is reminiscent of the sinking of the Arandora Star which was deporting a many Italians and Germans who had been living in England.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Swire war memorial - 2

Subjects commemorated i

World War 1

We'd always assumed that this war was known as the Great War until WW2 came a...

Read More

World War 2

Sorry, we've done no research on WW2, it's just too big a subject. But do vis...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Swire war memorial - 2

Also at this site i

London Scottish Regiment

London Scottish Regiment

{Regimental badge:} London Scottish, strike sure. {Beneath the badge:} On ...

Read More

Swire war memorial - 1

Swire war memorial - 1

The names are grouped by brief company identifier, which we’ve recognised as ...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Salvation Army - indoors

Salvation Army - indoors

E1, New Road, 23

Booth moved his meetings which had begun in the summer in a tent inside as the winter approached. The building was known as the Assembly...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Tower Liberty

Tower Liberty

EC3, Tower Hill, Wakefield Gardens

We normally rotate our memorial pictures as necessary to make sure the statues are standing upright and the plaques can be read without f...

4 subjects commemorated
Archer Street Chambers

Archer Street Chambers

W1, Archer Street, 9 , Archer Street Chambers

Archer Street Chambers was built in 1882/3 as dwellings for artisans. It was purchased for improvement by the Soho Housing Association in...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Mayfair's oldest house

Mayfair's oldest house

W1, Stanhope Row, Park Lane Mews Hotel

Unveiled as part of Westminster's 50th anniversary commemorations marking the end of World War II. The plant-screened section of the te...

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
WB Yeats - Woburn Walk

WB Yeats - Woburn Walk

WC1, Woburn Walk, 5

William Butler Yeats, Irish poet and dramatist, lived in this house, then known as 18 Woburn Buildings, from 1895 to 1919.

1 subject commemorated