WW1 - Pekin Camp, Camp for Chinese Labour Corps, Mont Kemmel
WW1 - Pekin Camp - Camp for The Chinese Labour Corps on the Western Front. The camp was near The Kemmelberg (also known as Kemmel Hill or Mont Kemmel), Heuvelland, West Flanders, Belgium. The labourers were recruited to fill the manpower shortage caused by casualties during the first 2 years of fighting in World War I. As China was initially not a belligerent nation (in the war), her nationals were not allowed by their government to participate in the fighting and so the Chinese Labour Corps was formed. The Corps comprised Chinese men who came mostly from Shandong Province, and to a lesser extent from Liaoning, Jilin, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui and Gansu Provinces. The men were trained at camps, would be inoculated, have their heads shaved and be given clean clothes before embarking on a gruelling three month journey to their destination. A number are buried in Liverpool, having died during the journey. Approximately 150, 000 Chinese served in the labour corps during the war, around 100, 000 of whom worked in support of the British Army. They were set to work on multifarious tasks including trench digging, road repair, loading at ports, working for the tank corps, burying the dead and making wooden crosses. Identified by a number etched on a brass bracelet, the labour corps were segregated from the rest of the Army. Their war medal, featuring only their number rather than name, was cast in bronze rather than silver. A campaign is underway among the Chinese community to recognise the contribution of these men, and to erect a memorial to them in London
