4/1412 - Sapper

David

CHAMP

Main Body - Section No.3

Timeline


1915

1915

9 October

Enlistment

Auckland Military District

1915

11 October

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

13 July

Admitted to hospital with jaundice

1916

27 July

Embarked for England

1916

28 July

Admitted to hospital

1916

28 August

Awarded 7 days detention for drunkenness, refusing to obey an order, threatening and using obscene language

1916

18 September

Granted leave to United Kingdom

1916

3 October

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1916

12 October

Admitted to hospital

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1917

1917

21 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

20 June

Embarked for France

1917

23 June

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

5 July

Rejoined the Company

1917

20 September

Admitted to hospital with bronchial catarrh

1917

20 September

Embarked for England

1917

21 September

Admitted to hospital

1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

10 April

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1918

15 June

Admitted to hospital with gastritis

1918

24 July

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1918

6 August

Admitted to hospital with gastritis

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities


From the Front

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

Over the Sambre River, Maubeuge

1918

3 December

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1918

20 December

Final discharge

End of Service Overseas

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5922 12/0024033, Military Personnel File: David CHAMP - 4/1412.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: David CHAMP.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 4.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “David CHAMP (4/1412)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 28 March 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=119