Until I read 'Birdsong' a few years back I had no knowledge of the tunnel wars in WW1. The claustrophobia it induced, the danger, the sweat, the silence were the most rivetting parts of the book for me - Beeb 4 are doing a programme about the tunnel wars during the Somme and it's showing tonight. Looks most fascinating.
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Yes, I'm sure Birdsong was most people's introduction, but Anthony Price's Other Paths to Glory deal with it effectively in 1974. In any case, anyone familiar with Cold Mountain (film or book) will know that the idea was first (famously) used at Petersburg, Virginia, in 1864.Originally posted by johncorrigan View Post
Should be an interesting documentary. -
I thought it was the Duke of Portland who started it allOriginally posted by Pabmusic View Post
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What do I know, Ams?Originally posted by amateur51 View PostI thought it was the Duke of Portland who started it all
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It's odd. Quite often, Filipinos call me Sir Pabs - which is eerie. Apparently it's a misunderstanding of the polite use of 'sir' - but it always raises a smile. Mrs P. at least approves.Originally posted by amateur51 View PostYou ARE the Dook in exile, Pabs?!
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Undermining walls was always used in ancient sieging....but adding explosives was the obvious innovation....
....Different War BUT....the Vietnam classic: The Tunnels of Cu Chi is an excellent read by Tom Mangold and John Penycate.... also gives a broad overview of the VWar in general....bong chingComment
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I would imagine many have seen the footage of the explosion of the huge mine at Hawthorne Ridge on the morning of 1st July 1916 on the Somme, but far fewer have given much thought to how the ancient art of siege warfare manifest itself during the Great War and the men who fought underground.
There was no dedicated memorial to the “Tunnellers” on the Western Front for ninety years until thanks to a small group of dedicated individuals, such as Jeremy Banning and others, finally in 2010 a memorial was unveiled near Givency:
My paternal Grandmother's first husband was a miner from Ibstock, he was never a “mole”, in fact he served in the RND and was killed in the spring of 1918. But amongst the other names alongside his on the Ibstock War Memorial are several men who were. What I know of these men, how they came to serve in the Royal Engineer's tunnelling companies and their fates is recorded, in part, here:
And some other relevant information:
As always, I can only repeat these words:
….No record in the world ever touched the footage, yield per ounce of pluck,
endurance and devotion to duty, and no forces endured more.
One silent toast to those who memorise a glorious record in their ever silent tunnels.
Sir John Norton GriffithsComment
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Apologies all, I've only just realised the refs to the GWF blog entries cannot be accessed by GWF non-members. If there's any interest I could reproduce on or two elsewhere.
I should add I have no interest the Great War per se: tactics, strategy, weapons, uniforms etc. War is a hideous, vile and disgusting business. Yet, I don't wholly ascribe to the "cultural memory" of "WW1 bad, WW2 good", as typified by the film "Oh, what a lovely war" ending with its sea of white crosses. Actually there was nothing new in that cinematic depiction of the futility of war. Compare it with the opening sequence of the 1931 French film "Les Criox des Biox":
Any reading and research I've done about the Great War was in an attempt to understand better a conflict which had claimed the lives of millions and caste its long shadow across my own family. Some will argue they were dupes, fools or a capitalist lackey. I tend to think the reasons, motives and attitudes of those who fought were many and various. Of course with the passing of Derby's National Registration Act and the subsequent Military Service Acts, free choice had little to do with it. Whether you side with Owen's old beggars, or not, I still believe it's right we should remember the fallen. Thus I tried to honour the memory of family members lost to conflict in the only way left open to me, and in doing so felt it right that the same courtesy should be extended to as many as possible of those named on those same memorials.Comment
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My wife is about to edit a book on Cornish miners who became dedicated tunnellers in WW1, written by a local 'amateur' historian. They went into the army as part of the Cornish Light Infantry, but got shifted away and ended up in the Engineers. The local Cornish Light Infantry museum in Bodmin knew of their roots in the regiment, but didn't know what happened to them and is keen to find out.
Funny how something perfectly official gets completely lost track of!I keep hitting the Escape key, but I'm still here!Comment
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Originally posted by LeMartinPecheur View Post
Presumably the Royal Engineers museum will have some info. There were large numbers of miners recruited into regiments apart from the DCLI - the Durham Light Infantry for instance. Perhaps they'd have info as well.Comment
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There seem to be several programmes with a similar theme right now. The BBC has programmes on aerial views of the WW1 battlefields, which show the layout of the trenches. Channel 5 has a programme in several parts which show reconstructions of trenches, an archaeological dig of some trenches, and both British and German trench maps. Interesting that the German maps showed the details of both friend and enemy trenches, whereas the British ones showed the details of the enemy trenches, but the friendly ones were deliberately inaccurate. Both sides used red and blue lines for the trenches, though reversed in colour assignment I think.
I didn't know much about trench warfare until a few years ago when we visited Vimy ridge and some of the surrounding area. I was amazed that it was possible to walk across the distance of the battlefield in just a minute or so - it was very compact.
I'm not over fond of tunnels, so passed on the opportunity to go into some of the tunnels around and under the battlefields, but I was surprised at the complexity of it all, as shown in the museum exhibits nearby.Comment
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I am sure this will be worthy tribute and addition to the "Tunnellers" literature.Originally posted by LeMartinPecheur View Post
From my own amateurish ramblings through surviving records and histories of the Great War, driven by the stories of nearly 800 men on two memorials separated by distance, but not time, this comes as no surprise at all. The movements of individuals, and groups both large and small, between battalions of the same regiment or different regiments is so often a mystery.Funny how something perfectly official gets completely lost track of!
In the case of these CLI men, I wouldn't be surprised if this happened mostly in the first half of 1915. These transfer would often take place in the field and for those men joining the RE they would complete and sign a new set of "attestation" papers. Any continuity in their Army records would be lost. I've no idea what percentage of Great War Army papers survive for those who served in the various battalions of the CLI. On average is a pretty low percentage. In many cases large chunks of service papers of whole battalions went up in smoke in the Blitz. It's all a bit hit and miss as to what you can find and analyse.
There is a history of the CLI in the Great War on line. The index appears to contain no references of men transferring to the "Tunnellers". But there are some telling refs to mine warfare around Hill 60 in spring 1915. e.g.:
Last edited by Pegleg; 22-05-13, 10:04.Comment
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Vimy Ridge was of course predominately about the CEF. You could say it's here that Canada came of age, a nation forged in blood. Remembrance is taken very seriously in Canada, as shown by the many ceremonies that took place last year on the 95th Anniversary of the action at Vimy Ridge. e.g.:Originally posted by Dave2002 View Post
Both the CEF and ANZACS had their tunnellers. This page has basic details:
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Originally posted by LeMartinPecheur View PostI'm a real pedant, I know, (I'm wearing my anorak) but they were actually DCLI men (Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry). My mother's father served with them in Mesopotamia and later in India. George Butterworth also enlisted as a private with them before accepting a commission in the Durham Light Infantry.Originally posted by Pegleg View PostComment
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