Men from the New Zealand Tunnelling Company were sent to France during World War 1 as part of a group to help dig the tunnels during the war. The men were mostly from the towns of Waiho or Reefton.
We read today that the men were very tough and rough men and did not take kindly to authority. However, in a few short weeks they were trained to march, salute and take orders before leaving for France. We found this part quite intriguing.
We read the men left New Zealand on December 1915.
When the tunnelling men arrived in France, they arrived to a place called Arras. It was once a beautiful town but had been ruined by war. Other tunnelling companies were already in Arras when the Kiwis arrived. French tunnellers were digging in a place called Labyrinth and it was there that the Kiwis were set to work.
Tunnels were needed because the Allied trench would be on one side and the German trench would be on the other side. The space in between the two trenches was called 'No man's land'. The Allies would send their soldiers over on foot trying to overtake the German territory but were shot down. Therefore, another strategy was needed to move in on the Germans and the tunnels came into the war. This was the War Underground.
The war ended on Armistice day 11/11/1918. However, the Kiwi men did not come back to New Zealand until a few months later. They had to stay back in France to rebuild the area where the tunnels were after the war. They arrived back in April 1919 and for a time their work in war was forgotten about.
Today, Arras has a special visitors centre, with a lift which goes down to an underground museum in the 'Wellington' cave. The town also has a memorial for the more than 50 New Zealand tunneller who died during the war.
Lest we forget
