Tower and Town, December 2017 (view the full edition)Little-Known Stories From WWI1. An explosion on the battlefield in France was heard in London While the war was being fought in the mud and trenches, there was another war going on below the soldiers' feet. A group of miners had secretly dug tunnels up to 100ft long beneath the enemy's trenches and had planned to plant and detonate mines. Their biggest success was at Messines Ridge in Belgium, where over 900,000lbs of explosives were simultaneously detonated in nineteen underground tunnels. Much of the German front line was destroyed, and the explosions were so loud that they were heard 140 miles away by the British Prime Minister in Downing Street. 2. Twelve million letters were delivered to the front every week During World War One it took a surprisingly short amount of time for a letter from Britain to reach the front in France. The start of the journey was a purpose-built sorting depot in Regent's Park and then they were shipped to the trenches. By the end of the war, a staggering two billion letters and 114 million parcels had been delivered. 3.The youngest British soldier was twelve years old Sidney Lewis was twelve years old when he lied about his age so he could he fight for his country. He joined the army at the beginning of the war. He was one of thousands of eager underage boys who were enlisted and ended up fighting alongside their adult counterparts on the front. Some boys were motivated by patriotism, but some wanted to escape from their dreary lives. 4. Nine out of ten soldiers survived life in the trenches Being in the firing line was rare for a British soldier. They were constantly moving around the trench system, meaning that most of the time they were kept from the dangers of enemy fire. The more typical experience for a British soldier would have been a life of boredom and a regular routine for many years. 5. World War One nearly caused a financial meltdown in Britain At the turn of the 20th century, Britain was an economic superpower, but the world's first global war cost more than any other war had before. It was reported that the cost of bullets in one twenty-four hour period in September 1918 was almost four million pounds. Alexa Scott |