Chronology of Tunnelling in the La Boisselle Sector in March 1916 (Work in progress)

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La Boisselle Contents

 

 

Date/ Source

Mining

Infantry

1/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

7pm 53rd Inf Bde hand over E2 & E3 sectors to 14th Inf Bde on completion of relief

A Section commence work in Inch St (185 Coy’s workings) ceasing [?] work in S5 and M

CO arranged with brigadier for the supply of larger fatigue parties of infantry at the surface so that sappers could be entirely employed underground and thus enable us to manage some of the work the 185 Coy were doing.

 

 

1/3/16 War Diary 14 Bde GS

[Hance to GOC 14 Bde] Mining Operations in E2 & E3

For the last 4 months the operations in E2 have been carried out by 185 Co RE, those in E3 by 179 Co RE.

The infantry battalions in the two sub-sectors for the time being have found the fatigues. In E2 these fatigues did all the work of winding on winches, working ventilating fans and carrying away sand-bags of spoil to the dumps. The total number employed per shift was 5 NCOs and 56 men.

In E3 the infantry only carried bags to dumps, the number so employed being about 3 NCOs and 33 men.

The 185th Co having been withdrawn their front has been given to 179 Co.

One section and a quarter has had to be transferred from E3 to E2.

This can only be done if Sappers are relieved wherever possible by infantry, and accordingly the numbers now required in E3 are

3 NCOs (Sergts or Cpls) and 52 men per shift. [ms alongside ‘RE dugout Methven St]

For the present, & until 179 Co can get the necessary plant to work in E2 Sub Sector, the infantry fatigues reqd are 1 NCO & 6 men. [ms alongside ‘RE dugout Inch St 19/L F’?

In both Sub Sectors no fatigue party should leave till its relief has arrived.

It is immaterial whether such fatigues work 8 hour or 6 hour shifts. The former is the more economical in men.

In both cases the Senior RE officer on duty visits battalion HdQrs each afternoon or evening and hands in a written memo stating how many fatigue men are required at the various shafts. The infantry then arrange their own fatigue reliefs accordingly.

Besides the above a carrying party of 3 NCOs and 30 men parade at Bapaume Post daily at 10.30am to carry up stores to E3 shafts. Generally one trip suffices, as each relief of REs carry stores also.

A carrying party for E2 will be required each night at 9pm at Becourt Chateau, when work in E2 is in full swing, the size of which will be notified later.

When mines have to be charged quickly it has been generally the custom for the Brigade Major to arrange for special carrying parties to carry explosives from Bapaume Post (to which point they are delivered by the RE Transport) to the front line, unless time has permitted of this being done by successive in-going RE reliefs.

[messages re carrying parties etc from 15, 16/HLI, 19/LF, 2/Man]

 

 

1/3/16 3rd Army CE WD

IV Army took over outhern portion of II Army Area. From, Somme to Fonquevillers …

 

 

2/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

8.30 am [2Lt A M McKay on special leave to England. 7.30pm Thompson returns from leave]

 

 

3/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

[10am Allan back from leave]

 

 

4/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

[10am Spr Kelly tried FGCM AWOL 2 months FP 1]

 

 

7/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

[2Lts P J Bates & R Hawtrey to hospital

 

 

8/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

[8pm 2Lt Jamieson 178 Coy arrived on a 2 day visit to the trenches]

 

 

13/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… 4.30pm during relief of shifts a trench mortar bomb burst amongst B Section party near S4 shaft head killing [Hynes & Farrington & wounding Young (DoW) Firth & Ballantyne]

 

 

14/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… Col Preedy (Controller of Mines 4th Army arrived and viewed plans & ground with CO.

[Farrington Young & Hynes buried Albert Cem]

 

 

 

17/3/16 3rd Army CE WD

Mine Rescue School moved from Ribemont to Acq. Lt Penman the O i/c was evacuated sick with pneumonia. Controller of Mines & Chemical Adviser asked to nominate another officer.

 

19/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

[Bates rejoins from Warloy Hosp]

 

19/3/16 97 Bde WD (32 Div)

[inst from 4th A new system of numbering front line in sector held by Bde comes into force today. At the same time the expression “E” sector is abolished. In future “E” sector will be known as “Right Brigade Sector” and E.1 and E.2 sub sectors will be known as Right and Left sub sectors respectively.

 

20/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… 2.45pm Enemy blew a camouflet a pt. X.19.b.79.86. (sheet 62c NE) between and in front of our W7 chamber and Z attack gallery. No damage. done to any of our workings.

 

20/3/16 Stokes Diary

[Third Army inspection] Officers of 185th Company (Tomlinson particularly) expressed conviction, from experience at Albert and Arras, that it is possible for men to be gassed working at face in air which would not apparently influence a canary. They say that from their experience men can be affected by gas back from the source of the gas which affects them. I claimed that, by some arrangement of men or bird, they could not have bee [sic] subjected to the same air. I contend it is quite possible for men, picking down the face and opening little ‘seams’ or pockets of CO gas in shattered chalk, working with their mouths quite close to the exudations, to be gradually affected – even badly – whilst a canary, a few feet back near air delivery, might remain quite ‘chirpy’.

Tomlinson claimed these conditions were not represented, but that the men and birds breathed the same air for the same period, and that the former (working) were alone influence…. It has this considerable practical importance, in that, quite apart from the danger, the canary has been considered our only guard against malingering on part of men in doubtful places. I have never myself had occasion to question the sensitiveness of the canary.

 

21/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… OC visited workings. …

 

24/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… 12 noon Brig Gen F Compton cdr 14th Inf Bde presented Sgt J Richardson RE with the bronze medal of the Royal Humane Society for life saving at La Boisselle in September 1915.

CO visited workings.

 

25/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… OC visited Controller of Mines 4th Army

 

26/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… Controller of Mines here to obtain CO’s views re enlisting of miners in England at 6/- rate of daily pay.

 

26/3/16 Norton Griffiths Diary

to Albert to see O.C. 179th. Just finishing tamping mine in S.4.A.2 La. Hance short of some good Compressor men for running Engine Boisselle 8000 lbs Enemy Close. Infantry to make a bombing raid. Mine to be blown tonight & plant wants 8 badly.  Altho he has been asking repeatedly for picks Hardy 4 lb for some weeks now he can’t get any & complains against 6/- miners.

 

27/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… 12.27am Charge of 8000 lbs Blastine successfully fired in A2 attack gallery (S4 system) in combination with infantry raid on German trenches opposite and Y sap. No enemy prisoners taken by Infantry whose casualties were slight.

LLR of mine

System of tamping:- 60 ft solid followed by a 6 ft air space. Thereafter alternate solid tamping of 6 feet and air spaces of 6 feet for a total distance of 24 feet to main transversal, itself tamped solid 15 ft either side of A2 attack gallery.

[8.15am Bates & Reid short leave]

 

28/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

10am  Controller of Mines here. Stated that 3rd Corps were taking over our part of the front as of April 6th. .. CO visited Company’s system of mines with Controller of Mines Also discussed desire of new (3rd) Corps commander to commence mining in fresh places of the Corps Front. [Sprs Smith & Lunn to hosp slightly gassed while untamping from mine blown 27/3/16]

 

29/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… 10am Controller of Mines here. CO visited with him some of the new places where mining was proposed as stated in their conference of 28/3/16.

 

30/3/16 War Diary 179 Coy

… CO with Controller of Mines in trenches.

 

 

© Simon Jones 2006