The war on the Western Front bogged down into siege conditions by November 1914. Both sides faced the need to break through the enemy’s defensive entrenched positions. It was not long before an ancient art was remembered and used most effectively: mining under the enemy lines, placing explosives and blowing them up. In some areas, both sides mined and counter-mined intensively. For the infantry above ground, the wait for underground explosions was nerve-wracking indeed; for the men underground, hard toil often came accompanied by sudden death. The 179th Tunnelling Company were formed in the 3rd Army area in October 1915, and moved into the Thiepval-La Boisselle sector of the area of the Somme recently taken over by the British Expeditionary Force in 1916. The four mines at La Boisselle were detonated at 7:28 a.m. on the 1st July 1916, the first day on the Somme. The explosion of the Lochnagar mine was initiated by Captain James Young of the 179th Tunnelling Company, who pressed the switches and observed that the firing had been successful. The two charges of the Lochnagar mine created a single, vast, smooth sided, flat bottom crater measuring some 220 feet (67 metres) diameter excluding the lip, and 450 feet (137 metres) across the full extent of the lip. It had obliterated between 300 and 400 feet (91 and 122 metres) of the German dug-outs, all said to have been full of German troops. At the time, the Lochnagar mine, along with the Y Sap mine, were the largest mines ever detonated. The sound of the blast was considered the loudest man-made noise in history up to that point, with reports suggesting it was heard in London. The pursuit of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, 14th March - 5th April 1917 : During Somme fighting the Germans constructed a formidable new defensive system some miles in their rear. From February 1917 they began to withdraw into it, giving up ground but in carrying out "Operation Alberich" they made the ground as uninhabitable and difficult as possible. British patrols eventually detected the withdrawal and cautiously followed up and advanced, being brought to a standstill at the outer defences of the system. James Died of Wounds at the 43rd Casualty Clearing Station which was based at Warlincourt Halte from the 12th June 1916. The 179th Tunnelling Company War Diary for the 28/03/1917 states - "7.10 p.m. 2 enemy shells burst in D Sections billet just after men had assembled for a pay parade causing the following casualties - Killed : 2/LT. P. J. BATES R. E., No. 79056 SAPPER GRAHAM W., No. 137579 SAPPER GOWAN P., No. 132829 SAPPER MUDWAY A.J., No. 102909 SAPPER CHAPMAN G., No. 132908 SAPPER SPEED F., No. 97796 SAPPER NILAND J. 38 Other Ranks Wounded". James was possibly one of the men wounded that evening. James was formerly with the Seaforth Highlanders (6096) and he arrived in France on the 13/05/1915. James' Grave photo kindly donated by Mick McCann at the British War Graves website who supply photos FREE OF CHARGE
here. See photos for James' Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report x 2 and Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery. Finally, SEE PHOTOS x 14 FOR THE 179th TUNNELLING COMPANY WAR DIARY MARCH 1917, A PRINTED COPY OF THE WAR DIARY 28/03/1917 and 29/03/1917, Principal areas of mining activity in France and Flanders, James' Pension Records x 2, his original Regiment the Seaforth Highlanders Cap Badge and the Royal Engineers Cap Badge.
