Before Ypres.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 27 October 1917, Page 3

Before Ypres.

All Canada and the United States have been elcctrificd by an inspiring report on the work of the Canadian tunnelling companies in France, written by Major Roland Hill of Ottawa, at the war correspondents' headquarters in France. The article has just been released for publication by the Canadian Militia Department, and says:—"A major from British Columbia showed me a crumpled, twisted mixture of earth and concrete, wrecked entanglements, parts of splintered facings of dugouts, under which hundreds of Huns were buried, and turned his professional eye to the depths of the crater in the centre. 'It should have been much deeper,' he Baid. 'I wanted them to put another 5,0001b of ammonal down there, but they said it was enough.' 'They were the staff of explosive experts who plan destruction for the Germans. On the right was the scattered rubble of brick that had been Wytschaete, from which the Huns could once see all over the British line at this section. Canadians knew it to their cost in the spring of 1916. To the left, now for ever in British possession, were the YpresCommes Canal and the Bluff, where our sth, 7th, 28th, and other fine battalions fought bitterly. Further still were the almost unrecognisable chateau of Hooge, Hill 60, and Mount Sorrel, one of Canada's few black spots; and just ahead were the craters of St. Eloi, which, when the Canadians were there, used to change hands times beyond count.

"All of it was ground for bitter memory lor the Dominion corps, almost every yard of it filled with bright spots for the unadvertiscd, hard-working officers of these three Canadian tunelling companies, who were in among the first and stayed with it until the first glad news was flashed to their comrades, soon after glorious Vimy, that they had taken full measure of revenge for the gruelling days Canadians spent on the southern end of the Ypres salient or in front of Messines. The major was one of the 'ground hogs' who stayed behind and were lost to Canada and the enemy. Ho had worked on the same sector for something like 18 months. "From, January) 1916, until June 7, 1917, they threw out long arteries far down into the earth that were to caTry the life-blood of final victory. Early one morning, when the usual time came for changing shifts an officer and a score of men came from their silent work underground into the hubbub of a first-class enemy raid. The trench was full of excited Germans, who .were trying to find and destroy this particular mine. The officer grabbed a box of bombs, told his men what to do, and, aided with picks and shovels, established a post that soon had Fritz thinking ho was attacked from the rear. When the British garrison came back on the counter-attack the officcr in command, with eyes full of hysterical tears, volubly thanked the men. " 'Nothing at all,' answered the Canadian. 'Did you think 1 was going to let him destroy two nionths of our hard work ?'

"He had come from home, I believe, as a private in one of the drafts from M' Gill. Now he is captain, with a bar to his Military Cross. Another of these Canadian tunnelling companies started the offensive mining in the neighborhood of Hill 60. Two shallow shafts had already been sunk, but the ground was so bad it was difficult to drive a tunnel in the direction of the German's main workings. Steel casings were obtained, and nine yards of main tunnel constructed in this way. 'We could often hear the Hun sappers working over us.' said the Canadian captain, who had charge of this working, 'and when they got too near we dug upwards and blew him up.' This tunnelling was responsible for a famous fortress near Hill 60, now almost unrecognisable then & menacing thing bristling with maehine guns, which could have held any attack at hay. "The main offensive galleries wotc started from, a high mound to the south of the railway cutting. After many vicissitudes, including constant enemy opposition underground, the charge of 70,0001b of ammonal was placed an a most advantageous position right under the mound, and in October, 1916, the thargo was loaded and tamped. plain English, this meant that the garrison 'of a certain place near Hill 60, often mentioned in British communiques, had been sitting over a class volcano for nine months, and tho skilful, energetic countermining of this Canadian company kept him in blissful ignorance until he went up m the air,' literally, on the famous Mcssmes push. For their numerical strength, these tunelling companies have probably the greatest number of honors of any units in the Canadian overseas forces. One company I visitod while at rest m their little green bungalows among the fields tan count seven officers with the Military Cross, and 27 men with other decorations won in this work alone. Their commanding officer had been mentioned in despatches. "Another company has four Military Crosses and 14 Military Medals, while the remaining camp counts one Croix dc Guerre, six Military Crosses, five D.C.M.'s and 12 Military Medals. Some of their officers, keen men from Canada's technical schools, have staff appointments at various army headquarters, and there is one who has gained a fine advisory post at British General Headquarters itself, t