| Accession Number | P02333.002 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white |
| Physical description | Black & white |
| Place made | Belgium |
| Date made | 23 June 1917 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Outdoors group portrait at a rest camp of the team of officers from the 1st Australian Tunnelling ...
Description
Outdoors group portrait at a rest camp of the team of officers from the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company who were responsible for firing the massive explosive charge in a mine under Hill 60 which completely destroyed the German front line at the northern end of Messines Ridge on 1917-06-07. The officers are (left to right): back row: Lieutenant (Lt) John MacDiarmid Royle; Lt James Bowry; Lt Hubert Henry Carroll, MC. Front row: Captain (Capt) Oliver Holmes Woodward, MC and two Bars; Major James Douglas Henry, CO, OBE, DSO; Capt Robert Adam Clinton, MC. Capt Woodward was responsible for closing the main electrical switch and Lts Royle and Bowry the two auxiliary switches that detonated the explosives. Capt Clinton had been in charge of the digging of the advanced tunnels under the German trenches, while Major Henry was responsible for synchronising, by means of a stopwatch, the detonation at Hill 60 with the detonation of other explosive charges all along Messines Ridge. (Donor J. MacD. Royle) (Original print held in AWM Archive Store. Formerly 3DRL 3852)