The village of La Boisselle sits on the front lines that ran across the Picardy countryside prior to the 1916 Battle of the Somme. When the British took over the sector from the French in the summer of 1915 the ground had already been heavily fought over.
By July 1916 the ruined village was fortified and in German hands, enclosed by a maze of trenches and divided from the British lines by a belt of mine craters, evidence of a separate war that took place below the ground.
Today, there are still visible reminders of the fighting.
Many Leger travellers will have visited the huge Lochnagar Crater, a few hundred metres south of the village, the result of 60,000 lbs of explosive blown at 07:28 hrs on the morning of 1 July 1916. The sharper eyed amongst you will have spotted the chalky outlines of the former trenches snaking their way across the now peaceful fields.
As your coach made its way towards the crater, many will have had their attention drawn to an area of rough ground on the southeastern edge of La Boisselle. This 2- hectare piece of privately owned land is known as the Glory Hole. Still scarred by mine craters, it is now the subject of a long term, in-depth archaeological, historical, technological and genealogical study by the La Boisselle Study Group.
As a result of a personal plea for help by the French landowners, historian Peter Barton brought together an international group of specialists to form the La Boisselle Study Group.
I became one of the founder members, and in 2011 between Leger battlefield tours, I worked with the landowners and project members clearing many years of tree and vegetation growth.
The Group has its own team of dedicated archaeologists led by Anthony Byledbal of the University of Artois.
The ground clearance exposed more mine craters, shell holes and vestiges of trenches. Stormy weather had also caused a small collapse on the land which revealed a tunnel (X incline) leading to a chamber off which a further incline (W Adit) led up towards the surface.
In the chamber was a 50-foot deep shaft, that connects the 30-foot level with the main fighting tunnels at a depth of 80 feet. The entire Glory Hole sector has an estimated 5 miles of tunnels beneath it.
The allied tunnels descend to 100 feet and consist of three main levels. Facing them was a slightly deeper German system, together they formed a secret underground battlefield in which men fought until the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Archival and genealogical research in the UK and France has shown that there are still at least 38 French and British soldiers buried in the deep tunnels, victims of the underground war.
Research continues in Munich and Stuttgart to reveal the German side of the story and will lead to the identification and location of missing German miners. These men were lost beyond recovery, entombed in the galleries by underground explosions. It is a purpose of the project to ensure that they remain undisturbed in perpetuity and that their resting places are permanently marked on the surface above.
With a contract and archaeological permission in place, and with continuing archival research in the UK and Germany, October 2011 saw the first week of excavations at the site.
The team focused on the entrance to X incline, a small section of Quémart Trench, and locating the head of W Adit. It was a week that eventually saw the head of W Adit open for the first time in over 90 years.
The entrance and tunnel was made safe, the site interpreted and signed, and an Open Day held for the local people. Many hundreds visited the site, astonished to see what lies beneath their feet.
With the support of the landowners, from the very outset of the project the LBSG has had public access at the core of its philosophy. If we are working, the site is always open. The project’s profile is therefore already of the highest order, and our work continues to draw intense media interest. You may have seen coverage on BBC News and in newspapers and magazines.
In addition Peter Barton was historical consultant for the recent BBC adaptation of Birdsong, and the LBSG hosted a visit to the Glory Hole and tunnels by actors Eddie Redmayne and Joseph Mawle to experience a special understanding of the roles they were to play.
Further engineering and archaeological work has concentrated on clearing W Adit and exposing the original floor of the incline which has revealed the original tramway running from surface to shaft.
Work continues, and Peter Barton and Mike Fox have been commissioned by the BBC to produce a documentary on the underground war, utilising the site at La Boisselle.
In order to launch the project in time for the 2014 commemorative period, the LBSG have so far funded the project from their own pockets and through donations by friends and individuals.
This can no longer continue, and a dedicated fundraising campaign is now underway with many large companies, including Leger Holidays, coming on board as sponsors. The money raised will allow us to continue the archaeology and exploration, and eventually achieve the key long-term aim of preserving the site in perpetuity and erecting memorials commemorating the many men still buried beneath.
Leger Holidays rose to the challenge and kindly agreed to sponsor the project. In return we are putting together a specialist tour on the history of the underground war in the Ypres Salient and Somme to run in October 2013.
The Somme day will include a special visit to the Glory Hole and offer a chance for all on board to visit the ongoing archaeological work. The La Boisselle Study Group will be present on site to guide people both on the surface and underground, and to answer questions regarding the project and the underground war.
An exhibition of maps, tunnel plans, photographs and artefacts recovered so far will also form part of this special visit designed exclusively for Leger travellers.
Given the tremendous international interest that the centenary of the Great War is already generating in the media, and the unique nature of the project, the Glory Hole will form one of the prime focal points for education, commemoration and memorialisation throughout the 2014 – 2019 period. The British tunnelling campaign remained an official secret until 1962 and second to the espionage war remained the most secret type of warfare employed against the enemy.
Join us on this special tour to explore and learn about this secret troglodyte war.
Secret Underground War Site Revealed!
