title: Tooth whitening

text: Bleaching is least effective when the original tooth color is grayish and may require custom bleaching trays. Bleaching is most effective with yellow discolored teeth. If heavy staining or tetracycline damage is present on a patient's teeth, and whitening is ineffective (tetracycline staining may require prolonged bleaching, as it takes longer for the bleach to reach the dentine layer), there are other methods of masking the stain. Bonding, which also masks tooth stains, is when a thin coating of composite material is applied to the front of a person's teeth and then cured with a blue light. A veneer can also mask tooth discoloration.


title: Tooth whitening

text: In-chair whitening is faster and more effective in comparison to the take-home bleaching options. Some clinicians also make custom bleaching trays, which can take up to a week to create. After the whitening treatment is completed, the patient is able to use these trays for maintenance of their bleaching with at-home kits or for use with desensitising products.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Power or light-accelerated bleaching uses light energy which is intended to accelerate the process of bleaching in a dental office. Different types of energy can be used in this procedure, with the most common being halogen, LED, or plasma arc. Use of light during bleaching increases the risk of tooth sensitivity and may not be any more effective than bleaching without light when high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide are used. A 2015 study showed that the use of a light activator does not improve bleaching, has no measurable effect, and rather is likely to increase the temperature of the associated tissues, resulting in damage.


title: Tooth whitening

text: The ideal source of energy should be high energy to excite the peroxide molecules without overheating the pulp of the tooth. Lights are typically within the blue light spectrum as this has been found to contain the most effective wavelengths for initiating the hydrogen peroxide reaction. A power bleaching treatment typically involves isolation of soft tissue with a resin-based, light-curable barrier, application of a professional dental-grade hydrogen peroxide whitening gel (25–38% hydrogen peroxide), and exposure to the light source for 6–15 minutes. Recent technical advances have minimized heat and UV emissions, allowing for a shorter patient preparation procedure.


title: Tooth whitening

text: For any whitening treatments, it is recommended that a comprehensive examination of the patient is done including the use of radiographs to aid in the diagnosis of the current condition of the mouth, including any allergies that may be present. The patient will need to have a healthy mouth and free of periodontal disease or cavities and to have had a debridement/clean done to remove any tartar or plaque build up.


title: Tooth whitening

text: It is recommended to avoid smoking, drinking red wine, eating or drinking any deeply coloured foods after this as the teeth may stain considerably straight after treatment.


title: Tooth whitening

text: A recent addition to the field is new light-accelerated bleaching agents containing lower concentrations of hydrogen peroxide with a titanium oxide nanoparticle-based catalyst. Reduced concentrations of hydrogen peroxide cause lower incidences of tooth hypersensitivity. The nanoparticles act as photocatalysts, and their size prevents them from diffusing deeply into the tooth. When exposed to light, the catalysts produce a rapid, localized breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into highly reactive radicals. Due to the extremely short lifetimes of the free radicals, they are able to produce bleaching effects similar to much higher concentration bleaching agents within the outer layers of the teeth where the nanoparticle catalysts are located. This provides effective tooth whitening while reducing the required concentration of hydrogen peroxide and other reactive byproducts at the tooth pulp.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Internal bleaching is a process which occurs after a tooth has been endodontically treated. This means that the tooth will have had the nerve of the tooth extirpated or removed through a root canal treatment at the dentist or by a specialist endodontist. Internal bleaching is often sought after in teeth which have been endodontically treated as tooth discolouration becomes a problem due to the lack of nerve supply to that tooth. It is common to have this internal bleaching done on an anterior tooth (a front tooth that you can see when smiling and talking). A way around this is by sealing off the bleaching agent inside the tooth itself and replacing it every few weeks until the desired shade has been achieved. The amount of time between appointments varies from patient to patient and with operator preference until the desired shade has been achieved. Even though this is a great option, the disadvantage of this treatment is a risk of internal root resorption of the tooth that is being internally bleached. This may not occur in every patient or every tooth, and its occurrence is difficult to determine prior to completing the treatment.


title: Tooth whitening

text: At home tooth whitening products are available from dentists or 'over the counter' (OTC). At home whitening methods include over-the-counter strips and gels, whitening rinses, whitening toothpastes, and tray-based tooth whiteners. OTC products can be used for milder cases of tooth staining. Home-based bleaching (following manufacturer's instructions) results in less tooth sensitivity than in-office bleaching.


