Because of the drain on manpower arising from conscription and war casualties, between 1916 and 1919 the French and British Governments employed 140,000 Chinese volunteer workers (40,000 by the French and around 100,000 by the British, known as the Chinese Labour Corps or CLC). The majority of these Chinese workers found themselves grouped near the frontline to carry out construction and maintenance work in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and in the Somme, where they also participated in the post-war reconstruction effort. There were numerous camps of Chinese workers on the Côte d’Opale and in the surrounding region and the cemeteries in which their dead were buried still exist.

The four towns of ULCO, Dunkirk, Boulogne, Calais and Saint-Omer, all hosted Chinese workers’ camps. The hazards of war and sickness which claimed the lives of over 2,000 of the camps’ inhabitants endures, and their sacrifice is commemorated in local cemeteries, principally at Saint-Etienne au Mont, Ruminghem and Noyelles. From November 1918 until the end of 1919, the Chinese Labour Corps also played a pivotally important role in restoring battle-ravaged areas of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Flanders, including the preliminary reconstruction of Ypres, the very symbol of European post-war reconstruction.

We are organising, in the heart of an area associated with these historic events, an international conference, the first of its kind held in Europe, on Chinese workers in the Great War.

This conference will provide an opportunity to carry out a synthesis of research relating to Chinese workers in the First World War. The central axes of the conference will be grouped around the theme of Chinese workers in France and Europe during the Great War. The conference is intended to provide an opportunity to synthesise research about both Chinese workers under French command and the CLC. Contributions inviting debate about original theoretical perspectives will be particularly welcomed, as will submissions extending beyond the confines of historical studies to acknowledge other academic specialisms, including: sinology, inter-cultural studies and political science. Thematically, the conference will address relevant aspects of the history of the Great War; living and working conditions of the Chinese workers; international relations; education; intercultural communication and sociology.