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Underground In France
Back row from left, Robert Snelgrove, Barb Snelgrove, Kellen Snelgrove and Stephen Snelgrove. Front row from left, Melissa Guenthner and Jennifer Griffioen. Photo submitted
Angela Mouly Reporter
Hidden beneath earth, corrugated tin, and garbage for nearly 100 years, a car ving by W WI Veteran Thomas Alban Snelgrove was discovered in the Bentata Cave near Arras, France. As part of the film documentary following 44 missing Canadian soldiers, Robert and Barb Snelgrove and their family were recently given the opportunity to view the carving firsthand. Assuming that the tunnels had been dug for war purposes, Robert discovered they had proven useful during the war, but had been around much long er. The Romans had built the tunnels as chalk mining quarries, and the last time they were used before the war was in the 1600’s. The Bentata Cave was used as a staging area; located half way between where the back lines would have held the field hospitals and supplies, and the front attack lines. Men would stay
there for a week at a time with reserve lines moving toward the front line. The cave was 30 - 50 feet deep with columns to suppor t the roof. Some rooms were quite small, while some were very large. Located 5 km from the front lines and far underground, the soldiers were safe from shell fire. Equipped with flashlights and a string of lights powered by a Volkswagen for filming purposes, the Snelgroves took the near ver tical steps down into the Bentata Cave. Six feet above the tunnel floor, they could see nails where helmets were hung or bunks were built. “Men likely carved right from their bunks. There were thousands of carving s; some ex tremely ornate, and some not. With the tunnel being huge, and the carvings small; we kept seeing different things when looking at the walls from different angles,” said Rober t Snelgrove.
The car vings are ex tremely well preserved in the chalk surfaces. With the hole being dry, even much of the writing in pencil is still legible. This was the first battle that pencils were issued to all soldiers. Most carvings don’t have a name to identify them. To date, the carving by Thomas Alban Snelgrove is one of only three identified carvings. “One thing that the guides pointed out was that reports are not showing how bad the war was or how incompetent the leaders were. In other reports, the carvings are being called, ‘graffiti’. There’s nothing profane there; just a crest on a wall,” said Snelgrove. A letter box was carved in the wall for soldiers to send letters to Canada and their last letter home. They could pick their letter out at the end of the day if they made it back to the tunnel. A candle that sat on the edge lef t black soot above. Giving the history and filmmaking
crew a clue where to look for relatives, Thomas Alban Snelgrove’s car ving proved helpful. It features the 151st Battalion, which was made up of only Western Canadian soldiers, along with his name and Islay, Alberta. The Snelgrove family had a private filming session that captured their reac t i o n to se e in g T h o m a s A l b an Snelgrove’s crest. Historical documentation and imaging group (CANADIGM) have created a 3D replica of the carving that will be touring Canada in 2017 as part of the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. While the Snelgrove family was being filmed at the historical sites in France, a volunteer geophysicist g r o u p fr o m M i s s i s s au g a , O nt ar i o spent time surveying the potato field. “There were potatoes growing t h e r e ,” s a i d S n e l g r o ve , w h o h a d collec ted a handful of bullets and (continued on page 2 and 9)
1 CO-OP NUMBER. 7 COMMUNITIES. 20 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
cornerstonecoop.ca/bettertogether
Be it resolved that: Eastalta Co-op Ltd do amalgamate with St. Paul and District Co-operative Ltd effective immediately subsequent to St. Paul's Year end on January 31, 2017 (actual date January 29, 20 2017) and continue as Cornerstone Co-operative under the Co-operatives Act of the Province of Alberta.