title: Tooth whitening

text: The plastic whitening strips contain a thin layer of peroxide gel and are shaped to fit the buccal/labial surfaces of teeth. Many different types of whitening strips are available on the market, after being introduced in the late 1980s. Specific whitening strip products have their own set of instructions however the strips are typically applied twice daily for 30 minutes for 14 days. In several days, tooth colour can lighten by 1 or 2 shades. The tooth whitening endpoint does depend on the frequency of use and ingredients of the product.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Whitening gels are applied onto the tooth surface with a small brush. The gels contain peroxide and are recommended to be applied twice a day for 14 days. The tooth whitening endpoint like that of the whitening strips.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Whitening rinses work by reaction of the oxygen sources such as hydrogen peroxide within the rinse and the chromogens on or within the tooth. It is recommended to use twice a day, rinsing for one minute. To see an improvement in shade colour, it can take up to three months.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Whitening toothpastes differ from regular toothpastes in that they contain higher amounts of abrasives and detergents to be more effective at removing tougher stains. Some whitening toothpastes contain low concentrations of carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide which help lighten tooth colour however they do not contain bleach (sodium hypochlorite). With continuity of use over time, tooth colour can lighten by one or two shades.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Tray-based tooth whitening is achieved by wearing a fitted tray containing carbamide peroxide bleaching gel overnight or for two to four hours a day. If manufacturer's instructions are followed, tooth whitening can occur within three days and lighten teeth by one or two shades. This type of tooth whitening is available over-the-counter and professionally from an oral health professional.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Baking soda is a safe, low abrasive, and effective stain removal and tooth whitening toothpaste. Tooth whitening toothpaste that have excessive abrasivity are harmful to dental tissue, therefore baking soda is a desirable alternative. To date, clinical studies on baking soda report that there have been no reported adverse effects. It also contains acid-buffering components that makes baking soda biologically antibacterial at high concentrations and capable of preventing growth of "Streptococcus mutans." Baking soda might be useful for cavities-prone patients, as well as those who wish to have whiter teeth.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Whitening pens are a convenient way to touch up any dental surface. The plastic, convenient, tube contains a bleaching gel that can be easily applied in hard-to-reach spots. In order to work, the gel needs to stay on the tooth surface for around 20-30 minutes.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Tooth whitening may be undertaken for a variety of reasons, but whitening may also be recommended to some individuals by dental professionals.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Some groups are advised to carry out tooth whitening with caution as they may be at higher risk of adverse effects.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Some of the common side effects involved in teeth whitening are increased sensitivity of the teeth, gum irritation, and extrinsic teeth discolouration.


title: Tooth whitening

text: The use of bleach with extremely low pH levels in the tooth whitening procedure may lead to hypersensitive teeth, as it causes the dentinal tubules to open. Exposure to cold, hot, or sweet stimuli may further exacerbate the intensity of the hypersensitive response. Amongst those who receive in-office whitening treatment, between 67–78% of the individuals experience sensitivity after the procedure where hydrogen peroxide and heat is utilised. Although it varies from person to person, sensitivity after whitening treatment can last up to 4–39 days.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Potassium nitrate and sodium fluoride in toothpastes are used to ease discomfort following bleaching, however, there is no evidence to suggest that this is a permanent method to eradicate the issue of hypersensitivity.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Hydrogen peroxide is an irritant and cytotoxic. Hydrogen peroxide with concentrations of 10% or higher can cause tissue damage, be corrosive to mucous membranes and cause burning sensation to the skin. Chemical burns can commonly occur whilst bleaching, irritation and discolouration of the mucous membranes may occur if a high concentration of oxidising agent comes in to contact with unprotected tissue. Poorly fitting bleaching trays are amongst the most common reasons for chemical burns. The temporary burning induced by whitening treatments can be reduced by using custom-made plastic trays or nightguards provided by the dental professional. This prevents the leakage of solution onto the surrounding mucosa.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Uneven results are quite common after bleaching. Consuming less foods and drinks that cause surface staining of teeth can contribute to attaining a good result from tooth whitening.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Nearly half the initial change in colour provided by an intensive in-office treatment (i.e., one hour treatment in a dentist's chair) may be lost in seven days. Rebound is experienced when a large proportion of the tooth whitening has come from tooth dehydration (also a significant factor in causing sensitivity). As the tooth rehydrates, tooth colour "rebounds", back toward where it started.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Over-bleaching, more often known as the "bleached effect", occurs among treatments that promise a large change over a short period of time e.g., hours. Over-bleaching can emit a translucent and brittle appearance.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Teeth enamel can have an adverse negative effect by whitening treatment. Evidence from studies show that carbamide peroxide present in whitening gels can damage the enamel surface. Although this effect is not as damaging as phosphoric acid etch, the increased irregularity of the teeth surface makes the teeth more susceptible to extrinsic staining, thus having an increased detrimental effect on the aesthetics. The increased porosity and changes in surface roughness may have an impact on the formation of supra- and subgingival plaque, thus increasing the adhesion of bacterial species such as "Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus," significant contributors to dental cavities. Dental restorations are susceptible to unacceptable colour change even when using the home-based systems.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Intracoronal bleaching is a tooth whitening method that uses 30% more hydrogen peroxide. Such tooth whitening methods can weaken the mechanical properties of dentine and could potentially lead to severe tooth sensitivity.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Dental restorations are susceptible to unacceptable colour change even when using the home-based systems.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Ceramic crowns – aggressive bleaching can chemically react with ceramic crowns and reduce their stability.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Dental amalgam – exposure to carbamide peroxide solutions increase mercury release for one to two days. The release of amalgam components is said to be due to active oxidation. This increase in amalgam mercury release is proportional to the concentration of carbamide peroxide.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Resin composite – bond strength between enamel and resin based fillings become weakened. Many studies have found that 10-16% carbamide peroxide tooth bleaching gels (containing approximately 3.6-5.76% hydrogen peroxide) leads to an increase in the surface roughness and porosity of composite resins. However, the saliva may exert a protective effect. In addition, changes in the reflectance of the composite have been analysed following whitening with high concentration (30-35%) hydrogen peroxide. This suggests that tooth whitening negatively impacts composite resin restorations.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Bleachorexia is the term that is used to describe an individual that develops an unhealthy obsession with teeth whitening. This condition is similar to body dysmorphic disorder. The characteristics of bleachorexia are the continuous use of whitening products even though the teeth cannot possibly become whiter, despite the provision of repeated treatment. A person with bleachorexia will continually seek out for different whitening products, hence, it is recommended that a target shade is agreed upon before starting the treatment procedure to help with this problem.


