World War ITimeline

1915

12 November

Enlisted at the age of 21

Main Body

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

26 April

Admitted to hospital with measles

1916

13 May

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1916

21 June

Granted leave to France

1916

5 July

Rejoined the Company

1916

20 September

Granted leave

1916

29 September

Rejoined the Company

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

2 December

Admitted to hospital

1916

4 December

Promoted Captain

1916

15 December

Rejoined the Company

1917

6 January

Admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to the face

1917

22 January

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

6 February

Rejoined the Company

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

27 August

Granted leave

1917

9 September

Rejoined the Company

1917

3 December

Detached to IVth Corps

1917

15 December

Rejoined the Company

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

9 January

Granted leave

1918

26 January

Rejoined the Company

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

5 August

Detached on command to Commanding Royal Engineers Cavalry Corps

1918

8 August

Allied Attacks

Hundred Days Offensive

1918

19 September

Rejoined the Company

1918

22 September

Granted leave to the United Kingdom

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

25 October

Rejoined the Company

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

27 December

Discharged

1919

1 January

Embarked for England

1919

3 January

Marched in to NZ Sling Camp, Bulford

1919

15 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1919

14 March

Transfer to New Zealand

Troopship Ionic

1919

4 June

End of Service

Demobilization

How to cite this page

Anthony Byledbal, “World War I Timeline of Robert Henry Daldy“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, NaN (2009), Accessed: . URL: www.nztunnellers.com/tunnellers/185/wwi-timeline