World War ITimeline

1916

13 September

Enlisted at the age of 25

3rd Reinforcements

1916

4 October

Trained

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1916

15 November

Transfer to England

HMNZT 69 Tahiti

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

13 December

Awarded 48 hours detention

1916

18 December

Admitted to hospital at sea with sprained ankle

1917

14 January

Returned to duty

1917

15 January

Fined 10/-

1917

29 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1917

1 February

Awarded 7 days detention and forfeited 7 days pay for drunkenness and misconduct in billets

1917

17 March

Awarded 28 days detention for conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, and also to pay 30/- for causing damage

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

4 June

Embarked for France

1917

7 June

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

5 July

Joined the Company

1917

28 November

Granted leave

1917

7 December

Rejoined the Company

1917

26 December

Gassed

Admitted to hospital

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

5 January

Rejoined the Company

1918

16 January

Admitted to hospital

1918

22 January

Diagnosed with bronchitis

1918

15 March

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

23 March

Awarded 21 days Field Punishment No.2 and forfeited 21 days pay for drunkenness, absence without leave and being in Paris Plage without a pass

1918

11 May

Admitted to hospital with injury

1918

17 May

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

31 May

Awarded 14 days Field Punishment No.2 and forfeited 14 days pay for drunkenness

1918

5 June

Rejoined the Company

1918

8 August

Allied Attacks

Hundred Days Offensive

1918

13 August

Granted leave

1918

1 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

16 December

Granted leave to the United Kingdom

1919

16 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1919

19 May

Admonished and 10 days pay by Royal Warrant for absence without leave

1919

16 June

Awarded 168 hours detention for absence without leave

1919

23 June

Transfer to New Zealand

Troopship Geissen

1919

23 September

End of Service

Demobilization

How to cite this page

Anthony Byledbal, “World War I Timeline of Arthur Page“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, NaN (2009), Accessed: . URL: www.nztunnellers.com/tunnellers/654/wwi-timeline