Underground Warfare 1914-1918 and Branch AGM

The stalemate on the Western Front led to the revival of siege warfare, with skilled miners and mining engineers being drawn in to dig hundreds of miles of tunnels and detonate thousands of underground charges.  Simon returns to Surrey to tell their story.

Simon is a freelance historian, a tour guide, a museum curator and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.  He is the author of several books about the First World War including “Underground Warfare 1914-1918” and “World War 1 Gas Warfare Tactics and Equipment”.

The meeting will start at the earlier time of 7:30pm with the branch AGM.  This normally takes about 20 minutes.

This meeting will be held in Cobham.  Members of The Western Front Association and non-members are equally welcome.  We ask for a modest £5 donation on the door.  This includes tea, coffee and biscuits at the break. It also includes free tickets for the book raffle.

People joining us at Cobham can use our cashless card system and use their credit card/phone with the reader that will be available at the signing-in desk. To help make things easier and safer, we are asking those coming to Cobham to bring their own mug for coffee or tea.

Doors open at Cobham at 7:00pm and the meeting starts with the Branch AGM at 7:30pm.

The picture shows a party, which included the New Zealand Prime Minister Mr. William Massey and his Deputy Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward, seen on the lip of the mine crater at La Boisselle, 23rd October 1916. IWM (Q 1480)