World War ITimeline

1916

30 March

Enlisted at the age of 32

2nd Reinforcements

1916

4 May

Trained

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1916

26 June

Transfer to England

HMNZT 56 Maunganui

1916

22 August

Marched in to NZ Sling Camp, Bulford

1916

2 September

Embarked for France

1916

4 September

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1916

15 November

Joined 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

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

8 June

Wounded in action

Admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to the right thigh

1917

12 June

Embarked for England

1917

13 June

Admitted to hospital

1917

30 November

Granted leave

1917

17 December

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

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

18 March

Appointed Acting Corporal

Embarked for France

1918

21 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

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 March

Rejoined the Company

Relinquished appointment of Acting Corporal

1918

17 June

Appointed Cook

1918

8 August

Allied Attacks

Hundred Days Offensive

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

18 December

Granted leave to the United Kingdom

1918

19 December

Relinquished appointment of Cook

1919

4 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1919

20 January

Transfer to New Zealand

Troopship Port Melbourne

1919

15 May

End of Service

Demobilization

How to cite this page

Anthony Byledbal, “World War I Timeline of John Thomson Russell“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, NaN (2009), Accessed: . URL: www.nztunnellers.com/tunnellers/746/wwi-timeline