title: Tooth whitening

text: The use of personalised home whitening trays is a patient administered therapy that is prescribed and dispensed by a dentist. Patients need to actively participate in their treatment and follow the guidelines given by the dentist accurately. Erratic or inaccurate use of the bleaching trays could cause harm to the patient such as blistering or sensitivity of the teeth and the surrounding soft tissue. Inconsistent use of the bleaching trays can lead to the slowing and irregularity of the whitening process. Some patients with a substantial gag reflex may not be able to tolerate the trays and would need to consider other methods of teeth whitening.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Evidence suggests that hydrogen peroxide might act as a tumour promoter. Although cervical root resorption is more evidently observed in thermocatalytic bleaching methods, intracoronal internal bleaching may also lead to tooth root resorption. Moreover, severe damage to intracoronal dentine and tooth crown fracture can occur due to this bleaching method.


title: Tooth whitening

text: However, the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove that hydrogen peroxide is a carcinogen to humans. Recently, the genotoxic potential of hydrogen peroxide was evaluated. The results indicated that the oral health products that contain or release hydrogen peroxide up to 3.6% will not increase the cancerous risk of an individual, hence, it is safe to use in moderation.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Despite achieving the results of treatment, stains can return within an initial couple of months of treatment. Various methods may be employed to prolong the treatment results, such as:


title: Tooth whitening

text: Teeth whitening remedies have been present since ancient times. Despite seeming absurd, some methods were somewhat effective in their results.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Ancient Roman dentists believed in using urine with goat milk to make their teeth look whiter. Pearly white teeth symbolized beauty and marked wealth. In the Auyrveda medicine system, oil pulling was used as an oral therapy. For this process today, swish coconut or olive oil in your mouth for up to 20 minutes each day. In the late 17th century, many people reached out to barbers, who used a file to file down the teeth before applying an acid that would, in fact, whiten the teeth. Although the procedure was successful, the teeth would become completely eroded and more prone to becoming decayed. Guy de Chauliac suggested the following to whiten the teeth: "Clean the teeth gently with a mixture of honey and burnt salt to which some vinegar has been added." In 1877, oxalic acid was proposed for whitening, followed by calcium hypochlorite.


title: Tooth whitening

text: In the late 1920s, mouthwash containing pyrozone (ether peroxide) was found to reduce cavities while providing a whiter appearance to the teeth. By 1940s and 1950s, ether and hydrogen peroxide gels were used to whiten vital teeth, whereas non-vital teeth were whitened using pyrozone and sodium perborate.


title: Tooth whitening

text: In the late 1960s, Dr William Klusmeier, an Orthodontist from Fort Smith, Arkansas, introduced the custom tray bleaching. However, it was not until 1989 that Haywood and Heymann published an article in support of this method. Carbamide peroxide with a shelf life of one to two years, as opposed to hydrogen peroxide with a shelf life one to two months, was seen as a more stable agent for whitening teeth.


title: Tooth whitening

text: Teeth whitening has become the most promoted and mentioned methodology in cosmetic dentistry. In excess of 100 million Americans brighten their teeth using different methods; spending $15 billion in 2010. The US Food and Drug Administration only endorses gels that are under 6% hydrogen peroxide or 16% or less of carbamide peroxide. The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety of the EU consider gels containing higher fixations can be dangerous.


title: Tooth whitening

text: As per European Council guidelines, only a certified dental professional can lawfully give tooth whitening products utilizing 0.1–6% hydrogen peroxide, provided the patient is 18 years of age or older. In 2010, the UK General Dental Council became concerned of the "risk to patient safety from poor quality tooth whitening being carried out by untrained or poorly trained staff." A public attitudes survey, conducted by the GDC, showed that 83% of people support "policies of regulating tooth whitening to protect patient safety and prosecuting illegal practice." A group of dental professionals and associations called The Tooth Whitening Information Group (TWIG) was founded to advance protected and beneficial tooth whitening information and assistance to the general population. Reports can be made to the TWIG through their website with respect to any individual giving unlawful tooth whitening services, or if an individual has personally undergone treatment done by a non-dental professional.


title: Tooth whitening

text: In Brazil, all whitening items are classed as cosmetics (Degree II). There are worries that this will bring about increasing abuse of whitening products and thus there have been calls for reanalysis.


title: Tooth whitening

text: According to research, tooth whitening can produce positive changes in young participants’ Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in aesthetic areas such as smiling, laughing, and showing teeth without embarrassment. However, its main side-effect, tooth sensitivity, does negatively affect quality of life.


title: XX (web series)

text: XX () is a 2020 South Korean web series starring Ahn Hee-yeon, Hwang Seung-eon, Bae In-hyuk and Lee Jong-won. The 25-minute episodes were pre-released on V Live, Naver TV Cast, YouTube and Facebook's PlayList Global official channels on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 19:00 (KST). The 50-minute episodes aired on MBC TV on Friday nights at 00:50 (KST) from January 24 to February 21, 2020.


title: Akhil (film)

text: Akhil: The Power of Jua is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language action fantasy film directed by V. V. Vinayak and produced by Nithin and M. Sudhakar Reddy under Sresht Movies banner. The film stars Akhil Akkineni and Sayyeshaa in their debut. The film features score composed by Mani Sharma with soundtrack by Anup Rubens and S. Thaman. Vinayak wrote the screenplay from the story given by Veligonda Srinivas along with dialogue by Kona Venkat. Released on 11 November 2015, the film was a commercial failure.


