Hommage aux travailleurs méconnus de l'Indian Labour Corps en Lorraine

juillet 17, 2018

Two historians of the Great War visit Varoquaux:

Military historian and Indian Air Force veteran Rana Chhina and Tony McClenaghan, British historian and Secretary of the Indian Military Historical Society were among us for two days on 3 and 4 July 2018 to meet some of the students who have worked on the involvement of the Indian Labour Corps in Lorraine during the First World War.
It all started three years ago with the task assigned to the students by their History teacher, Jérôme Janczukiewicz, to pay tribute to these modest but essential labourers who paved the way for the planes of the Bristish Royal Flying Corps to safely land and take off, often in harsh conditions. Indeed these Indian labourers' work in Lorraine mainly consisted in building the military airfields in the region.

The students under the supervision of their teacher found 76 graves in several military cemeteries. With the help of our assistants of English who came from India in 2016 and 2017, Pradnya Phadtare and Zoheb Islam, they were able to translate some of the names and lines quoted on the headstones. In addition to this obscure involvement of Indian people belonging to the poorest classes of Indian society, the students discovrered some discrepancies between the military records and the names inscribed on the graves. This prompted them to write to renowned British historians in order to complete their research. A correspondence was then established between our budding historians and official institutions of the United Kingdom and India.
Their endeavours were praised and their hard work was rewarded by the interest their findings triggered. But mostly our students were proud to have given these unknown war casualties the acknowledgement their labour deserved.
This year, a commemorative plaque was designed by the students and will be fitted on the wall of the cemetery at Azelot, where some Indian Labourers are buried. It will commemorate their courage and sacrifice and also raise awareness of the general public and visitors to what is owed to them.

The students were proud and honoured to have their efforts commended by our British and Indian visitors. An Indian television team came to interview them as part of a series of films on the First World War in Asia.

Rana Chhina and Tony McClenaghan will be back in Lorraine on Sept 22 when the plaque is unveiled, hopefully in the presence of the students who by that time will have started their University studies.

The journalist asked Rana Chhina why he was interested in the students' research. Here is his answer:

Tony McClenaghan was asked if he was surprised to learn that some French students were working on the Indian Labour Corps in Lorraine. This is his answer:

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Anglais Section Européenne