New NZ tunnelling memorial

[Chris_Baker]

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, April 12 -- The government of New Zealand issued the following news release:

A memorial to the brave New Zealand tunnellers who built a vast underground city used by thousands of British troops during WW1 was unveiled last weekend in France.

The tunnel network under the city of Arras in northern France was built between 1916 and 1918 by members of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, who were specially recruited from the gold and coal mining districts of New Zealand.

The 400-strong Kiwi tunnellers, who had undertaken only basic military training, worked to combat the Germans, burrowing under no-man's land to blow up and destroy the enemy trenches above.

New Zealand's Ambassador to France, Sarah Dennis, who unveiled the memorial on Sunday 8 April, said, "This memorial is a welcome and fitting tribute to the courage and tenacity of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company. The scale and resilience of the network they constructed is remarkable: Arras deserves its prominent place in New Zealand's shared memories of World War One."

The memorial is to remember the 41 New Zealand tunnellers who lost their lives at Arras and the 151 who were wounded - many who were buried under tonnes of rubble from German counter-mining.

The Kiwi tunnellers joined a number of large chalk quarries built in medieval times to develop two tunnel systems running under the main roads of Arras. In one tunnel system each cave is named after a New Zealand town - Russell, Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, and finally, just before the German front line, Bluff.

Working parties to assist the tunnellers were sent from the New Zealand Division and included Maori and Pacific Islanders of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion.

Through the winter of 1916 as the town of Arras above was destroyed by German artillery the underground city grew large enough to accommodate 20,000 men. There was running water, electric lighting, kitchens, latrines, a light rail system and a medical centre with a fully equipped operating theatre.

On 9 April 1917 15,000 men moved through the tunnels to launch the Battle of Arras.

The New Zealand tunnellers remained in France, repairing roads, developing other tunnel systems, and building and repairing bridges. They returned to New Zealand in March 1919.

The tunnels were closed up after 1945 and lay undiscovered until 1990. Since then considerable work has been conducted and in early 2008 a new museum will be opened at the tunnels site.

* Media wanting photographs or further information should contact Ally Clelland, Defence Public Relations (in NZ) 04 496 0273 or 021 569 130.

[wesmo]

Chris,

I was in Arras over Easter and came upon this memorial purely by chance. I think its the monument to the Aussies and New Zealanders you've mentioned. I hope the attached picture may be of interest, especially to our friends "Down Under".

Wes

[ragamuffin]

Could you tell us exactly where in Arras this memorial is please?

Danke.

[christine liava'a]

War Memorial in Arras Dedicated to New Zealand Soldiers Who Served in World War One

A ceremony was held on the morning of Easter Sunday in the French town of Arras to dedicate a monument to New Zealand tunnellers who served in France during the First World War. The New Zealand Ambassador to France, Ms Sarah Dennis and the Senator-Mayor of Arras were present at the ceremony as was a 400-strong crowd.

The memorial has been deliberately placed at the Défense passive site, that is the entry to the Wellington Quaries which lie less than two hundred metres away .

New Zealand sappers, who had only basic military training, built an entire underground city in these quarries between 1916 and 1918. This underground network of tunnels was used to shelter thousands of British soldiers while they prepared for a giant offensive (the Battle of Arras). Moreover, on Easter Monday 1917, the New Zealand sappers dug tunnels up to German lines in order to create a clearing, relieving the allied front and allowing victory.

During the Second World War, between 1939 and 1940, the same network was used by the residents of Arras. The inhabitants of the town would descend via the same entrance that the New Zealand sappers in World War One had used, the Défensive passive site, to take refuge underground from German bombardments.

The monument itself was designed by a resident artist of Arras Mr Luc Brévart. It is made of white stones and wooden railway crossbars, reminiscent of the originals used by the New Zealand tunnellers. The memorial also has certain bronze components to it. These have been designed in the shape of the sappers’ helmets and pick-axes and even in the shape of a map of New-Zealand.

[wesmo]

My apologies to our Kiwi friends if I mistakenly described the monument as an Australian and New Zealand memorial.

I believe it was on the Avenue Fernand Lobbedez, south of Arras railway station.

Wes

[Lorre]

On 17/04/2007 at 18:54, Chris_Baker said:

The tunnel network under the city of Arras in northern France was built between 1916 and 1918 by members of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, who were specially recruited from the gold and coal mining districts of New Zealand.

Are there tunnels who where digged by the British soldiers?

As there are London, Liverpool, Manchester.

[AOK4]

8 minutes ago, Lorre said:

Are there tunnels who where digged by the British soldiers?

As there are London, Liverpool, Manchester.

May I recommend the book 'Beneath Flanders Fields' by Peter Barton, Peter Doyle and Johan Vandewalle? It's available in the library of Kortrijk.

[Lorre]

11 minutes ago, AOK4 said:

May I recommend the book 'Beneath Flanders Fields' by Peter Barton, Peter Doyle and Johan Vandewalle? It's available in the library of Kortrijk.

Have that beautiful book Jan, but dont find much about the Wellington Cave.