*Briefing Room No.2

Posted on 25/02/2009 by FFFAIF

The Wellington Quarry, Battle of Arras Memorial

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Photo: The entrance to The Wellington Quarry, Arras. May 2008. [Chris Munro]

The Battle of Arras  was fought from 9 April to 16 May 1917, in Pas-de-Calais, France. In preparation for the battle 24,000 allied soldiers were mustered in an extensive underground network of tunnels below the town. The soldiers emerged from the tunnels close the German frontline for a surprise attack.
The Arras quarry was first dug in the Middle Ages and the stone extracted was used to build many of the important buildings of the town. The quarry survived under the town which was largely destroyed by the fighting in 1914. The Tunnelling Company of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force were in charge of linking up the quarries to create an underground network where allied soldiers could be quartered, waiting for the offensive to begin.
After the Great War, this network of tunnels lay forgotten until 1990 when they were re-discovered. After extensive work 350 metres of over 20 kilometres of tunnels, was opened to the public in January 2008 as part of The Wellington Quarry: The Battle of Arras Memorial. The entrance to the Memorial is located behind the car park of a large supermarket within walking distance of the main railway station at Arras. (GPS location of the entry the Memorial is 50o16’52.24″N  2o46’59.37″E if you wish to locate on Google Earth).

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After watching a short historical film, visitors enter the tunnels by going down in a glass lift. Accompanied by a guide they are directed via an audio commentary through areas which billeted soldiers while awaiting the offensive to start.

Click on the arrows below the photo to view a slide show of Wellington Quarry.

[slideshare id=1056012&doc=WellingtonQuarry-090222010221-phpapp02]

Although the AIF were not in the tunnels at Arras a visit to the Wellington Quarry, Battle of Arras Memorial gives an interesting perspective on the underground aspects of war and is a worthwhile addition to Western Front itineraries. The tour takes just over an hour and is a very interesting and worthwhile experience.

For more details visit:

Contributed by FFFAIF member Chris Munro.

***** 

 The Families and Friends of the First AIF thanks the Australian, UK and French governments for affording Australian and British soldiers – presently buried in mass graves at Pheasant Wood – dignified individual reburials in a new CWGC cemetery at Fromelles, and applauds Minister Snowdon and his British counterpart, Parliamentary Under–Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans, Kevan Jones MP, for their joint decision to DNA test the remains at exhumation and use every reasonable method to attempt identification of each soldier.

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