This tour is about the tunnellers and their work in Flanders. They were both the most ill-disciplined and highly valued troops on the Western Front from 1915 to 1917. We explore their fascinating secret war fought deep beneath the trenches. Depth and silence was the key and the expert British miners out-dug their German opponents by sinking shafts up to 200 feet deep. At the battle of Messines in June 1917 they blew nineteen mines of up to 40 tons each beneath the German trenches. We visit the enormous craters and discuss their remarkable legacy throughout the Ypres Salient. As well as the Messines mines we visit the 1916 St.Eloi crater, Railway Wood and Bellewaerde Ridge, the Bluff and the German mine shafts in Croonart Wood.

We see where a tunnelling machine still lies beneath the ground, and hear the story of Sapper Bedson who was the sole survivor of a twelve-man shift trapped underground for eight days.

We visit the site of the Red Dragon Crater and pinpoint the resting place of Sapper Hackett, the only tunneller VC who lies today 70 feet below ground with the comrades he refused to leave.

The Ypres Salient was a warren of dugouts and tunnels and thousands of troops lived below ground. Remarkable dugout interiors and artefacts preserved by the high water table of the Flanders battlefield. Intact tunnels continue to be discovered and where possible a visit will be included on this tour.

Our guide Simon Jones has been fascinated by the tunnellers for nearly twenty years. He has appeared on the documentary ‘The Underground War’ and his book on the tunnellers was published earlier this year.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Friday): Depart Victoria Coach Station London 08:45. Dover – Calais ferry. Drive to Ypres where we will stay for three nights at the ever popular Ariane hotel. Dinner in the hotel and a talk on ‘The Tunnellers”.
Day 2: The Ypres Salient including the Royal Engineers Graves, craters at Bellewaerde Ridge, Hooge, the Bluff, Hill 60 and the Caterpillar Crater. The Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate and an opportunity to make your own dinner arrangements in one of the many restaurants around the square.
Day 3: We drive to the Messines Ridge, looking at St. Eloi, Bayernwald and examine the great mining success at Messines Ridge in July 1917 – our visits will study the individual attention to detail at places such as Petit Bois, Spanbroekmolen and the ‘lost’ mines near Plugstreet. Group lunch. Dinner in our hotel.
Day 4: We head south to Givenchy, look at the mining activity in the area and learn how Sapper `Hackett won the Victoria Cross. Calais – Dover ferry. Arrive approx 18:45 Dover and 20:30 London.