‘Chinese Cemetery” was marked on the signpost. While it is not unusual to see graveyards signposted along the roads of the Somme department in northern France, this one was different. At first, I thought it might be a mistake, only to drive there and discover the final resting place of almost 900 labourers who had been brought from China to work in France during the first World War.
With so many skilled British and French workers conscripted into the army, manpower was desperately needed to help build railways, and to work in the ports and arms factories. As the war progressed, the Allies needed labourers as much as soldiers. For this reason, in 1916 the French and British governments each signed separate agreements with the Chinese government to recruit a body of Chinese workers. The British group was known as the Chinese Labour Corps.
It is estimated that somewhere between 140,000 and 150,000 men were recruited in China and brought to work in Europe during the war. The first group arrived in France in April 1917. By the end of that year, some 54,000 thousand Chinese workers were based in France and Belgium. Their contracts, which lasted for between three and five years, stated that they would not be employed in military operations, but that they would be engaged in agricultural or industrial work only. They were paid five francs a day, which corresponded to the average wage paid to a French labourer.
The men lived in specially constructed camps that were fenced in and guarded by British soldiers. If they wanted to pay a visit to the local village, they had to be escorted in small groups by a British officer. This led French locals to see them almost as prisoners.
At the end of the war, nearly 96,000 Chinese labourers were at work in France and Belgium, helping to clear damaged towns and villages.
By the mid-1920s, almost 2,000 members of the Chinese Labour Corps would lose their lives in Europe. The majority of the deaths were caused by a deadly outbreak of Spanish flu.
Located 13km northwest of the town of Abbeville on the estuary of the river Somme, the cemetery at Noyelles-sur-Mer was constructed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1921.
Designed by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and his assistant, Capt John Truelove, it is the largest Chinese first World War cemetery in Europe.
Lutyens is famous for having designed the cenotaph in London and the Thiepval Memorial in northern France. Several examples of his work can also be seen in Ireland. The Irish National War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge in Dublin is probably the most well known. He also designed an extension to Lambay Castle on Lambay Island off the coast of north Dublin.
The design of the cemetery was heavily influenced by Chinese architecture and customs.
At the entrance, a ceremonial arch in Chinese style is inscribed with Chinese characters. The inscription was composed by the Chinese ambassador to Great Britain during the war.
It roughly translates as “This site commemorates the sacrifice paid by 1,900 Chinese workers who lost their lives during the 1914-1918 war. These are my friends and colleagues whose merits are incomparable”.
Some cemeteries are listed in travel guides because they contain the graves of famous people or because they contain marvellous works of funerary art. Think of the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, described by Mark Twain as the “national burying-ground of France, the honoured resting-place of some of her greatest and best children”, or the Highgate Cemetery in London, with its Gothic-style catacombs and vaults and elaborate Victorian statuary.
But this cemetery is one of the most unusual I have come across. Simple and calm are its watchwords.
The entrance is flanked by two cedar trees and inside a large pine tree adds a pleasant fragrance to the place and gives shade to gravestones and visitors alike.
It is impeccably kept; the headstones made of Portland stone are completely free of moss, the grass is neatly cut and watered and small plants add a splash of colour.
The location is also very simple. It is a short distance from the main road and is completely surrounded by fields of crops, making it a calm resting place.
The headstones contain the name of the deceased in Chinese characters (sometimes also in English), their registration number and the date on which they died. Each headstone is also inscribed with one of the following sayings: “A noble duty bravely done”, “A good reputation endures for ever” and “Faithful unto death”.
Every year, hundreds of Chinese people visit the cemetery, especially around the Qingming festival in April. Qingming is a traditional Chinese festival when family members pay respects at the graves of their ancestors.