World War ITimeline

1915

13 October

Posted at the age of 28

1st Reinforcements

Trained

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

Steamship Ruapehu

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

Three officers of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company seated and posing in a trench during World War I, wearing military uniforms and helmet.

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

1916

16 April

Admitted to hospital with measles

1916

1 June

Admitted to hospital from NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1916

16 November

Two New Zealand Tunnellers working underground during World War I; one man shovels rubble while the other digs into the chalk tunnel wall.

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1916

17 November

Rejoined the Company from NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

9 April

British Offensive

Battle of Arras

Soldiers marching along a road carrying shovels, heading toward a section of the road that requires repair during World War I.

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

1917

5 May

A group of New Zealand Tunnellers posing inside their billet in an underground quarry near the front line; four of them are playing cards while others look on.

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

1917

28 May

Arrested by Military Police, Boulogne

1917

5 July

Appeared before a Field General Court Martial for desertion

1917

16 July

Sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial. Commuted to 5 years penal servitude and suspended

1917

17 July

Rejoined the Company

1917

16 December

XVIIth Corps refused to put suspended sentence into effect

1918

1 January

Overview of the sawmill built and operated by the New Zealand Tunnellers, located alongside a railway line, with stacks of timber and workers visible.

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

1918

22 January

Admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to the left leg

1918

2 March

Awaited trial for self-inflicted wounds

1918

21 March

German Attacks

Spring Offensive

Two soldiers standing outside the entrance of a shaft in a desolate area of the front line, surrounded by barren ground and war-damaged terrain.

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

6 April

Classified unfit for active service, trial and punishment

1918

8 August

Allied Attacks

Hundred Days Offensive

1918

30 August

Released from arrest

Marched in to Base Depot, Etaples

1918

6 September

Embarked for England

1918

11 September

Marched in to NZ Expeditionary Force Headquarters, London

1918

27 September

Officers of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company posing in front of a newly completed military bridge built by their men during World War I.

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

1918

11 November

Cessation of Hostilities

Armistice

Military bridge built by the New Zealand Tunnellers spanning a river in the town of Cambrai; surrounding houses are a mix of intact structures and war-damaged ruins.

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

1918

22 December

Forfeited 14 days pay by Royal Warrant for absence without leave and admitted to hospital with a leg injury

1919

10 March

Transfer to New Zealand

Hospital Ship Maheno

1920

15 January

End of Service

Demobilization

How to cite this page

Anthony Byledbal, “World War I Timeline of Edward Robert Crawford“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, NaN (2009), Accessed: . URL: www.nztunnellers.com/tunnellers/169/wwi-timeline