Sint-Elooi is a small village, about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Ypres in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. The former municipality is now part of Ypres. Though Sint-Elooi is the Dutch and only official name, the village's French name, St. Eloi, is most commonly used in English due to its role in World War I. The village and the nearby locations of Voormezele and Hollebeke were merged into Zillebeke in 1970 and into Ypres in 1976.
The village takes its name from Saint Eligius (also Eloy or Loye, French: Éloi, c. 588–660 who worked for twenty years to convert the pagan population of Flanders to Christianity.
Historyedit
World War Iedit
Map showing Sint-Elooi/St Eloi south of Ypres and the front line in the Ypres Salient of June 1916.
In World War I, like other parts of the Ypres Salient, the village was the site of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. From the spring of 1915, there was constant underground fighting in the Ypres Salient at Hooge, Hill 60, Railway Wood, Sanctuary Wood, The Bluff and St Eloi.[1] The Germans built an extensive system of defensive tunnels and were actively mining against the British trenches at the intermediate levels.[2] In March 1915, they fired mines under the elevated area known as The Mound just south-east of St Eloi[3] and in the ensuing fighting (the Action of St Eloi,[4] 14–15 March 1915), in which units of the British 27th Division participated,[4] the British infantry suffered some 500 casualties. A month later, on 14 April 1915, the Germans fired another mine producing a crater over 20 m (66 ft) in diameter. Counter-mining by the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers began at St Eloi in spring 1915. Much of the mining in this sector was done by the 177th Tunnelling Company and the 172nd Tunnelling Company.[3] The geology of the Ypres Salient featured a characteristic layer of sandy clay, which put very heavy pressures of water and wet sand on the underground works and made deep mining extremely difficult. In autumn of 1915, 172nd Tunnelling Company managed to sink shafts through the sandy clay at a depth of 7.0 metres (23 ft) down to dry blue clay at a depth of 13 metres (43 ft), which was ideal for tunneling, from where they continued to drive galleries towards the German lines at a depth of 18 metres (60 ft).[5] This constituted a major achievement in mining technique and gave the Royal Engineers a significant advantage over their German counterparts. After German successes at The Bluff, the British decided to use the deep mines created by 172nd Tunnelling Company at St Eloi in a local operation (the Actions of St Eloi Craters, 27 March – 16 April 1916) and six charges were fired.[6][3] However, the accompanying British infantry operation was a failure; the problem lay in the Allied inability to hold crater positions after they had been captured.[7] The Canadian HMCS St. Eloi was later named after the battle.
Map of St Eloi with craters of the six mines fired on 27 March 1916 and plan of the deep mine fired on 7 June 1917 as part of the mines in the Battle of Messines.
After the Actions of St Eloi Craters, mining and counter-mining at St Eloi continued at a pace.[3] In preparation of the Battle of Messines in 1917, the British began a mining offensive against the German lines to the south of Ypres. Twenty-six deep mines were eventually dug by Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers, most of which were detonated simultaneously on 7 June 1917, creating 19 large craters. The largest of these mines was at St Eloi, dug by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company.[6] The work was begun with a deep shaft named Queen Victoria[8] and the chamber was set 42 metres (138 ft) below ground, at the end of a gallery 408 metres (1,339 ft) long and charged with 43,400 kilograms (95,600 lb) of ammonal. Building preparations had started on 16 August 1915 and the mine was completed on 11 June 1916.[9] When the large St Eloi deep mine was fired by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company on 7 June 1917, it destroyed some of the earlier craters from 1916 (D2 and D1), although a double crater (H4 and H1) can still be seen. The successful detonation allowed the capture of the German lines at St Eloi by the British 41st Division.[6]
World War IIedit
The area was fought over again during the Second World War.[10] On 27 May 1940, the 17th Brigade of the British 5th Infantry Division stopped the advance of three German divisions at Hill 60, which enabled the British to make a general withdrawal towards St. Eloi, Kemmel and Dikkebus.[11]
Memorialsedit
On a small square in the centre of Sint-Elooi stands the 'Monument to the St Eloi Tunnellers' which was unveiled on 11 November 2001. The brick plinth bears transparent plaques with details of the mining activities by 172nd Tunnelling Company and an extract from the poem Trenches: St Eloi by the war poet T.E. Hulme (1883–1917). There is a flagpole with the British flag next to it, and in 2003 an artillery gun was added to the memorial.[12]
Popular cultureedit
During World War I, David Bomberg painted Sappers at Work: A Canadian Tunnelling Company, Hill 60, St Eloi, which bears a reference to both St Eloi/Sint-Elooi and the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company.
The war poet T.E. Hulme (1883–1917) wrote the poem Trenches: St Eloi (online).
