Places to see in ( Arras - France ) Wellington Tunnels - Memorial to the Battle of Arras
Places to see in ( Arras - France ) Wellington Tunnels - Memorial to the Battle of Arras
The Carrière Wellington ( Wellington Tunnels ) is a museum in Arras, northern France. It is named after a former underground quarry which was part of a network of tunnels used by forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the First World War. Opened in March 2008, the museum commemorates the soldiers who built the tunnels and fought in the Battle of Arras in 1917.
From the Middle Ages through to the 19th century, the chalk beds underneath Arras were extensively quarried to supply stone for the town's buildings. The quarries fell into disuse by the start of the 20th century. In 1916, during the First World War, the British forces controlling Arras decided to re-use the underground quarries to aid a planned offensive against the Germans, whose trenches ran through what are now the eastern suburbs of the town. The quarries were to be linked up so that they could be used both as shelters from the incessant German shelling and as a means of conveying troops to the front in secrecy and safety.
Thousands of soldiers were billeted in the Wellington tunnels for eight days prior to the start of the Arras offensive on 9 April 1917. At 05:30 that morning, exits were dynamited to enable the troops to storm the German trenches. The Germans were taken by surprise and were pushed back 11 km (6.8 mi). This counted as an extraordinary success by the standards of the time. However, the offensive soon bogged down and it was eventually called off after casualties reached 4,000 a day.
The Carrière Wellington museum consists of a visitor centre displaying historic artifacts and presenting the historical context of the Battle of Arras, including the work of the tunnellers and the military strategy that underlay the tunnels' construction. It was opened to the public on 1 March 2008. The Wellington tunnels are accessed via a lift shaft that takes visitors approximately 22 m (70 ft) below ground to the galleries around the Wellington quarry. Visitors are taken on a guided tour along some 350 m of tunnels to see audio-visual presentations of various aspects of the campaign and the soldiers who built and stayed in the tunnels. At various places, graffiti and painted signs can be seen, along with relics of the troops such as cans of bully beef, helmets and bottles. The museum is on the Rue Arthur Deletoile, a turning off the Avenue Fernand Lobbedez (D917), approximately 1 km south of the city centre (GPS navigation may lead an unwary visitor astray).
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Places to see in ( Arras - France ) Wellington Tunnels
Places to see in ( Arras - France ) Wellington Tunnels
The Carrière Wellington is a museum in Arras, northern France. It is named after a former underground quarry which was part of a network of tunnels used by forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the First World War. Opened in March 2008, the museum commemorates the soldiers who built the tunnels and fought in the Battle of Arras in 1917.
From the Middle Ages through to the 19th century, the chalk beds underneath Arras were extensively quarried to supply stone for the town's buildings. The quarries fell into disuse by the start of the 20th century. In 1916, during the First World War, the British forces controlling Arras decided to re-use the underground quarries to aid a planned offensive against the Germans, whose trenches ran through what are now the eastern suburbs of the town. The quarries were to be linked up so that they could be used both as shelters from the incessant German shelling and as a means of conveying troops to the front in secrecy and safety.
500 miners from the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, including Māori and Pacific Islanders, recruited from the gold and coal mining districts of the country, were brought in to dig 20 kilometres (12 mi) of tunnels. They worked alongside Royal Engineer tunnelling companies, made up by now of British coal miners and expert tunnellers who had built the London Underground. Many of them were Bantams, soldiers of below average height who had been rejected from regular units because they did not meet the height requirements; others had been initially rejected as too old, but their specialist mining experience made them essential for the tunnelling operation.
The work was difficult and dangerous. In the New Zealand units alone, 41 tunnellers died and another 151 were injured during countermining operations against the Germans, whose own tunnellers sought to disrupt the Allied tunneling operations. The Arras tunnels linked the quarries to form a network that ran from the town centre, under no man's land, to a number of points just in front of the German front lines. The tunnel system could accommodate 20,000 men and were outfitted with running water, electric lights, kitchens, latrines, a light rail system and a fully equipped hospital. The tunnellers named the individual quarries after their home towns - Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch and Dunedin for the New Zealanders, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Crewe and London for the Britons.
