Sir James Pennyman: 363 years ago, on another... Never-before-seen images of 'Birdsong' tunnels dug by British pit workers to undermine the German lines in First World War. Mines were scene of underground fighting as portrayed in the Sebastian Faulks novelExcavations uncovered intact tunnels - and the bodies of four German soldiers By Charles Walford Updated: 22:37 GMT, 27 January 2012 Flanders fields today bears little sign of the four years of war that claimed so many thousands of lives and ravaged this small corner of the Western Front.
But further down, deep below the surface there remains a constant reminder of the bravery and daring of the men who risked their lives for their country. Beneath the farmers ploughs, most of the tunnels and dug-outs hewn from the earth by English pitmen to literally undermine the German offensive remain intact, untouched for almost 100 years. They were also the scene of fierce hand-to-hand combat between diggers from both armies, as portrayed in the Sebastian Faulks novel Birdsong. The tunnel sealed off by British troops during the First World War was excavated in 1997 and found to be intact Such fighting was not uncommon. Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener. Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title "Lord Kitchener of Khartoum"; as Chief of Staff (1900–02) in the Second Boer War he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief – by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps.
His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902–09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with another eminent proconsul, the Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto administrator). In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. Kitchener was killed in 1916 when the warship taking him to negotiations in Russia was sunk by a German mine.
Early life[edit] Survey of Western Palestine[edit] India[edit] Jan. 17, 1966: H-Bombs Rain Down on a Spanish Fishing Village | This Day In Tech. A hydrogen bomb is recovered from the water, 80 days after it fell into the Mediterranean Sea near Palomares, Spain. Photo: U.S. Navy 1966: A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber collides with its refueling tanker jet in mid-air over the Spanish coast.
Its four hydrogen bombs fall to earth near the fishing village of Palomares. The bomber collided with the KC-135 tanker at 31,000 feet. Three members of the bomber’s seven-man crew were killed in what became known as the Palomares hydrogen bombs incident. Although the conventional explosives contained in two of the four bombs detonated, there was no nuclear holocaust.
The bomb that landed in the sea went missing for 80 days and became the object of an intensive search by the United States, which was afraid the Soviets might try to recover it. A local fisherman, Francisco Simo Orts, had seen it hit the water and was enlisted to help the U.S. The U.S. secretary of defense said the bomb was worth $2 billion. (Source: Various)