Ref: DR17969
- £175.00
China. (Chinese Labour Force in France World War One). 1916. Picture post card of 'Le 14th Juillet a Paris en 1916, Les Anammites' addressed to Dome cancelled by Paris date stamp with circular '15th Bataillion de Travailleurs Indochinois/ Le Chef de Commandant' in violet on face and reverse. Very fine.
One of the darker aspects of World War 1 was the plight of 12,000 Chinese workers who were recruited by the British Army from the North of China in 1916 to serve on the battle front in France as labourers , trench diggers, munitions carriers, mine disarmers and corpse bearers under often inhumane conditions. A large number were also struck down by the devastating Spanish flu epidemic of 1918.
Ex John Marc Sitarik.
