Lochnagar CraterTunnellers, the opening of the Somme and remembrance

The work beneath the battlefield

The mine began from a communication trench called Lochnagar Street. Work was started by 185 Tunnelling Company in November 1915 and completed by 179 Tunnelling Company after it took over in March 1916. The gallery was driven through chalk towards the German strongpoint known as Schwaben Höhe.

Underground work required technical skill and great care. Noise could reveal a gallery to enemy miners, while collapse, bad air and counter-mining threatened the men. The preserved crater represents months of preparation whose progress was normally hidden from the soldiers on the surface.

Two charges, one crater

The Lochnagar Crater Foundation records a combined charge of 60,000 pounds of ammonal, approximately 27.2 tonnes, divided between two chambers. Their detonation created the single enormous crater that remains the defining feature of the site.

The Foundation gives its original dimensions as about 330 feet across and 70 feet deep, roughly 100 metres and 21 metres. Measurements of the present profile vary with the method and the effects of erosion. The shape visible today has continued to change since the explosion.

The infantry battle beyond the rim

The explosion was one element of an attack involving artillery and infantry across a much wider front. Destroying part of a position did not neutralise every defensive weapon nearby. The movement of soldiers, the survival of positions outside the blast and the difficulties of communication remained central to what followed.

The 34th Division attacked in the La Boisselle sector on 1 July. Its battalions included the Tyneside Scottish and Tyneside Irish. Their experience connects the crater with the wider human cost of the opening day, rather than leaving it as an isolated demonstration of explosive force.

The surrounding approaches and the relationship with La Boisselle help explain that battle. Maps establish the front lines and objectives; the ground gives distances and observation a physical scale. Looking outward from the rim is therefore as important to interpretation as looking into the crater.

Lives, losses and the evidence

A spectacular explosion invites a dramatic casualty figure, but an exact number of deaths caused by this mine cannot be established confidently from the material available. The destruction of defences and the capacity of nearby shelters are not equivalent to a verified death toll.

Individual and unit records offer a more useful way into the human history. A name, service number and date can connect a person with a battalion and its circumstances. If a family story concerns the Somme, those details can help distinguish service in this sector from other fighting during the campaign.

From a wartime crater to a memorial

After the fighting moved away, the crater became part of the landscape through which veterans and families returned. Its survival was not inevitable. Richard Dunning acquired it in 1978, preserving a feature that might otherwise have been filled and returned to agricultural use.

The Friends of Lochnagar and the Foundation have supported continuing care and commemoration. The history of the site therefore includes both its violent creation and the later choice to protect it. Maintenance, interpretation and remembrance are part of what visitors see today.

Reading Lochnagar on a private visit

The crater can introduce the work of tunnellers, the coordination of an attack and the experience of the infantry. It also opens a discussion about how battlefield remains become places of remembrance. These themes connect engineering, military decisions and individual lives within the broader Somme campaign.

Visitors should follow the designated rim walkway and the Foundation’s current guidance. Entry down into the crater is prohibited. Tell me about walking or mobility needs before a private visit so the practical possibilities can be discussed.

If your interest concerns a unit, a family member or underground warfare, share it when enquiring. I can connect the historical evidence with the ground and discuss how Lochnagar fits a focused Somme visit. The aim is to understand the battlefield and the people involved, with enough time for the questions that matter to you.