The Labour Corps was a British Army unit formed in 1917 for manual and skilled labour on the Western Front and

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In previous centuries the British Army had fulfilled this role through the Royal Pioneer Corps (1762–1763), the Corps of Pioneers (1795–1800) and the Army Works Corps (1855-c.1856). Though it disbanded in 1921, it is often seen as the predecessor to the

Royal Pioneer Corps The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army combatant corps used for light engineering tasks. It was formed in 1939, and amalgamated into the Royal Logistic Corps in 1993. Pioneer units performed a wide variety of tasks in all theatres of war, in ...

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

History

Earlier in the war the Army Service Corps had formed labour companies to work docks and railways and unload ships and the Royal Engineers had formed eleven labour battalions for manual work. From December 1914 onwards each infantry division had also been provided with a Pioneer Battalion, with full infantry training but usually used in manual and skilled work and thus consisting of those with experience in those areas. From early 1916 onwards conscripted men with health too poor for fighting were also assigned to these battalions, twelve of which had been formed by June that year. On 22 February 1917 an Army Order formed the Labour Corps, turning the pre-existing Infantry Labour Companies and Infantry Labour Battalions into 203 Labour Companies. The Corps as formed also included Depot Labour Companies (renamed Reserve Labour Companies later in 1917) back in the United Kingdom as well as seven Labour Battalions converted from the Works or Infantry Works battalions of the

King's (Liverpool Regiment) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

, the

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, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

and the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

. All these would be commanded by forty-two Labour Group Headquarters. Later in 1917 eight Labour Centres were added to the Corps, one for each of the eight home commands, as were the existing Infantry Works Companies (renamed Home Service Labour Companies) and Agricultural Companies. In 1916, Colonel Richard S. H. Moody raised, from the

, and took to

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, as Commander, a battalion of the Labour Corps, which he commanded from 1917 to 1918, after which he retired from active service. By November 1918 the Corps numbered around 389,900 men.

References

Corps of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1921 British administrative corps Engineer units and formations of the British Army {{UK-mil-unit-stub