171208: Pte Felix McCabe, The Labour Corps.

171208: Pte Felix McCabe, The Labour Corps.

I have always had respect for the Labour Corps, who until very recently, have received very little credit for their services during the Great War. Formed in 1916, the Labour Corps were battalions strong, offering support to both Line Regiment and Corps alike.  Their ranks consisted of older men, skilled tradesmen, wounded soldiers assigned to so called ‘lighter duties’, conscientious objectors, and in some cases, convicts serving with penal battalions.  Their tasks varied considerably, from repairing roads under shellfire, helping dig support trenches under fire, helping the supply lines with the Army Service Corps and in a lot of cases, taking on vast burial duties after major offensives.

You will often see Labour Corps service mentioned as second service to men who had originally served in line regiments; this was usually the result of an injury that may have seen them unfit for frontline duty. However, medals actually named to the Labour Corps have become something of a rarity in recent years; the BWM in many cases, being scrapped for their silver content from the 1970’s onwards.

Felix McCabe is one such soldier. His MIC states his entitlement to the BWM and Victory pair only; in this case both medals would be actually named to ‘Lab Corps’ indicating he would have been an original entrant into the corps.

Sadly, no service records exist for Felix to enable us to open up his story; was he an older man (too old in military terms to serve with a line regiment?) It seems unlikely we will ever know for sure.