Event: Chinese Labour Corps, The Forgotten Men of World War I

CHINESE LABOUR CORPS: The Forgotten Men of World War I

Wednesday 27 February, 1-4.45pm

Heritage Learning Space, Library of Birmingham

Between 1917-1920, 140,000 Chinese men travelled from Shandong on China’s East coast to the other side of the world to support the British, French and Russian armies with manual labour during WWI, remaining in Europe until 1920 clearing battlefields.

Who were these men and why did they do it?  Come and hear the largely unknown story of the WWI Chinese Labour Corps, and the British Army Aid Group that later operated in Hong Kong in WWII.  The presentation will look at

• the political and historical context of the Chinese Labour Corps
• life on the ground for the labourers and what happened to them after Armistice
• the ongoing story of British Chinese armed forces heritage through a look at the WWII British Army Aid Group

The presentation will be jointly delivered by Chungwen Li, Dean of the Ming Ai Institute; Steve Lau, Chair of the Ensuring We Remember Campaign; and Peng Wenlan, Documentary filmmaker & lead officer for the Meridian Society’s Chinese Labour Corps research project.  It will be chaired by Dr Nicola Gauld, Coordinator of the Voices of War & Peace WWI Engagement Centre based in the Library of Birmingham.

The talk is FREE but booking is required due to limited places: service@ccc-b.org.uk