The story Herbert West–Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft mentions the town as the site of a hospital where the titular character performs experiments during World War I.
Galleryedit
Royal Garrison Artillery gunners outside a shelter at St Eloi, 11 August 1917
British officers in a captured German armoured observation post on a ruined house in St Eloi, 11 August 1917
St. Eloi, 11 August 1917. A shell is bursting in the background
Sappers at Work: A Canadian Tunnelling Company, Hill 60, St Eloi by David Bomberg
The Winnipeg Cenotaph, listing St Eloi 3rd from top
Mine crater in Sint-Elooi taken in panorama. The crater is now a bog between private land. It is possible to access the site from the road.
See alsoedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Eloi (Ypres).
Barton, Peter; Doyle, Peter; Vandewalle, Johan (2004). Beneath Flanders Fields: The Tunnellers' War 1914−1918. Staplehurst: Spellmount. ISBN978-1-86227-237-8.
Ellis, Major L. F. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Naval & Military Press. ISBN978-1-84574-056-6. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
Holt, Tonie; Holt, Valmai (2014) [1997]. Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Ypres Salient & Passchendaele. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN978-0-85052-551-9.
Further readingedit
Edmonds, J. E. (1993) [1932]. Military Operations France and Belgium, 1916: Sir Douglas Haig's Command to the 1st July: Battle of the Somme. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. I (Imperial War Museum and Battery Press ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN0-89839-185-7.
Turner, Alexander (2010). Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare. Campaign Series. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN978-1-84603-845-7. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
sint, elooi, confused, with, mont, saint, Éloi, small, village, about, south, ypres, flemish, province, west, flanders, belgium, former, municipality, part, ypres, though, dutch, only, official, name, village, french, name, eloi, most, commonly, used, english,. Not to be confused with Mont Saint Eloi Sint Elooi is a small village about 5 km 3 1 mi south of Ypres in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium The former municipality is now part of Ypres Though Sint Elooi is the Dutch and only official name the village s French name St Eloi is most commonly used in English due to its role in World War I The village and the nearby locations of Voormezele and Hollebeke were merged into Zillebeke in 1970 and into Ypres in 1976 Contents 1 Name 2 History 2 1 World War I 2 2 World War II 3 Memorials 4 Popular culture 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksName editThe village takes its name from Saint Eligius also Eloy or Loye French Eloi c 588 660 who worked for twenty years to convert the pagan population of Flanders to Christianity History editWorld War I edit nbsp Map showing Sint Elooi St Eloi south of Ypres and the front line in the Ypres Salient of June 1916 In World War I like other parts of the Ypres Salient the village was the site of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces From the spring of 1915 there was constant underground fighting in the Ypres Salient at Hooge Hill 60 Railway Wood Sanctuary Wood The Bluff and St Eloi 1 The Germans built an extensive system of defensive tunnels and were actively mining against the British trenches at the intermediate levels 2 In March 1915 they fired mines under the elevated area known as The Mound just south east of St Eloi 3 and in the ensuing fighting the Action of St Eloi 4 14 15 March 1915 in which units of the British 27th Division participated 4 the British infantry suffered some 500 casualties A month later on 14 April 1915 the Germans fired another mine producing a crater over 20 m 66 ft in diameter Counter mining by the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers began at St Eloi in spring 1915 Much of the mining in this sector was done by the 177th Tunnelling Company and the 172nd Tunnelling Company 3 The geology of the Ypres Salient featured a characteristic layer of sandy clay which put very heavy pressures of water and wet sand on the underground works and made deep mining extremely difficult In autumn of 1915 172nd Tunnelling Company managed to sink shafts through the sandy clay at a depth of 7 0 metres 23 ft down to dry blue clay at a depth of 13 metres 43 ft which was ideal for tunneling from where they continued to drive galleries towards the German lines at a depth of 18 metres 60 ft 5 This constituted a major achievement in mining technique and gave the Royal Engineers a significant advantage over their German counterparts After German successes at The Bluff the British decided to use the deep mines created by 172nd Tunnelling Company at St Eloi in a local operation the Actions of St Eloi Craters 27 March 16 April 1916 and six charges were fired 6 3 However the accompanying British infantry operation was a failure the problem lay in the Allied inability to hold crater positions after they had been captured 7 The Canadian HMCS St Eloi was later named after the battle nbsp Map of St Eloi with craters of the six mines fired on 27 March 1916 and plan of the deep