World War ITimeline

1915

4 October

Enlisted at the age of 23

Main Body

1915

11 October

Trained

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

Steamship Ruapehu

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

Three officers of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company seated and posing in a trench during World War I, wearing military uniforms and helmet.

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

1916

24 March

Awarded 3 days Field Punishment No.1 for disobedience

1916

13 April

Admitted to hospital with influenza

1916

29 April

Rejoined the Company

1916

2 July

Admitted to hospital

1916

3 July

Diagnosed with corneal ulcer

1916

9 July

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1916

20 August

Rejoined the Company

1916

4 October

Granted leave

1916

13 October

Rejoined the Company

1916

16 November

Two New Zealand Tunnellers working underground during World War I; one man shovels rubble while the other digs into the chalk tunnel wall.

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

1917

9 April

British Offensive

Battle of Arras

Soldiers marching along a road carrying shovels, heading toward a section of the road that requires repair during World War I.

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

1917

5 May

A group of New Zealand Tunnellers posing inside their billet in an underground quarry near the front line; four of them are playing cards while others look on.

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

1917

14 August

Admitted to hospital with lacerated wound to the scalp

1917

1 September

Rejoined the Company

1918

1 January

Overview of the sawmill built and operated by the New Zealand Tunnellers, located alongside a railway line, with stacks of timber and workers visible.

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

1918

3 January

Gassed

1918

4 January

Admitted to hospital

1918

21 March

German Attacks

Spring Offensive

Two soldiers standing outside the entrance of a shaft in a desolate area of the front line, surrounded by barren ground and war-damaged terrain.

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

1918

26 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

29 June

Rejoined the Company

1918

5 July

Granted leave to the United Kingdom

1918

24 July

Rejoined the Company

1918

8 August

Allied Attacks

Hundred Days Offensive

1918

27 September

Officers of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company posing in front of a newly completed military bridge built by their men during World War I.

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

1918

11 November

Cessation of Hostilities

Armistice

Military bridge built by the New Zealand Tunnellers spanning a river in the town of Cambrai; surrounding houses are a mix of intact structures and war-damaged ruins.

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

1918

27 December

Discharged

1919

1 January

Embarked for England

1919

2 January

Marched in to NZ Sling Camp, Bulford

1919

28 January

Forfeited 2 days pay and 1 day pay by Royal Warrant for absence without leave

1919

4 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1919

1 April

Transfer to New Zealand

Troopship Arawa

1919

12 June

End of Service

Demobilization

How to cite this page

Anthony Byledbal, “World War I Timeline of William John Parker“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, NaN (2009), Accessed: . URL: www.nztunnellers.com/tunnellers/656/wwi-timeline