title: Akhil (film)

text: The story begins thousands of years ago with a voice narrating how the Earth would face destruction in the future due to the powerful UV rays of the Sun. Few saints in India foresee this destruction and make a sphere with the most powerful metals which possess an immense power that absorbs the harmful UV rays hence it protecting the Earth. Since it has to be placed at the Earth's equator, they give the sphere to a tribe in Congolia, Africa. They leave from there by warning them that it should be kept at the Earth's equator during every Solar eclipse. If they miss even one of the eclipses, then the earth should face major destruction. The African tribe names the Sphere Jua (Name of the Sun in Africa). Now the story moves to the present day, where a Russian don is plotting to capture the Jua so that he will have the solution when the world is in destruction and thinks he can rule the world. For this, he seeks the help of an Indian don. The Indian don sends his henchmen to the tribe to get the Jua, but Bodo, a young graduate of the tribe, takes it and escapes.


title: Akhil (film)

text: In Hyderabad, a young and carefree orphan named Akhil fights in the streets for earning and celebrates with friends. One day, Akhil meets a girl, Divya, and immediately falls in love with her. He impresses her in a couple of meetings by operating on her rabbit, which needs heart surgery with the help of K. V. Rajendra Prasad, Divya's college principal. Later Divya invites Akhil and his friends to her marriage. Akhil plots to break the marriage but find out that Kishore, the Fiancé of Divya, is in love with some other girl and unites Kishore with his lover, making Divya's dad furious, who is a Don in India as shown at the beginning of the movie. Disheartened, Divya leaves for Europe to find Kishore. Akhil learns that Divya is in Europe and follows her. After reaching her in Europe, Divya asks Akhil to act him as her lover, thinking that she can make Kishore envy. Meanwhile, Mambo, a thug of Indian don, searches for Bodo to get the Jua and shoots him in a chase. Bodo falls at Divya's apartment, and she treats him as if she is a Medico. The very next day, Akhil tells Divya that he was the one who united Kishore and his lover, breaking Divya's marriage. She gets mad at him and tries to leave but is kidnapped by Mambo, who saw Divya while treating Bodo. Akhil gets injured while chasing them and got hit by Divya's dad, who discovers that he loves Divya. He falls unconscious under a tree, where a chain with a sun-shaped locket falls over his neck. Divya's father catches Akhil, and through him, he discovers that Mambo kidnapped his daughter. He calls Mambo and orders him to release his daughter, but Mambo refuses. Akhil finds out about Mambo's place and leaves for Africa with Kishore to rescue Divya.


title: Akhil (film)

text: After reaching Africa, at the airport, a church father asks Akhil to hold his bible, cross, and white coat while he goes to the restroom. Johnson and Johnson, a cab driver who came there to pick up the Priest, mistake Akhil for the Priest and drive him in his car. Akhil asks him to drive to Congolia; Johnson resists taking him there as it is a dangerous place but due to Akhil's insistence takes him to the Place. Akhil, along with Kishore and Johnson, reaches Mambo's place and fights with his men, and takes Mambo's brother while holding him hostage. He rescues Divya, who still hates him. In the meantime, Divya's father comes to rescue her from Mambo but gets trapped there. Mambo calls Divya and warns her if they don't return to his place, he will kill her father. They all return to Mambo's place to rescue Divya's father. Mambo asks Divya where was Jua kept, and she misguides him by telling him the wrong place. Mambo, after reaching the place, finds out he was fooled by Divya and goes back to her. By then, they all manage to escape and hide in a forest where Akhil fights with a tiger to save Divya, which makes Divya forgive him, and her father likes and accepts him as his son-in-law. The next day they go to Congolia village, where the African tribe guarding the Jua live. At the same time, a Russian don and Mambo with his men reach there and shoot Akhil, but a young man of the tribe guards him by giving him his life. Akhil asks him why he sacrificed his life for him then the young man points toward the sun-shaped locket on Akhil's neck. He learns that he has some connection with this Jua, and he only should find it. Mambo again tries to shoot Akhil, then Divya tells the exact place where Jua was hidden. She tells them that Bodo dropped the Jua in a river full of piranhas and killer fish while he was escaping from Mambo. Akhil owes that he will bring the Jua back to the tribe. After getting the Jua by fighting the piranhas in the river, Akhil kills Mambo and his men. Meanwhile, the Russian don escapes in a helicopter with Jua. Akhil jumps onto the helicopter when it is about to take off and kills the Russian don and gets the Jua, while the pilot causes the helicopter to hit a volcano. Before the explosion, Akhil jumps out with a parachute and handover the Jua to the tribal head, who places it back at the Earth's equator and rescues the world from destruction. In the end, Divya and Akhil unite.


title: Akhil (film)

text: Akkineni made his debut with a cameo appearance in the climax of "Manam" (2014). Either Vikram Kumar or Deva Katta were expected to direct Akhil's debut as a lead actor. While Nagarjuna reportedly confirmed Vikram Kumar to direct Akhil's second film, Deva Katta was confirmed to direct Manchu Vishnu in the Telugu remake of "Arima Nambi" (2014). On 21 September 2014, Akhil said "I know that a lot of people are curious to know details about my debut film. However, I would like to clarify that I haven't made up my mind yet. I want to start my career with a blockbuster film and I'm not going to settle for anything less than that. If all goes well, I will announce details about my debut film in near future after "Oka Laila Kosam" releases. Till then, all I can say is, I'm still working hard on what my debut film should be", at an event celebrating Akkineni Nageswara Rao's birth anniversary and the success of "Manam". Later V. V. Vinayak was approached to direct this film after the release of "Alludu Seenu" (2014).


