Inland Water Transport - Mesopotamia

[Gregory]

Does anyone have any information on the role of the Chinese labourers who worked on the Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia during WW1? There is a memorial to 227 of these Labourers in Basra War Cemetery (such as it is now). How many were involved? How/where were they recruited? Were they siphoned off from the CLC labourers who worked on the Western Front, or were they recruited separately?

[Terry_Reeves]

Gregory

They were recruited directly from Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. Recruiting started in the autumn of 1916

At the Armistice, there were some 4,116 skilled mechanics and 211 unskilled labourers in the Chinese contingent. However, the total of unskilled labour was certainly very much higher, as there were some 40,000 unskilled men from India and China at the height of the proceedings. Other contingents came from the British West India Regt, The Nigerian Marine, West Africa, the Coloured Section RE (recruited in the UK), the Mauritious Labour Battalion and the Egyptian Labour Corps.

For anybody else interested in the IWT in Mesoptamia, I have a history of their work there, including the names of all the British and West African Contingent casualities and their original places of burial. I also have a list of honours and awards.

Terry Reeves

[Gregory]

They were recruited directly from Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. Recruiting started in the autumn of 1916

*** So they were recruited separately from the CLC personnel used at the Western Front, who came almost exclusively from Shandong and Hebei, and were registered via Weihaiwei and shipped from there or from Qingdao.

At the Armistice, there were some 4,116 skilled mechanics and 211 unskilled labourers in the Chinese contingent. However, the total of unskilled labour was certainly very much higher, as there were some 40,000 unskilled men from India and China at the height of the proceedings.

*** Were they entitled to the bronze BWM? Is there a medal roll?

For anybody else interested in the IWT in Mesoptamia, I have a history of their work there, including the names of all the British and West African Contingent casualities and their original places of burial. I also have a list of honours and awards.

*** I'd be most interested. Does your list of honours and awards contain any Chinese names?

[Terry_Reeves]

They appear to have bee recruited separately. I can't confirm the entitlment to the Bronze War medal, nor are there any Chinese names in the list of honours and awards.

Terry Reeves