1st Canadian Tunnelling Company

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1st Canadian Tunnelling Company
ActiveWorld War I
CountryCanada Canada
BranchCanadian Expeditionary Force
TypeRoyal Engineer tunnelling company
RoleMilitary engineering
Tunnel warfare
Nickname(s)"The Beavers"
EngagementsWorld War I
Battle of Messines
Sappers at Work: A Canadian Tunnelling Company, Hill 60, St Eloi by David Bomberg, which bears a reference to 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company.

The 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company was one of the

mines under enemy lines, as well as other underground work such as the construction of deep dugouts for troop accommodation, the digging of subways, saps (a narrow trench dug to approach enemy trenches), cable trenches and underground chambers for signals and medical services.[1]

Background

Main article: Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers

By January 1915 it had become evident to the

John Norton-Griffiths, the War Office formally approved the tunnelling company scheme on 19 February 1915.[2]

Norton-Griffiths ensured that tunnelling companies numbers 170 to 177 were ready for deployment in mid-February 1915. In the spring of that year, there was constant underground fighting in the

Territorial unit.[4] The formation of twelve new tunnelling companies, between July and October 1915, helped to bring more men into action in other parts of the Western Front.[3] Most British tunnelling companies were formed under Norton-Griffiths' leadership during 1915, and one more was added in 1916.[1]

On 10 September 1915, the British government sent an appeal to Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to raise tunnelling companies in the Dominions of the British Empire. On 17 September, New Zealand became the first Dominion to agree the formation of a tunnelling unit. The New Zealand Tunnelling Company arrived at Plymouth on 3 February 1916 and was deployed to the Western Front in northern France.[5] The Canadian Military Engineers contributed three tunnelling companies to the British Expeditionary Force. One unit was formed from men on the battlefield, plus two other companies trained in Canada and then shipped to France.[1] Three Australian tunnelling companies were formed by March 1916, resulting in 30 tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers being available by the summer of 1916.[1]

Unit history

The unit patch of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company was a red square with a large black capital letter T on it.[6]

Formation, Armentières, The Bluff

1st Canadian Tunnelling Company was formed in eastern Canada, then moved to France and into the

The Bluff in May 1916, where ít worked on tunnels until January 1917 when it was relieved by 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company.[1] From spring 1916 onwards, the Germans drove long galleries beneath The Bluff, and on 25 July 1916 the 1st Company of the 24th Pioneers blew a mine under the ridge. The 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company had, however, anticipated the blow so casualties were minimized[7]
and the attacking German infantry did not capture the ridge.

Hill 60/Messines

mines laid before the Battle of Messines, 1917
Plan of the deep mine dug from the "Queen Victoria" gallery and placed by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company at St Eloi before the Battle of Messines
Main article: Mines in the Battle of Messines (1917)

1st Canadian Tunnelling Company next took over the tunnelling operations at

British 41st Division.[9]

The 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company used a Whittaker

War Diary lists numerous stoppages for repairs.[6] The Lock Hospital position was located at Lock 6 on the Ypres-Comines canal, and the tunnel extended from there to a point beneath the British lines some 400 metres away. The final approach gallery beneath no-man's land to the German trenches was to be completed by the silent clay-kicking method. In the end, problems with the machinery and the geology led to this project being abandoned.[14]

In October 1918, 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company fought with the

Canal de L'Escaut, north-east of Cambrai, during which Captain Coulson Norman Mitchell earned the Victoria Cross
.

Notable members

Captain Coulson Norman Mitchell VC

Popular culture

See also

  • Mine warfare

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e The Tunnelling Companies RE Archived 2015-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, access date 25 April 2015
  2. ^ a b c d "Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Norton-Griffiths (1871–1930)". Royal Engineers Museum. Archived from the original on May 15, 2006. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  3. ^ a b Barton, Doyle & Vandewalle 2004, p. 165
  4. ^ "Corps History – Part 14: The Corps and the First World War (1914–18)". Royal Engineers Museum. Archived from the original on May 15, 2006. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
  5. ^ Anthony Byledbal, "New Zealand Tunnelling Company: Chronology" (online Archived 2015-07-06 at the Wayback Machine), access date 5 July 2015
  6. ^ a b c d "The Plug Street Project - The 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company". www.plugstreet-archaeology.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved Apr 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Jones 2010, p. 143.
  8. ^ Jones 2010, p. 146.
  9. ^ a b "St Eloi Craters". firstworldwar.com. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  10. ^ According to Holt & Holt 2014, p. 248, the Queen Victoria shaft was begun in the area of Bus House Cemetery, behind a farm-house called Bus House by the British troops (50°48′46.8″N 2°53′13.6″E / 50.813000°N 2.887111°E / 50.813000; 2.887111). From there, the gallery was extended to the area of the mine chamber.
  11. ^ Turner, Messines 1917 (2010), p. 44.
  12. ^ Edmonds 1991, p. 37–38.
  13. ^ Photo gallery: Battle of Messines Ridge Archived 2015-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, access date 16 February 2015.
  14. ^ Barton, Doyle & Vandewalle 2004, pp. 180–181
  15. ^ "No. 29940". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 January 1917. p. 1546.

References

Further reading

External links
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