New Year celebrations at a Chinese Labour Camp, France, 1917 (c)

Photograph, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1917 (c).

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 150,000 employed in France by 1918. The principle work that they undertook involved maintaining lines of supply and communications for the troops at the front.