07/09/2026
I learned about the labourers brought from China at Bourlon Wood Military Cemetery, two of these men are buried there side by side, dated to 1919.
This week on The Chronicles…
Chinese Labour Corps
Last week it was the William Head Institution, a minimum-security prison, located at the outermost reach of the District of Metchosin. It’s prime waterfront real estate.
Originally, these acres served as western Canada’s quarantine station. Every ship headed for Victoria, Vancouver or other BC ports, had to stop here so that passengers and crews could be examined for infectious diseases.
Those deemed to be ill were detained, under guard, just as though they were imprisoned.
During the First World War, with trench warfare killing millions, the British government conceived the idea of conscripting Chinese labourers—140,000 of them in total—to perform essential manual tasks, often close enough to the front lines that they were subject to enemy shelling.
Upon war’s end, those that survived were returned to China, again via Albert Head after a locked train ride across Canada, always under the eye of armed guards.
27 of them died at Albert Head and they’re there today in unmarked graves of concrete at the water’s edge. Their names have since been recorded on a memorial.
These men were volunteers who contracted with the British to fill roles that allowed British soldiers to be put to me military use, and we should remember them.
Their story in this week's BC Chronicles.
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PHOTO: William Head Quarantine Station Chinese Camp 1917 — BC Archives
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