The Carrière Wellington museum consists of a visitor centre displaying historic artifacts and presenting the historical context of the Battle of Arras, including the work of the tunnellers and the military strategy that underlay the tunnels' construction. It was opened to the public on 1 March 2008.
The tunnels are accessed via a lift shaft that takes visitors approximately 22 m (70 ft) under the ground inside the galleries of the underground quarry. The tour consists of both guided and audioguided tours on a planned path accessible for wheelchairs. The visitors discover the development of the strategy of the Battle of Arras, and also the daily life of the tunnelers of New-Zealand and the soldiers of the British Expeditionnary Forces sent in these tunnels to prepare this battle.
The site is also a memorial dedicated to the battle of Arras, with a memorial wall remembering all the regiments involved in the battle of Arras. Since the Hundred Years of the battle in 2017, a second memorial wall is dedicated to portraits of NZ Tunnellers, and a statue was installed in the park for the remembrance of these tunnellers. Each year, a ceremony is organised at 6.30 am on April 9th.
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Journey to Arras, The New-Zealand Tunnelling Company in Arras
Some years ago, Clare Mashiter daughter of Robert Ronayne, followed the footsteps of her father in the underground quarries of Arras. Robert was a member of the NZ tunnelling company which worked for 6 months in the undergrounds of Arras to prepare the most surprising attack of WW1!
Arras Tunnel - Wellington New Zealand
Drive through the Arras Tunnel - Wellington New Zealand.
The tunnel through Wellington's memorial precinct opened to the public on 29 September 2014 and is named Arras Tunnel for the wartime efforts of New Zealand miners in the French town of the same name. Pukeahu National War Memorial Park is built on top of the tunnel.
There are 273 decorative poppies on the wall of the tunnel. The poppy tiles symbolise the 2721 New Zealand fatalities in the Anzac campaign.
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14-18, les tunnels de guerre : La Carrière Wellington à Arras
Partez à la découverte de la Carrière Wellington à Arras en compagnie d'Alain Jacques, directeur du Service archéologique de la ville d'Arras. (RMC Découverte)
Arras Tunnel in Wellington
This is my story about the new Arras tunnel in Wellington. It seems like a boring underpass but there's much more to it than that.
New Zealand has been quite far removed from the immediate effects of war. Travelling through the battlefields changes that viewpoint and brings the history a little closer to home.
Wellington Quarry, Arras
A very interesting visit to this quarry in Arras, France where 24,000 troops sheltered before the Battle of Arras in 1917 together with scenes at the British Cemetery.
The Wellington quarry and tunnels, Arras.
More at:-
The Battle of Arras [World War I]
Creator(s): Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 9/18/1947-2/28/1964 (Most Recent)
Series: Documentary Films, ca. 1914 - ca. 1944
Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1860 - 1985
Other Title(s): Signal Corps misc. film, no. 99
Sound Type: Silent
Scope & Content: Summary:On the British Army. Reel 1, artillery shells Ger. defenses; Ger. shells land in a village. South African units storm trenches Scaling ladders are prepared. Troops attack under an artillery barrage. Prisoners carry Brit. wounded to the rear. Reel 2, engrs. lay railroad track. Ammunition is carried over a pontoon bridge across the Scope. The enemy shells positions at Monchy; shows ruins of the town. Reel 3, engrs. construct bridges and roads. Australian artillery bombards the enemy. Artillery units, supply trains, and tanks move up under fire. Monchy is occupied. War news is read to French civilians.
Contact(s): National Archives at College Park - Motion Pictures (RDSM), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Phone: 301-837-3540, Fax: 301-837-3620, Email: mopix@nara.gov
National Archives Identifier: 35477
Local Identifier: 111-M-99
National Archives Catalog:
History Lesson: The Battle of Arras, France (1917)
On 9th April 1917, Allied Forces burst out from underground tunnels beneath the Germans in an effort to break through the Western Front. My great granduncle was among those in what would become known as the Battle of Arras dying on that first day. To commemorate the centenary of his death I travelled to Arras to discover his story. I suppose this is a tribute to him and all of those brave men who died in France and elsewhere during the Great War.
