The South African Native Labour Corps ‘Somewhere in France’: First World War photography, racial hierarchies and combatant status

Abstract

During the First World War, the utilisation of non-white manpower, especially in Europe, presented a new challenge to British colonial rule. These structures of control informed the representation of colonial service, especially visually. This article argues for the important intersection of racial hierarchies and combatant status in determining the visual repertoire of service, using the example of the South African Native Labour Corps (SANLC). Restrictions placed upon the SANLC’s service were echoed and enforced in the official photography of their service in Western Europe. The article remains alert to moments and possibilities of resistance within the photographs of this time.