A member of the 55th Company, Chinese Labour Corps, with a bicycle in France, 1918

Photograph, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1918.

The scale of fighting on the Western Front created an insatiable demand for labour in the rear areas. The British and French armies met this demand by recruiting labourers from many countries around the world, including China, India, South Africa and Egypt.

The Chinese labour corps formed the largest contingent of workers, with nearly a quarter of a million employed in France by 1918. The principle work that they undertook involved maintaining lines of supply and communications for the troops at the front.

One of nine postcard portrait photographs relating to the service of CQMS George Godbolt with the Chinese Labour Corps.