Remembering maritime heroes from abroad(4)

Philo Norton McGiffin's uniform under imperial China's Beiyang fleet during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895.

The fleet's headquarters on Liugongdao island, in East China's Shandong province, has since become a museum of the First Sino-Japanese War.

Wang Jihua, deputy director of the museum, said there are few exhibits showcasing the experience of the foreign officers.

"Their experience is a very important part of the war, but few people are studying it," Wang said. "We are eager to have more displays concerning them, and I sincerely ask people who know anything about them to contact us."

Wang said saving the history of the foreign officers has become very difficult. The museum has asked Chinese students who are living in Europe to help look for any such records and it is making travel plans to the West to search for related information and items.

"Many of the officers didn't keep official records. Finding their stories is like finding a needle in the ocean," Wang said.

His museum is open to all kinds of information on the foreign officers and donations related to them.

"We need at least a photo for every one of them. With a picture, they will become more real for visitors," he said. "And through our museum more people will know about them."

Together with the museum, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries launched a project to look for descendants of the foreign officers in December 2014.

Li Jianping, deputy director of the association, said the First Sino-Japanese War was a turning point in China's history and the Chinese people should remember this crucial part of it.

"We will always appreciate the contributions made by the foreign officers," Li said.

"They fought and died for China. They are also an important record of the war."

Without a modern archival system, China had few official records of the war, especially stories of soldiers and details of the battles. After the war, many officers such as Briton William Ferdinand Tyler published memoirs and articles. These have become important historical documents of the conflict.

Another such item is a letter of commendation from the Beiyang fleet to British officer Charles Cheshire displayed in a maritime military museum in London.

"The foreign officers tell stories about China and the war to people across the world. They helped China during and after the battles," Li said.

"By knowing them, we know ourselves."