title: Akhil (film)

text: Veligonda Srinivas, who penned the script for Nagarjuna's "Dhamarukam" (2012), wrote the film's story. Kona Venkat and Gopimohan were working on the film's screenplay. The film's principal photography was expected to begin on 15 November 2014. Anup Rubens & S. Thaman were selected as the music directors. Nithiin was reported to be a part of the film in late November 2014 which was supposed to be a romantic film with adventurous backdrop. He was also reported to produce the film while the story discussions slowed down as Vinayak's mother fell ill. Vinayak's mother died in early December 2014 because of which the film's launch was postponed by a week. The film was officially launched on 17 December 2014 in Hyderabad. Nithiin along with his father Sudhakar Reddy was confirmed to bankroll the film under the banner Sresht Movies.


title: Akhil (film)

text: Amol Rathod and Gautham Raju were confirmed as the cinematographer and editor, respectively. Kona Venkat was confirmed to pen the film's dialogues, while the screenplay was announced to be handled by Vinayak himself. Nithiin said that they are searching for a new actress as the female lead, and the regular shoot would begin in early January 2015. Akhil said in an interview with Sanchita Dash that the film is an action movie with few stunts and would be shot in a new style of filming. He also confirmed that a new actress would be selected, and screen tests are being held. He added that they opted for a new actress as he himself is a debutante and to minimize the burden and expectations on the film. Sayyeshaa was reported to be the female lead later marking her Telugu debut.


title: Akhil (film)

text: The film was originally slated to release on 22 October; however, it got postponed many times. Visual effects were said to be the reason behind the delay. The makers have confirmed that film will be releasing on 11 November.


title: Akhil (film)

text: On 29 August 2015, Salman Khan released a 55-second first look teaser. The teaser received a mixed response from viewers.


title: Akhil (film)

text: The soundtrack was jointly composed by Anup Rubens and S. Thaman. The film's audio launch was held on 20 September 2015. The song "Akkineni Akkineni" uses a vocal sample of Eminem from his song Lose Yourself, from the "8 Mile" .


title: Akhil (film)

text: "Akhil" has grossed ₹10 crore at the AP/Telangana box office on the first day, with a distributor share of ₹7.5 crore. The film with a total gross of ₹13.86 crore worldwide on its first day and became the highest opener for a debutant Telugu actor. The film grossed crore by the end of its theatrical run.


title: Munafiq

text: In Islam, the munafiqun ('hypocrites', , singular "munāfiq") or false Muslims or false believers are a group decried in the Quran as outward Muslims who were inwardly concealing disbelief (“kufr”) and actively sought to undermine the Muslim community. Munafiq is a person who in public and in community shows that he is a Muslim but rejects Islam or propagates against it either in his heart or among the enemies of Islam. The hypocrisy itself is called "nifāq" ().


title: Munafiq

text: The Quran has many verses discussing "munāfiqūn", referring to them as more dangerous to Muslims than the worst non-Muslim enemies of Islam.


title: Munafiq

text: The 63rd chapter (surah) of the Quran is titled Al-Munafiqun. The chapter deals with the phenomenon of hypocrisy; it criticizes hypocrisy and condemns the hypocrites; the treachery of the hypocrites of Medina is exposed and rebuked; Muhammad is warned to beware of trusting the hypocrites; the hypocrites are cursed and declared reprobates; the hypocrites are threatened with expulsion from Medina. In Surah Al-Nisa, verses 88-89 of the Quran, hypocrites are threatened with death.


title: Munafiq

text: Hadith (record of the words, actions attributed to Muhammad) describe several traits of a hypocrite and these traits include both apparent actions and his/her inner iman/faith like the following:


title: Munafiq

text: Salih Al Munajjid in his book Nifaq describes the nature and character of hypocrites as described in Quran and Hadith. These are:


title: Munafiq

text: Salih Al-Munajjid in his book Nifaq, as a remedy for Nifaq, says to do 10 things according to Quran and Sahih Hadith,


title: Munafiq

text: Salih Al Munajjid told Muslims to deal with hypocrites as follows according to the Quran and Sahih Hadith:


