THE DURAND GROUP

Organisation

Following the initial formation of the British Tunnelling Companies their war time establishment was finally settled as follows:-

• 19 Officers comprising a Major Officer Commanding (OC), a Captain Adjutant, a Medical Officer, 4 Captains each commanding a Section, and 12 subalterns (Lieutenants & 2nd Lieutenants).
• In each Company there were 4 Mining Sections (around 120 men) capable of operating independently (i.e. they had integral cooks, transport, drivers etc) and there was also a Company HQ section which included rescue specialists, craftsmen, signalers, draughtsmen, Stores personnel etc.
• Each Mining Section was divided into 4 shifts, each shift generally being commanded by a subaltern or (sometimes) a Sergeant. Full strength was 19 officers and 550 Other Ranks (OR). Note however that there were some companies designated as ‘Lower Establishment’ which had the same officer structure but only 325 OR supplemented by 216 permanently attached infantry who were then trained to be ‘Miners Mates’.

Staff

The Tunnelling Companies and operational policy were directed from General Headquarters (GHQ) by a Brigadier-General (Controller of Mines) and a staff which included Geologists and Medical Advisors. Operational Control Control of mining activity was vested in a Lt Col (Controller of Mines), with a small staff, located in each Army HQ (ultimately 5 such). Each Army also maintained a Mine School and Mine Rescue Training organisation.

Accommodation

Tunnelling Companies generally remained working in a sector for many months, and so made themselves comfortable. Rest billets and administrative personnel would be located well back from the lines, usually in villages or towns. Company HQ would be located a mile or two behind the forward line in cellars, caves or dugouts as available. Section HQs usually occupied dugouts in the 2nd or 3rd line. In addition there were dugouts for duty rescue men, central listening stations, explosives stores etc – often within or close to the tunnels.

Rates of Pay

A qualified clay kicker, who enlisted in 1915 as a Sapper (the most junior rank in the Royal Engineers) was paid 6 shillings (30p) per day, which contrasts with about 1s (5p) per day for an infantry private and around 6s per day for a Lieutenant. However non qualified ‘miners mates’ received 1s 2p (6p) per day plus RE supplementary pay of 1s per day. This discrepancy gave rise to considerable aggravation when many qualified miners were enlisted on the basic Sapper rate and miners who had initially enlisted as infantry, were transferred to Tunnelling Companies and paid as miner’s mates. Likewise when ‘miners mates’ acquired experience and were employed on the same basis as enlisted clay kickers.

Bespoke tunnelling companies

By June 1916, when the British mining establishment neared its peak, 33 Tunnelling Companies had been raised as follows:-

• 25 (Imperial) Tunnelling Companies RE
• 3 (Canadian) Tunnelling Companies RE
• 3 (Australian) Tunnelling Companies RE
• 1 (New Zealand) Tunnelling Company NZE
• The Australian Electrical & Mechanical, Mining & Boring Company (The ABC Coy)
• A Portuguese Mining Company was also incorporated in the BEF in 1917

At the peak (July 1916 to June 1917) there were between 30,000 and 40,000 men engaged on mining (and construction of subways & forward dugouts) in the British lines. Amongst all belligerents about 120,000 men were thus employed.

The German and French armies organised their own tunnelling companies in much the same way, although there are minor variations. One key difference was that their companies were almost always commanded by a captain, rather than a major, and very often by a senior lieutenant.

Up until early 1918 the Germans had 37 companies under command:

• 34 from the Prussian Army
• 2 from the Saxon Army
• 2 from the Army of Württemberg
• 8 from the Bavarian Army

Information about the French army is currently being collated and will be included here at a later date.

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