Some of these men married working class British women, resulting in a number of British-born Eurasian Chinese being born during World War II in Liverpool. At the beginning of the War, there were up to 20,000 Chinese mariners in the city. In 1942, there was a strike for rights and pay equal to that of white mariners. The strike had lasted for 4 months. For the duration of the War these men were labelled as "troublemakers" by the shipowners and the British Government. At the end of the conflict, they were forbidden shore jobs, their pay was cut by two-thirds and they were offered only one-way voyages back to China. Hundreds of men were forced to leave their families, with many of their Eurasian children continuing to live in and around Liverpool's Chinatown to this day. London Britain began trading with China in the 17th century and a small community of Chinese sailors grew up around Limehouse over the next two centuries. Due to heavy bomb damage, however, the number of Chinese in the area rapidly decreased. Changes to labour laws during the early 20th century meant that Chinese sailors found it increasingly difficult to find employment on ships. They turned instead to running to laundries and restaurants. From the 1960s on, the number of Chinese immigrating to London grew significantly with the main influx being from the New Territories (the mainland area of Hong Kong) coming to Britain to work in Chinese restaurants and takeaways. In London, Chinese restaurants expanded, especially in the Soho and Bayswater areas. Most who came spoke Hokkien, Cantonese, Fuzhounese, Teochew, Hainanese, and Hakka, though written Chinese was a means of communication for the whole community. The Chinese established various organisations such as language schools, gambling houses for socialising, and a Chinese Church in the West End. One notorious club was the Chi Kung Tong (Achieve Justice Society), the first Triad Society in Britain. By the late 1960s, the Chinese restaurants and shops around Gerrard Street, Lisle Street, and Little Newport Street had evolved into "Tong Yan Kai", otherwise known as Chinatown. The general public developed a taste for Chinese food during the postwar restaurant boom. In 1963, the Zhongshan Workers' Club opened in the West End, showing films and running classes. The first Chinese New Year celebrations were held in Gerrard Street. The Overseas Chinese Service opened the first specialised agency to assist the