Mole Tunnellers of the Great War a Talk by Andy McKinnon

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Tuesday 19th November 2019 I 7pm
Arnold Methodist Church
£1.00 for members and £3.00 for non-members

Royal Engineer tunnelling companies were specialist units of the Corps of Royal Engineers within the British Army, formed to dig attacking tunnels under enemy lines during the First World War.  

As tunnels were vulnerable to attack, the entrances were a closely guarded secret. With electricity in short supply in the frontline, tunnelers were forced to work by candlelight, operating in near silence to avoid detection. The tunnels were cold and dark, cramped and often up to a foot deep in freezing water, working in cold, cramped conditions, miners worked in 6 or 12 hour rotating shifts.

Miners were prone to illness, with high rates of trench foot and bad food disease, while fatigue compounded the situation, creating a high mortality rate, the miners also had to cope with difficult circumstances when they entered the mining tunnels. 

Come along to hear this fascinating talk from Andy McKinnon.