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: Beechwood is a Gilded Age mansion and estate located at 580 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island best known for having been owned by the Astor family. Part of the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, it was built between 1852–53 and designed in the Italianate style by Andrew Jackson Downing and Calvert Vaux. Richard Morris Hunt renovated the estate in 1881 after it was bought the year before by William Backhouse Astor, Jr.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: Beechwood was built as a marine villa for New Yorker Daniel Parish, a clothing merchant whose operations extended to Southern cities. Being a nephew of Thomas Powell, a steamboat magnate from Newburgh, New York, Parish commissioned the design from Andrew Jackson Downing and Calvert Vaux, whose office was based there. Downing's trip to visit the building site with Parish in July 1852 never occurred; he died in a steamboat accident before reaching New York. Vaux completed the house in 1853 with a "Palladian spirit" and published it in his book "Villas and Cottages" (1857). After a fire in 1855, it was rebuilt in 1856 based on the original plans, Vaux superintending the construction.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: In 1880, Beechwood was purchased by William Backhouse Astor Jr. for $190,941.50. He had married Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, who would be known as ""the" Mrs. Astor". Between 1888 and 1890, Mrs. Astor hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to do many renovations, including the addition of a ballroom to fit the famous "Four Hundred". The house also boasts a library, a dining room and a music room with wallpaper imported from Paris. Beechwood became the showplace for many of Mrs. Astor's dinner parties.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: When Mrs. Astor died in 1908, Beechwood was left to her son, John Jacob Astor IV, who married his second wife Madeleine in its ballroom in 1911. After Jack's death on the "Titanic" in 1912, it passed to his son Vincent (by his first wife, Ava). Vincent later rented out the home to Robert R. Young, a New York financier.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: In 1940, Allene Tew and her fifth husband, Count Pavel de Kotzebue, purchased Beechwood from Vincent Astor. Over the course of the subsequent four decades, the house was owned in succession by James Cameron Clark, Gurnee Dyer, William W. Carey, John Page-Blair and Richard Merrill.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: In 1981, Beechwood was purchased by Paul M. Madden from Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, who was a recent graduate of the National Film and Television School in the United Kingdom. He undertook extensive renovations, including a new main entrance onto Bellevue Avenue.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: Together with the University of Rhode Island History and Drama Departments, he started the "Beechwood Theatre Company", which conducted live theatrical tours to over a million mansion visitors. In 1981, Paul Madden re-opened the renovated house with 20 costumed actors who were trained to remain in character as they played all the roles of a Victorian household, including butlers, footmen, maids, and doormen. The tour featured actors portraying the daily lives of those who inhabited, ran, and cared for the estate. During its time as a tourist attraction, the estate was marketed as "Astors' Beechwood Mansion".


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: During off-season months (February to May), the actors played roles as "servants" of the Astors and provided tours of the estate as if it was 1891. Visitors were treated as though they were "applicants" for summer jobs on Mrs. Astor's staff, and they "applied" for any job they wished. The staff positions included gardener, footman, butler, chef, housemaid and many others. During the summer months, when the pretend "Astor family" was living in the mansion, the actors played roles as Astor family members and gave tours to guests. The people working at the mansion pretended that it was 1891 and acted in-character throughout each tour.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: The tour included two sides of the house: first, the family's side where the Astors lived, and second, the servants' side, which included kitchens and servants' quarters, as well as an area for the children to live. The children of the Astor family lived with the servants until the age of 17, when they were considered adults and fully prepared for social functions. Children of the family were quickly wed at the age of 18, or as soon as possible after reaching 18.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: During the 1980s, Paul Madden hosted many of Newport's most noteworthy social events at Beechwood. The events included a recreation of Mrs. Astor's "400 Ball" with honorary chairman Mary Jaqueline Astor, a dinner dance for Vice President and Mrs. George Bush on August 14, 1981, a dinner in honor of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent for the British America's Cup team, and a dinner dance for the Duke of Marlborough for the English-Speaking Union.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: The British America's Cup Challenge Ball in 1983 was held in honor of Prince Andrew. It was the most lavish event of the America's Cup that year, with a dinner for one thousand guests and entertainment that included the Regimental Band of Her Majesty's Irish Guards, as well as Peter Duchin's band.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: In January 2010, the Beechwood Theatre Company was reorganized under the umbrella of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Beechwood Foundation as the Marley Bridges Theatre Company, and the Beechwood estate was sold for $10.5 million to Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison. Ellison, who was in Newport during the summer of 2009 for training with his BMW Oracle Racing team, is linked to a deed filed at City Hall that documents the $10.5 million sale of the 39-room mansion. Ellison reportedly spent over $100 million restoring the mansion and the other buildings on the estate to the condition that Richard Morris Hunt brought them in 1881, although as of August 2018 landscaping of the grounds had not begun.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: As of 2012, Ellison plans to convert the mansion's first floor into the "Beechwood Art Museum", displaying his collection of 18th- and 19th-century art. In December 2017, Beechwood was issued a permanent certificate of occupancy. In February 2019, it was reported that Ellison purchased the Seacliff home at 562 Bellevue Avenue (for $11 million), "thus giving him ownership of all four properties between Rosecliff and Marble House", which reunited the original 9-acre estate that William B. Astor Jr. had created in 1881.


title: Beechwood (Astor mansion)

text: Beechwood was featured in a second-season episode of "Ghost Hunters", in which the TAPS team investigated claims of paranormal activity.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: The Desert Combat Uniform (DCU) is an arid-environment camouflage uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. In terms of pattern and textile cut, it is identical to the U.S. military's Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) uniform, but features a three-color desert camouflage pattern of dark brown, pale olive green, and beige, as opposed to the four-color woodland pattern of the BDU. It replaced the previous Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU) which featured a six-color "chocolate chip" pattern of beige, pale olive green, two tones of brown, and black and white rock spots. Although completely phased out of frontline use in the U.S. Armed Forces, some pieces and equipment printed in the DCU camouflage pattern are used in limited numbers such as MOPP suits and/or vests.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: Developed in the late 1980s and first issued in very limited quantity in 1990 as experimental test patterns, the DCU and its camouflage scheme, officially known as the Desert Camouflage Pattern and known colloquially as "coffee stain camouflage", was developed to replace the six-color desert camouflage "chocolate-chip camouflage" uniform, which was deemed unsuitable for most desert combat theaters. As opposed to the original six-color DBDU, which was meant for a rockier and elevated desert battlefield that was often not encountered, the DCU was created primarily for a lower, more open, and less rocky desert battlefield space which became a common sight throughout the Persian Gulf War. As a replacement pattern, this meant a new arid region had to be utilized to test the effectiveness of the DCU. Desert soil samples from parts of the Middle East, namely Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, were used as testing locations to find the appropriate color palettes.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: Though the DCU did exist during the Persian Gulf War, the vast majority of U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq wore the DBDU during the entirety of the war, with the exception of some select U.S. Army generals who were issued the DCU a month following the air campaign in Operation Desert Storm. Norman Schwarzkopf, then CENTCOM commander, and leader of U.S. forces during Desert Storm, was issued an M-65 field jacket as well as coat and trousers in the new DCU color pattern shortly before the war ended.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: By 1992, the first wide scale batches of DCUs were issued first by the United States Army, and within a year to the United States Air Force, and replaced the majority of the DBDU by 1993, with the United States Navy and Marines replacing their older six-colored desert fatigues from 1993 through 1995.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: First fielded in 1991, the DCU served as the U.S. Army's primary desert combat pattern from 1992 to 2004. In June 2004, the Army unveiled a new pixel-style camouflage pattern called UCP (Universal Camouflage Pattern), to be used on the DCU's successor uniform, the Army Combat Uniform (ACU).


