Excavating tunnels from World War I

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Roger the Cat
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Newbie Topic Starter

13 years ago

A little OT, but this BBC clip is quite interesting. A lot of miners were enlisted in the REs to do this kind of work, but generally don't get the recognition they deserve with 11/11 coming up next week and all that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15568539

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carnkie
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Newbie

13 years ago

"Roger the Cat" wrote:
A little OT, but this BBC clip is quite interesting. A lot of miners were enlisted in the REs to do this kind of work, but generally don't get the recognition they deserve with 11/11 coming up next week and all that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15568539

Funny enough I was just about post on this subject. Their web site.

http://www.laboisselleproject.com/

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

grahami
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Newbie

13 years ago

Curious coincidence - I visited Vimy Ridge Memorial during the summer holidays, but unfortunately didn't get time to look into the Grange Subway there, as we were on our way elsewhere.

However, the Durand Group and Fougasse films have produced DVDs of their explorations and there's quite a lot of info out on the web as well - and on the undergound quarries of Arras which were used as barracks. A good book is "The Underground War - Vimy Ridge to Arras"

If anyone's interested I can post some links here.

Cheers

Grahami

The map is the territory - especially in chain scale.

Moorebooks
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Newbie

13 years ago

if you have the links put them up

Mike

Mr.C
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Newbie

13 years ago

"Moorebooks" wrote:

if you have the links put them up

Mike

Sounds like fighting talk! 🙂
Seriously there is an excellent book on the subject, which I have a copy of (not for sale!) called "Beneath Flanders Fields" - if any one is interested I'll post the details whin I get home tonight.

We inhabit an island made of coal, surrounded by a sea full of fish. How can we go wrong.......

rufenig
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Newbie

13 years ago

With appologies to Mike 😞

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Beneath+Flanders+Fields&x=12&y=25

grahami
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Newbie

13 years ago

"Moorebooks" wrote:

if you have the links put them up

Mike

You asked (Sample only - can't find'em all at the mo) :
War Undergound Vimy Ridge Book:
http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/?product_id=3034
Arras Underground Quarries:
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/interactive/arras-tunnels-map
http://www.carriere-wellington.com/
Vimy Ridge - link to Grange Subway Tunnel
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/memorials/ww1mem/vimy/vtour/animate
Undergound Exploration at Vimy Ridge DVDs and elsewhere:
http://www.fougassefilms.co.uk/ffl.htm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004UQ195K/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=
One of the groups doing the exploring:
http://www.durandgroup.org.uk/
Maps of the WW1 front lines showing trenches (but not the tunnels 🙂 ) Some fascinating detail of light railways and canals etc.)
http://library.mcmaster.ca/maps/ww1/ndx5to40.htm

That should do for a start.

CHeers

Grahami

The map is the territory - especially in chain scale.

RJV
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Newbie

13 years ago

Robert Graves’ Goodbye to all That contains a tense semi-autobiographical account of his time spent with tunnellers from (I think) the Royal Engineers at (I think) the Battle of Loos. Later lifted by Sebastian Faulks for his good, if slightly soppy in parts, Birdsong.

carnkie
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Newbie

13 years ago

"RJV" wrote:
Robert Graves’ Goodbye to all That contains a tense semi-autobiographical account of his time spent with tunnellers from (I think) the Royal Engineers at (I think) the Battle of Loos. Later lifted by Sebastian Faulks for his good, if slightly soppy in parts, Birdsong.

It was the battle of Loos as I did some research recently, using some information from the book, on the the meteorological conditions and the use of gas at Loos.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

derrickman
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Newbie

13 years ago

#10

Robert Graves was writing about Loos, the passage about "discharge the accessory" is a reference to the use of gas in that battle

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.