Timeline of William Duncan Guy - New Zealand Tunnellers

1917

31 March

Posted at the age of 40

5th Reinforcements

Trained

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1917

26 April

Transfer to England

HMNZT 84 Turakina

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

20 July

Marched in to NZ Depot, Christchurch

1917

11 August

Embarked for France

1917

14 August

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

Detached to Segregation Camp

1917

5 September

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

20 September

Joined 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

3 January

Gassed

1918

4 January

Admitted to hospital with gas effects

1918

14 January

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

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

13 May

Rejoined the Company

1918

5 July

Admitted to hospital with a pick wound to the right leg

1918

3 August

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

8 August

Allied Attacks

Hundred Days Offensive

1918

23 August

Rejoined the Company

1918

18 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

6 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

1919

22 January

Discharged

1919

29 January

Embarked for England

1919

30 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Larkhill

1919

15 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1919

14 March

Transfer to New Zealand

Troopship Ionic

1919

24 May

End of Service

Demobilization

How to cite this page

Anthony Byledbal, “World War I Timeline of William Duncan Guy“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, 2026 (2009), Accessed: 16 January 2026. URL: www.nztunnellers.com/tunnellers/335/wwi-timeline

World War ITimeline

1917

1918

1919

How to cite this page