mine fired on 7 June 1917 as part of the mines in the Battle of Messines After the Actions of St Eloi Craters mining and counter mining at St Eloi continued at a pace 3 In preparation of the Battle of Messines in 1917 the British began a mining offensive against the German lines to the south of Ypres Twenty six deep mines were eventually dug by Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers most of which were detonated simultaneously on 7 June 1917 creating 19 large craters The largest of these mines was at St Eloi dug by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company 6 The work was begun with a deep shaft named Queen Victoria 8 and the chamber was set 42 metres 138 ft below ground at the end of a gallery 408 metres 1 339 ft long and charged with 43 400 kilograms 95 600 lb of ammonal Building preparations had started on 16 August 1915 and the mine was completed on 11 June 1916 9 When the large St Eloi deep mine was fired by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company on 7 June 1917 it destroyed some of the earlier craters from 1916 D2 and D1 although a double crater H4 and H1 can still be seen The successful detonation allowed the capture of the German lines at St Eloi by the British 41st Division 6 World War II edit The area was fought over again during the Second World War 10 On 27 May 1940 the 17th Brigade of the British 5th Infantry Division stopped the advance of three German divisions at Hill 60 which enabled the British to make a general withdrawal towards St Eloi Kemmel and Dikkebus 11 Memorials editOn a small square in the centre of Sint Elooi stands the Monument to the St Eloi Tunnellers which was unveiled on 11 November 2001 The brick plinth bears transparent plaques with details of the mining activities by 172nd Tunnelling Company and an extract from the poem Trenches St Eloi by the war poet T E Hulme 1883 1917 There is a flagpole with the British flag next to it and in 2003 an artillery gun was added to the memorial 12 Popular culture editDuring World War I David Bomberg painted Sappers at Work A Canadian Tunnelling Company Hill 60 St Eloi which bears a reference to both St Eloi Sint Elooi and the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company The war poet T E Hulme 1883 1917 wrote the poem Trenches St Eloi online The story Herbert West Reanimator by H P Lovecraft mentions the town as the site of a hospital where the titular character performs experiments during World War I Gallery edit nbsp Royal Garrison Artillery gunners outside a shelter at St Eloi 11 August 1917 nbsp British officers in a captured German armoured observation post on a ruined house in St Eloi 11 August 1917 nbsp St Eloi 11 August 1917 A shell is bursting in the background nbsp Sappers at Work A Canadian Tunnelling Company Hill 60 St Eloi by David Bomberg nbsp The Winnipeg Cenotaph listing St Eloi 3rd from top nbsp Mine crater in Sint Elooi taken in panorama The crater is now a bog between private land It is possible to access the site from the road See also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Eloi Ypres Actions of St Eloi Craters Battle of Messines 1917 Mines in the Battle of Messines 1917 List of Canadian battles during the First World War St Eloi Mountain CanadaFootnotes edit Barton Doyle amp Vandewalle 2004 p 165 Jones 2010 p 101 sfn error no target CITEREFJones2010 help a b c d Holt amp Holt 2014 p 248 a b Action of St Eloi theactionofsteloi1915 com Retrieved 4 December 2015 Jones 2010 pp 101 103 sfn error no target CITEREFJones2010 help a b c St Eloi Craters firstworldwar com Retrieved 21 June 2010 Jones 2010 p 107 109 sfn error no target CITEREFJones2010 help According to Holt Holt the Queen Victoria shaft was begun in the area of Bus House Cemetery behind a farm house called Bus House by the British troops 50 48 46 8 N 2 53 13 6 E 50 813000 N 2 887111 E 50 813000 2 887111 From there the gallery was extended to the area of the mine chamber Holt amp Holt 2014 p 248 Turner Messines 1917 2010 p 44 Ellis 1954 p 196 Ellis 1954 p 202 Holt amp Holt 2014 p 184 References editBarton Peter Doyle Peter Vandewalle Johan 2004 Beneath Flanders Fields The Tunnellers War 1914 1918 Staplehurst Spellmount ISBN 978 1 86227 237 8 Ellis Major L F 2004 1st pub HMSO 1954 Butler J R M ed The War in France and Flanders 1939 1940 History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series Naval amp Military Press ISBN 978 1 84574 056 6 Retrieved 29 June 2015 Holt Tonie Holt Valmai 2014 1997 Major amp Mrs Holt s Battlefield Guide to the Ypres Salient amp Passchendaele Barnsley Pen amp Sword Books ISBN 978 0 85052 551 9 Further reading editEdmonds J E 1993 1932 Military Operations France and Belgium 1916 Sir Douglas Haig s Command to the 1st July Battle of the Somme History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence Vol I Imperial War Museum and Battery Press ed London Macmillan ISBN 0 89839 185 7 Turner Alexander 2010 Messines 1917 The Zenith of Siege Warfare Campaign Series Oxford Osprey ISBN 978 1 84603 845 7 Retrieved 19 April 2015 External links editThe Battle of St Eloi Craters50 48 36 N 2 53 31 E 50 810 N 2 892 E 50 810 2 892 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sint Elooi amp oldid 1164414757, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
