Maltese Labour Corps

Maltese Labour Corps
October 1917 poster calling for recruits to form the 2nd battalion
Active	August 1915 – after May 1920
Country	Malta
Allegiance	British Empire
Branch	Army
Type	Labour
Role	Support
Size	2 battalions, 3 independent companies
Engagements	Battle of Gallipoli, Macedonian front

The Maltese Labour Corps (MLC) was a labour unit raised in Malta during the First World War to support the British Army. It comprised two battalions of labourers and stevedores; two companies of cooks, waiters, and servants; and a company of miners. The units served at Gallipoli, Salonika, Italy, and in Turkey (after the armistice). There may have been a further independent labour company that served in Malta. Many of the units' commanding officers were drawn from the King's Own Royal Malta Regiment of Militia. More than 5,000 men served in the corps, with members receiving the British War Medal in bronze. In the course of their service 124 members died, at least one killed in action with many of the remainder dying during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918.