Scotland Remembers the Battle of Arras:
100th Anniversary of Battle of Arras and Vimy Ridge:
The Battle of Arras at Wikipedia:
La Carrière Wellington website:
Social Media:
Email me suggestions of videos/topics to critique:
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Visite de Peter Jackson à la Carrière Wellington, Arras
Visit of Peter Jackson at the Wellington Tunnels in Arras on the footsteps of the Sapper T.P Walsh.
Visite de Peter Jackson à la Carrière Wellington sur les traces du tunnelier P.T Walsh. (8/9/16)
“Amazing Grace,” Dawn Ceremony, Carrière Wellington Tunnels, Arras, Emma Brown.
The Battle of Arras (1917) had the highest number of casualties on the Western Front: an average of one death or injury every twenty seconds during a thirty-seven day period.
To commemorate the victims of the Battle of Areas, a ceremony was held at the Wellington Tunnels. 24,000 allied soldiers sheltered in the twelve miles of tunnels for eight days before the battle. The fighting commenced at 06:30 on 9th April, 1917. The ceremony was therefore held at this time.
carrierewellington.com
Emma Brown, mezzo-soprano, sings “Amazing Grace” before the wreath-laying.
ejebrown.com
La carrière de Wellington à Arras (62)
La carrière Wellington est un site touristique à Arras retraçant l'histoire de la Bataille d'Arras de 1917.Ce réseau de galeries souterraines a joué un rôle majeur dans la prise des lignes allemandes et a permis d'épargner la vie de nombreux soldats alliés en les faisant passer par le sous-sol.
Du Moyen Âge au 18e siècle, les gisements de craie se trouvant sous Arras ont été largement exploités afin de construire les bâtiments mêmes de la ville. L'exploitation de ces carrières est tombée en désuétude au cours du xixe siècle. Leur souvenir même avait disparu, sauf chez les habitants d'Arras qui disposaient parfois d'un accès direct à ces carrières à partir des caves de leurs habitations. Redécouverte et aménagements, lors de la Première Guerre mondiale.
A 20 mètres sous les pavés d’Arras ,découvrez la Carrière Wellington ,un lieu chargé de mémoire et d’émotion. A partir de novembre 1916, les Britanniques préparent l’offensive du printemps 1917. Leur idée de génie : faire relier par les tunneliers néo-zélandais les carrières d’extraction de craie de la ville, pour créer un véritable réseau de casernes souterraines, capables d’accueillir jusqu’à 24 000 soldats. En plus de cela, on avait placé des mines traditionnelles juste sous la ligne de front, prêtes à exploser immédiatement avant l'assaut. Beaucoup n'ont jamais été activées de peur qu'elles n'abîment trop les terrains sus-jacents. Dans l'intervalle, les sapeurs allemands poursuivaient activement leurs propres opérations souterraines, recherchant des tunnels alliés pour les attaquer ou y poser des camouflets. Rien que parmi les Néo-Zélandais, il y a eu 41 morts et 151 blessés à la suite de ces poses.
Après une descente à 20 mètres de profondeur par un ascenseur vitré, la visite audio-guidée et encadrée par un guide-accompagnateur plonge le visiteur dans l’intimité du site. Lieu stratégique et lieu de vie, la carrière baptisée Wellington par les sapeurs néo-zélandais préserve le souvenir de ces milliers de soldats cantonnés sous terre à quelques mètres de la ligne de front, avant de s’élancer sur le champ de bataille, le 9 avril 1917 à 5h30 du matin, pour attaquer par surprise les positions allemandes. La remontée à la surface dans les pas des soldats vous amènera à vivre le choc de la bataille, à travers la projection d’un film.
