tunnellers

[rutherglen]

A Sgt W Crawford of the RE got the DCM in 1917 for 2 years tunnelling

What info is there about the job of digging tunnels

Were they mostly Miners

What else did they do as well as putting explosives under the enemy

How dangerous was their work

Was there many of them

[mmm45]

http://www.1914-1918.net/tunnelcoyre.htm

Heres a good starting point.He should have citation on the London Gazette.

Ady

[Michael Johnson]

An older book, but very readable: War Underground by Alexander Barrie.

[truthergw]

Try " Beneath Flanders Fields", Peter Barton, Peter Doyle and Johan Vandewalle. Great book. 

[mmm45]

Lochlee...no mention of him in Tunnellers by Grieve.Was he 79100 also had service with RGA and East Kents?

Ady

[rutherglen]

Try " Beneath Flanders Fields", Peter Barton, Peter Doyle and Johan Vandewalle. Great book.

Try " Beneath Flanders Fields", Peter Barton, Peter Doyle and Johan Vandewalle. Great book.

[rutherglen]

Sgt W Crawfords number was s/n 79100

[Simon Jones]

I would echo the remarks re the three best books:

Beneath Flanders Fields by Peter Barton et al

War Underground by Alexander Barrie

Tunnellers by Grieve & Newman

I would also shamelessly plug my Underground Warfare 1914-1918 due out in February 2010:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Underground-Warfar...9307&sr=1-1

Contents

Chapter 1 Military Mining Before 1914 13

Chapter 2 Mining Operations 1914 – early 1915 29

Chapter 3 French Mining Sectors: Carency, Oise, Les Eparges and Vauquois 45

Chapter 4 British Mining operations 1915 – early 1916 75

Chapter 5 Hohenzollern and St Eloi 1916 95

Chapter 6 The Somme 1916 114

Chapter 7 Vimy, Arras and Messines 1917 133

Chapter 8 Miners and Technology 165

Chapter 9 Tunnels and the Infantry Attack 185

Chapter 10 Underground Accommodation and Communications 214

Chapter 11 Conclusion 253

cheers

Simon

[Chris_Baker]

And thereby break GWF rules on advertising.

I shall remember this precedent come mid 2010!

[Simon Jones]

I await my punishment and mean no disrespect to the moderators of this forum. But am I really going to make any money out of this book?

[truthergw]

If it is half as good as your Gas book, I look forward to it eagerly. Is the Baker household looking forward to the pitter patter of tiny pages? Tell us more. 

[rutherglen]

Lochlee...no mention of him in Tunnellers by Grieve.Was he 79100 also had service with RGA and East Kents?

Ady

[rutherglen]

Andy,

Same number but different W Crawford. This one was just RE

He had been a Miner in Kelty

Lochlee

[Simon Jones]

Lochlee

I have been researching 185 Tunnelling Company and William Crawford was part of a batch of 82 men transferred to this unit on 9/10/1915 when it was being formed at the RE Base Camp at Rouen. So far I have tentatively identified 65 of this draft as RE numbers 79099-79164.

A medal card for William Crawford’s DCM confirms that he was serving with 185th Tunnelling Company. The London Gazette which announced his DCM on 3/6/1918 gave no citation. His campaign medal index card shows him as serving first with the E Kent Regiment as 6922 and also subsequently with the Royal Garrison Artillery as 45089.

The Unburnt (‘Pension’) record of Pte Charles Thomas Stone with the adjacent RE number of 79099 shows that he was transferred to 185 Tunnelling Company from the 1/ E Kent Regiment on 9/10/1915. The men with RE numbers 79099-79105 were all transferred from the E Kent Regiment to the Royal Engineers.

Are you aware of his having been working in the Kent coalfields in 1914? I was looking last week at the West Fife Echo (which covers Cowdenbeath and Kelty) for 1915-16 and if you want I could take a look at June 1918 to see if his DCM is mentioned.

On 2 November 185 Tunnelling Company went to Albert where it took over the left portion of the La Boisselle mining sector from 179 Tunnelling Company. It developed the Inch Street workings and started the Lochnagar tunnel which was completed by 179 Coy to lay the charges which created the famous mine which remains today. On 4 February 1916 in the Inch Street workings 185 suffered a serious loss of 19 miners and two officers, including the OC, killed by a German camouflet and secondary explosion of methane. In early March 185 were withdraw and moved to Arras and took over part of Vimy Ridge where they remained until I think mid-1917.

Simon

[rutherglen]

Lochlee

I have been researching 185 Tunnelling Company and William Crawford was part of a batch of 82 men transferred to this unit on 9/10/1915 when it was being formed at the RE Base Camp at Rouen. So far I have tentatively identified 65 of this draft as RE numbers 79099-79164.

A medal card for William Crawford's DCM confirms that he was serving with 185th Tunnelling Company. The London Gazette which announced his DCM on 3/6/1918 gave no citation. His campaign medal index card shows him as serving first with the E Kent Regiment as 6922 and also subsequently with the Royal Garrison Artillery as 45089.

The Unburnt ('Pension') record of Pte Charles Thomas Stone with the adjacent RE number of 79099 shows that he was transferred to 185 Tunnelling Company from the 1/ E Kent Regiment on 9/10/1915. The men with RE numbers 79099-79105 were all transferred from the E Kent Regiment to the Royal Engineers.

Are you aware of his having been working in the Kent coalfields in 1914? I was looking last week at the West Fife Echo (which covers Cowdenbeath and Kelty) for 1915-16 and if you want I could take a look at June 1918 to see if his DCM is mentioned.

On 2 November 185 Tunnelling Company went to Albert where it took over the left portion of the La Boisselle mining sector from 179 Tunnelling Company. It developed the Inch Street workings and started the Lochnagar tunnel which was completed by 179 Coy to lay the charges which created the famous mine which remains today. On 4 February 1916 in the Inch Street workings 185 suffered a serious loss of 19 miners and two officers, including the OC, killed by a German camouflet and secondary explosion of methane. In early March 185 were withdraw and moved to Arras and took over part of Vimy Ridge where they remained until I think mid-1917.

Simon

[rutherglen]

Thats wonderful

Would be obliged if you would kindly check the local paper

Didnt know he'd been working in West Kent coalfields. Though dosen't surprise considering the vagaries of mining

Tunnelling is a most interesting subject. Thanks for the info about the book

[Simon Jones]

Lochlee

That's no problem. Are you related to him, by the way?

Tom

Simon

[rutherglen]

No sorry not related

Lochlee

[J Banning]

I would echo the remarks re the three best books:

Beneath Flanders Fields by Peter Barton et al

War Underground by Alexander Barrie

Tunnellers by Grieve & Newman

I would also shamelessly plug my Underground Warfare 1914-1918 due out in February 2010:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Underground-Warfar...9307&sr=1-1

Simon – very much looking forward to your book too.

I had a quick jaunt to Ypres for the day yesterday with Peter and he told me the good news that the publishers have agreed to reprint a few thousand softback copies of ‘Beneath Flanders Fields’ in March 2010. Peter is just adding some new information about Sapper Hackett’s VC action at Givenchy in June 1916 which is taken from Sapper John French’s newly found diary. This will be a welcome relief considering the inflated prices of second hand copies available.

So, there’ll be at least two great books on the subject….!