I was going through some magazines from the last few years and saw an article from the Royal Logistic Corps museum, now at Worthy Down. They have acquired a Chinese Labour Corps cap badge. It is a metal oval, on its side, having a raised edge, with the inscription C.L.C. in the centre. The article says that the first members of the CLC arrived in France in April 1917. They had British officers, some of whom were former missionaries, and British NCOs, although they had their own rank structure that included Lance Corporals, known as "Gangers". They were issued blue uniforms with felt caps and were relatively well paid by Chinese standards. They usually worked behind the lines, digging trenches, building roads and railways, and repairing tanks. After the war they cleared ordnance, buried the dead and restored the land to agricultural use. There were strikes due to insufficient rice rations and like most soldiers there were occasionally discipline - related problems, mostly due to gambling and petty theft. The Chinese labourers were generally tall and strong, due to a rigorous recruitment and selection process, although an eye condition called trachoma was prevalent. Their bravery was rarely officially recognised - the CLC was awarded 52 MSMs (Meritorious Service Medals) but only five of those went to Chinese soldiers. 66475 First Class Ganger Liu Dien CHEN was recommended for a Military Medal for encouraging other CLC to continue work while shells were exploding nearby. Regulations, however, prevented this and he was awarded a MSM instead. The last CLC returned to China via Canada in 1920. The CLC were members of the Labour Corps and as such are considered predecessors of today's RLC.