Conçu comme un lieu de mémoire, le site de la carrière Wellington présente, en surface, un jardin du souvenir et un mur mémorial pour honorer la mémoire des régiments des Première, Troisième et Cinquième Armées britanniques, engagées dans la Bataille d’Arras.
Battle Of Arras Centenary
Arras British Cemetery
The British cemetry and memorial to the missing Arras, the Somme, France.
Visites souterraines à Arras : la Carrière Wellington
Mémorial de la Bataille d'Arras, la Carrière Wellington invite aujourd'hui à comprendre cet épisode crucial de la Première Guerre Mondiale
BBC Scotland in Arras, Carrière Wellington, Arras
Extrait du reportage TV de la BBC Scotland dans la Carrière Wellington. Sur les pas du soldat écossais John MacDonald, son petit-neveu, retrace le parcours de son ancêtre lors de la Bataille d'Arras. Le soldat fut cantonné dans les carrières sous les places d'Arras avant le début de la bataille. Il tombe le matin du 9 avril 1917. (Gaélique sous-titré en anglais)
In the underground quarry with BBC SCOTLAND, in the footsteps of Private John MacDonald. His Grandnephew follows the footsteps of his ancestor during the Battle of Arras. The Scottish Soldier was billeted in the quarries under the squares of Arras before the Battle. He was killed in the morning of April 9th, 1917.
Places to see in ( Arras - France )
Places to see in ( Arras - France )
Arras is a city in northern France. The Carrière Wellington is a network of quarry tunnels used by soldiers during WWI. North of the city, surrounded by lush countryside, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial honors the Canadian soldiers killed during the war. In town, the cobbled Place des Héros has buildings with Flemish facades, including the Town Hall and belfry. The Abbey of St. Vaast houses a fine arts museum.
The capital of the historic Artois region has a strong Flemish accent, clear in the names, architecture, food and art. The gabled houses on Place des Héros and Grand-Place could easily be in Belgium or the Netherlands, while the fine arts museum has a bounty of Flemish and Dutch baroque painting.
The First World War raged in this region and there are constant reminders of the conflict a century later: Metres below your feet in Arras is an old labyrinth of chalk tunnels where the citizens took shelter, but also where Allied forces coordinated the Battle of Arras in 1917. An then just outside the city are memorials, cemeteries and thought-provoking museums.
An unexpected gem of a city, Arras (the final 's' is pronounced), the former capital of Artois, is worth seeing mainly for its exceptional ensemble of Flemish-style arcaded buildings – the main squares are especially lovely at night – and two subterranean WWI sites. The city makes a good base for visits to the Battle of the Somme memorials.
The city of Arras is famous for its two gems that are the Grand Place (main square) and the Héros square. Surrounded by 155 houses of Flemish Baroque style, these two paved squares are magnificent and make an enchanting scene! Very lively, the Héros square, lined with covered galleries home to fine food shops and cafés, is dominated by the belfry of the town hall. The former Saint-Vaast Benedictine abbey house a Fine Art museum dedicated to painting and sculpture.
All of the belfries in the historic County of Flanders are listed as UNESCO sites, and that goes for the proud one on Place des Héros. A lift will get you most of the way to a panoramic viewpoint, and after that you have to scale another 40 steps on a metallic spiral stairway for a bird’s eye view 75 metres above the centre of Arras. The belfry is in the flamboyant gothic style and has been rebuilt twice since it was completed in 1554, first to correct structural faults in 1840 and then after damage in the First World War.
Alot to see in Arras such as :
Beffroi d’Arras
Place des Héros
Grand-Place
Carrière Wellington
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Les Boves
Place du Théatre
Hôtel de Guînes
Church of Saint-Nazaire
Citadelle d’Arras
Main Square Festival
Fête de l’Andouillette
Louvre-Lens
Lens’ 14 – 18 Centre d’Histoire Guerre et Paix
Beffroi de Douai
( Arras - France ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Arras . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Arras - France
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La carrière Wellington
Découvrez le site de la carrière Wellington, Mémorial de la Bataille d'Arras (Arras)