World War ITimeline

1916

4 November

Enlisted at the age of 43

4th Reinforcements

1917

4 January

Trained

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1917

16 February

Transfer to England

HMNZT 76 Aparima

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

2 May

Marched in to NZ Depot, Christchurch

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

3 July

Embarked for France

1917

5 July

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

13 July

Joined the Company

1917

1 December

Appointed Cook

1917

14 December

Relinquished appointment of Cook

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

8 March

Appointed Cook

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

25 April

Relinquished appointment of Cook

1918

8 August

Allied Attacks

Hundred Days Offensive

1918

27 August

Granted leave to the United Kingdom

1918

13 September

Rejoined the Company

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

29 December

Discharged

1918

30 December

Embarque pour l'Angleterre

1919

25 January

Transfer to New Zealand

Troopship Port Melbourne

1919

3 September

End of Service

Demobilization

How to cite this page

Anthony Byledbal, “World War I Timeline of John James Freeman“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, NaN (2009), Accessed: . URL: www.nztunnellers.com/tunnellers/292/wwi-timeline