In the newly published second volume of Lieutenant Jim Maultsaid’s diaries he gives the following summary of his feelings towards the Chinese at the start of the section covering his command within the 169th Company of the Chinese Labour Corps.

To my last day on this Earth I will always have a very high opinion of the Chinese as people. Sober, industrious fellows, interfering with no man, only wanting to live in peace and get on with their own lives, upholding over centuries old traditions. Gain their respect by honest fair dealing and you made a friend for life.  Childlike in many ways, their bland simplicity often amused me, and at other times their deep thinking astounded me. I set out to study their habits and language and, according to the Army authorities, became ‘indispensable’ in the Chinese Labour Corps.