Before the Battle of :

3ATC End of War Report: On 29/1/18 a detachment of 30 O.Rs. under the command of Lieut Neil Campbell was sent to Pont de Neippe near Armentieres to carry out the work of building Dugouts & a series of important machine gun emplacements.

They were billeted and rationed by the 2/7 Liverpool Battalion. This work was continued until severe fighting with the enemy took place on 8th April at Erquinghem near Armentieres, when the position where our Detachment was working, had to be abandoned.

3ATC End of War Report: In February, 1918, the Detachment from the Company sent to Armentieres, worked in the XV Corps area at Pont de Neippe. Dugouts were excavated for personnel. M.G. Companies & M.G. Emplacements opened up in the Railway Embankment as well as dugouts for signallers.

The "Pont de " between Armentières and Nieppe ( -North) travelled in 1915, - bridge destroyed during WW1 - picture taken upstream of the river Lys "

AWM ID NO: E04597- FLANDERS - 19 Feb 1918: Members of the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company preparing a A British Vickers machine gun in position behind the wingwall of machine gun emplacement at the Pont de Nieppe (Nieppe Bridge), the bridge over the River Lys at Pont de Nieppe, on the Nieppe- near Armentieres. The bridge was also mined for blowing up in case Armentieres Road in Northern France. This position was connected of necessity. This work was a portion of the defensive preparations by tunnel to the gun crew's dugout. Similar machine gun defences of the winter months, which proved of such value in retarding the were constructed in this locality early in 1918 by a detachment of German advance in Flanders in April. Identified, left to right: the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company, who subsequently put up Sapper (Spr) W. Williams; Lieutenant Neil Campbell (later killed a gallant defence of the enemy advance in April 1918. near this bridge on 10 April 1918); Spr R. E. Willoughby.

tunnelers.net Note: 4513 Robert Edgar Willoughby – died of disease (influenza) 19 , buried St Pol British Cemetery.

1200 William Williams – returned to Australia May 1919.

AWM ID No.: E04598 - 19 February 1918: Unidentified members of the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company camouflaging a machine gun position at the base of a bridge at Pont de Nieppe. The two soldiers underneath the centre arch are laying demolition charges so that the bridge can be blown up if necessary. This work was part of the defensive preparations that later helped retard the German advance in Flanders in April 1918. (image not available on-line)

3ATC End of War Report (early in March 1918) : The Detachment continued the work of building dugouts and a series of M.G Emplacements at Armentieres, Houplines and Pont de Neippe and at the end of the month of March this work was nearly completed.

3ATC End of War Report: The Detachment at Armentieres in the XVth Corps area, completed their work which was in time to be of great importance in the enemy attack which began on 9th April, and lasted for nine days till the 18th April.

of interest: 3ATC End of War Report: The first officer was Lieut C.W. Whyte, who while travelling in a box motor car at Armentieres was struck by a fragment of shell which landed on the road in front of the car & exploded killing Lt Whyte & wounding one other sapper & the driver of the car. This was on 22/7/16.