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: In late 2004, some U.S. Army soldiers deployed in Iraq were issued the "Close Combat Uniform", a variant of the DCU that featured ACU-like features such as shoulder pockets affixed with hook-and-loop "Velcro" fasteners as well as a redesigned collar and chest-worn rank insignia. They were made by American Power Source, Inc. and only saw brief usage as they were issued shortly before the introduction of the newer ACU in mid-to-late 2005.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: In mid-2005, the DCU and the BDU began slowly being discontinued within the U.S. Army. By 2007, most U.S. soldiers were wearing the ACU with both the DCU and BDU being fully replaced by early 2008.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: Following the Army, the United States Marine Corps began issuing the DCU from 1993 through 1995 and remained the Marine Corps standard arid combat uniform from 1993 to 2003. In January 2002, the U.S. Marine Corps became the first branch to replace both its BDUs and DCUs with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU), completely replacing them by April 2005.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: Along with the Army, the Air Force began issuing the DCU in 1992 and remained its primary desert uniform until 2011. The U.S. Air Force officially replaced the BDU and DCU on November 1, 2011 with the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU), though most airmen had been using the ABU for a couple years before that date.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: The United States Navy issued the DCU from 1993 until 2010 when it was replaced by the arid variant of the Navy Working Uniform (NWU), known as the NWU Type II. The DCU was retired by the navy in late 2012.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: The DCU was introduced to the Coast Guard sometime in the 1990s. The DCU and BDU were formally retired by the USCG in 2012.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: The first version produced in 1990 and 1991 and fielded mainly by the USAF during the Gulf War, later being heavily used in Somalia by the Army. The fabric had a composition of 50% cotton and 50% nylon as Twirl fabric just like the DBDU. The cut was based on the second pattern DBDU which had no elbow, knee and between legs reinforcements.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: During Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Gen. Schwarzkopf redirected many complains from his troops back to the DOD, he concerns brought to light the Desert Boots and also the 2nd pattern DBDU. But the unhappiness of the troops with the issued uniforms for the war would persist. As a response for such situation, several modifications were made to the DCU. Much like what happened to the BDU after Operation Urgent Fury. This DCU version presents the fabric of the HWBDU(Hot Weather Battle Dress Uniform), and keeps the details of the 1st pattern DBDU, being the reinforcements and the lining on the back of the shirt. The easiest way to tell this version apart from the others is looking for the waist adjust straps it has below the sleeves. It is possible Delta Operators wore it during Op. Gothic Serpeant as they were prioritized by logistics. But other units probably remained with Twirl fabric DCU as it was already available since 1990 and 1991.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: Following the developments made for the EHWBDU(Enhanced Hot Weather Battle Dress Uniform), a new DCU version was made. The contract label describes it as Poplin Windproof Ripstop, made of 50% Nylon 50% Cotton, mirroring the new BDU uniform. But unlike the latter, it presents no elbow and knee reinforcements just like the Twirl fabric.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: The last definitive version of the desert uniform. It is a mirror from the EHWBDU, carrying elbow and knee reinforcements, and also wrist adjustment The fabric remained 50% Nylon 50% Cotton ripstop. This DCU version is separated into two versions. one having a shorter collar and another with a longer collar(Nicknamed Elvis Collar by troops). It is believed the Elvis collar was designed for usage with armor vests. The Ripstop DCU is the most seen during The War in Iraq and Afghanistan. However due to logistical problems it is possible to see many photos of servicemen wearing earlier versions of the uniform.


title: Desert Camouflage Uniform

text: The CCU was an experimental uniform produced both on M81 Woodland Camouflage and Desert Camouflage Pattern, a bridge between the older uniforms and the new ACU. It appropriated some behaviors from Special Forces, Mostly Rangers, Seals, Delta Force, Green Berets and Marsoc. Since Vietnam Green Berets had the habit of sewing extra pockets on the sleeves of their Jungle Fatigues, and this tradition persisted through every generation. The BDU and DCU would be modified as well, and such modification is known as Raid Mod. The CCU was designed with this in mind, having waist pockets removed, and added pockets to the arms, alongside these, many other modifications were made. Mandarin collar closed by velcros, wrist adjustment by velcro, tilted chest pockets closed by velcros. On the trousers calf pockets and tilted cargo pockets. The ACU kept much of the modifications, making slight adjustments, and adding insert for knee and elbow soft protectors and also IR reflectors to the arm pockets.


title: Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers

text: Royal Engineer tunnelling companies were specialist units of the Corps of Royal Engineers within the British Army, formed to dig attacking tunnels under enemy lines during the First World War.


