Military Labour During The First

Casualties

It is impossible to say how many men and women died whilst serving in British and Foreign labour units during the war.

The records of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission record about 9,000 men who died whilst a member of the Labour Corps. Whereas the figure in Soldiers Died in the Great War is about 5,000.

The difference can partly be explained by the fact that Soldiers Died records relatively few men after 1919 whereas the CWGC records continue until 1921.

Our research to date has identified around 2000 Labour Corps men who were killed in action, died of wounds or as a result of an accident between 1917 and 1921.

On the Western Front many deaths and injuries were caused by German shelling or bombing. On 18 August 1917, for example, 48 Company had 13 killed and 58 wounded when their camp was bombed by German aircraft.

On 11 May 1918 a gas attack on the area where 101 Company were working resulted in the death of 3 officers and 134 other ranks from the Company.

CWGC Headstones

In 1919 it was decided that if a man died whilst serving with the Labour Corps had served in another unit his headstone would show the unit he was in prior to his transfer to the Labour Corps.

This decision means that many headstones do not show that a man served in the Labour Corps as can be seen below.

569934 Private Langley
Died 25 August 1918
Jerusalem War Cemetery, Israel

463431 Private Farquhar
Died 31 October 1918
Keith Cemetery, Banffshire

If a man's only service was with the Labour Corps his headstone has the Corps badge.

542667 Private Oddie
Died 20 November 1918
Ramleh War Cemetery, Israel

Captain S Cohen
Murdered 22 November 1919
Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt

One can also find headstones that show the cap badge of the previous unit but includes reference to his service in the Labour Corps.

360529 CQMS Culyer
Murdered 18 March 1919
Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt

145687 Private Dove
Died 15 August 1917
Didcot (All Saints) Churchyard, Oxfordshire

Foreign Labourers

The records of foreign labourer casualties are at best poor and often non-existent. This is primarily due to poor record keeping during the war. There are no accurate figures, for example, of how many Egyptians died whilst serving in the Egyptian Labour Corps in Egypt and Palestine. Most were buried in unmarked graves and the location not recorded. In Dayr Sunayd, Gaza, for example, there is a memorial which states "One Hundred and Ninety Two Men of the Egyptian Labour Corps are Buried near this spot."

On the Western Front the cold, wet winters badly affected natives brought from hotter climates, notably those from Egypt, the Caribbean, South Africa and Fiji.

Illness and death frequently occurred during the journey from foreign labourers and soldiers homeland to France. In March 1916 the third contingent of the British West Indies Regiment were badly affected by frostbite when the ship bringing them to France ran into a blizzard near Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is known four men died but the total number of casualties is unknown, sources varying from 400 to 600.

The largest loss of live at sea occurred on 21 February 1917, 607 natives of the South African Native Labour Corps were to die when the SS Darro collided with and sank their ship the SS Mendi.

Proportionately the greatest loss of life occurred amongst the men of the Seychelles Labour Corps. Formed in late 1916 for service in East Africa of the 791 officers and men 341 died of illness during their service or soon after their return to the Seychelles.

Foreign labourers whose graves are maintained by the CWGC have a variety of difference headstones. Some are buried with the Labour Corps badge on the headstone, some like the BWIR with regimental some like the South Africans with country badges and some without badges.

34 Private Tavaga
Fiji Labour Corps
Died 4 July 1918
Mazargues War Cemetery,
Marseilles, France

Source:
'The War Graves Photographic Project'

8395 Private Mochonono
SANLC
Died 23 June 1917
Les Baraques Military Cemetery,
Sangatte, France

Source:
'The War Graves Photographic Project'


5198 Labourer Hussein Egyptian Labour Corps Died 6 December 1917 Taranto Town Cemetery Extension, Italy Source: ' The War Graves Photographic Project'	1128 Labourer Bawkthanga Indian Labour Corps Died 18 June 1918 Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt

It would be remiss not to mention the magnificent way the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains both their Cemeteries and individual headstones under their care as can be seen in the two photographs below.

Ivor Lee and Mamdouh, CWGC Head Gardner
War Memorial Cemetery,
Cairo

Ramleh War Cemetery,
Israel