The Lochnagar mine crater on the 1916 Somme battlefields in France is the largest man-made mine crater created in the First World War on the Western Front. It was laid by the British Army’s 179th Tunnelling Company Royal Engineers underneath a German strongpoint called “Schwaben Hohe”. The mine was exploded two minutes before 07:30 am Zero Hour at the launch of the British offensive against the German lines on the morning of July 1st, 1916. On 1st July 1978 the piece of ground containing this huge crater was purchased by Richard Dunning. The historical significance of the site and the [ Read More ]