text: The stalemate situation in the early part of the war led to the deployment of tunnel warfare. After the first German Empire attacks on 21 December 1914, through shallow tunnels underneath no man's land and exploding ten mines under the trenches of the Indian Sirhind Brigade, the British began forming suitable units. In February 1915, eight Tunnelling Companies were created and operational in Flanders from March 1915. By mid-1916, the British Army had around 25,000 trained tunnellers, mostly volunteers taken from coal mining communities. Almost twice that number of "attached infantry" worked permanently alongside the trained miners acting as 'beasts of burden'.


text: From the spring of 1917 the whole war became more mobile, with grand offensives at Arras, Messines and Passchendaele. There was no longer a place for a tactic that depended upon total stasis for its employment. The tactics and counter-tactics required deeper and deeper tunnelling, hence more time and more stable front lines were also required, so offensive and defensive military mining largely ceased. Underground work continued, with the tunnellers concentrating on deep dugouts for troop accommodation, a tactic used particularly in the Battle of Arras.


text: In siege warfare, tunnelling is a long-held tactic for breaching and breaking enemy defences. The Greek historian Polybius, in his Histories, described accounts of mining during Philip V of Macedon's siege of the town of Prinassos; there is also a graphic account of mining and counter-mining at the Roman siege of Ambracia. Mining was a method used in siege warfare in ancient China from at least the Warring States (481–221 BC) period forward.


text: In 1215 during the First Barons' War, John, King of England laid siege to Rochester Castle. Eventually, he ordered his troops to dig a tunnel under the south tower, which they held up with pit props. After the tunnellers lit the props, the tower fell down, ending the siege even though the castle's main walls remained standing.


text: In 1346, Edward III of England requested that miners from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire accompany his expedition to France, during the first part of the Hundred Years' War between England and France.


text: The Corps of Royal Engineers were formed in 1717. In 1770, the Company of Soldier Artificers formed a specialist tunnelling troop in Gibraltar to dig defensive positions into the Rock.


text: The use of mines filled with explosives as an offensive weapon for trench warfare was pioneered during the American Civil War, where a large mine was exploded by Union forces during the Battle of the Crater.


text: By the end of May 1915, continuous opposed trenches with no vulnerable flanks, stretched from the North Sea coast to neutral Switzerland. With both sides equally well dug-in and deploying comparable troop numbers and armaments, neither was to prove strong enough to force a decisive breakthrough. The resultant static warfare meant that tunnelling saw a brief resurgence as a military tactic. As in siege warfare, mining was possible due to the nature of the fighting. Secondly, the ground on the Western Front was a prime candidate for underground warfare. Although the British were equipped with Royal Engineers who were trained in carrying out sapping, mining and tunnelling operations, there was no core team of specialist skills.


text: Even before it became apparent that the Germans were mining to a planned system, the commanding officer of the IV Corps, Lieutenant-General Henry Rawlinson, requested the establishment on 3 December 1914, of a special battalion to assist with mining duties.


text: Towards the end of 1914, the civil engineering company of Member of Parliament and British Army Major, John Norton-Griffiths, was working on sewerage renewal contracts in Liverpool and Manchester. The relatively small-bore tunnels were being driven by a manual technique known as clay-kicking. Only useful in firm clay soils, the man doing the digging sat with his back supported by a wooden frame, with his feet pointing towards the cutting face. With a spade-like tool he dug out the clay, passing the spoil over-head to one of his mates for disposal at the rear. In early December 1914, Norton-Griffiths wrote to the War Office suggesting that the technique would be useful attack, spying or for intercepting German tunnels coming in the opposite direction. He concluded by asking to be allowed to take a group of his "moles" to France where if the soil was right, they could quickly undermine enemy positions. His letter was filed.


text: On 20 December 1914, by digging shallow tunnels under no man's land, German sappers placed eight mines beneath the positions of the Indian Sirhind Brigade in Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée. Following their simultaneous detonation, an infantry attack resulted in the loss of the entire company of 800 men.


text: Following further attacks, it was evident by January 1915 that the Germans were mining to a planned system. As the British had failed to develop suitable counter-tactics or listening devices, Field Marshal John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, wrote to the Secretary of State for War, Herbert Kitchener, describing the seriousness of the German mining situation. Norton-Griffiths received a telegram on 12 February 1915, instructing him to report to the War Office. On his arrival, he was shown into Kitchener's private offices, There, Kitchener showed him French's letter. Kitchener then asked Norton-Griffiths for his advice. Using a coal shovel from the room's fire grate, Norton-Griffiths sat on the floor and gave a demonstration of "clay-kicking."


text: Impressed but sceptical, Kitchener asked Norton-Griffiths to travel that day to France to communicate his method to the commanders there, and confirm the suitability of the Flanders soil. If positive, he would then raise a suitable battalion of "moles", as Norton-Griffiths had named his new teams, the same name as their civil engineering counterparts. Arriving with two of his employees at the GHQ Saint-Omer office of the Engineer-in-Chief (E-in-C), Brigadier George Henry Fowke, on 13 February, Norton-Griffiths gave another demonstration of "clay-kicking." A sceptical Fowke instructed his assistant, Colonel Harvey, to take Norton-Griffiths and his employees to Army and Corps headquarters on 14 February, to see what the Corps of Royal Engineers thought of the idea.


text: In an early public relations exercise, on 14 February, Norton-Griffiths got Colonel Harvey to stop at four headquarters – Army, Corps, Division and Brigade. At each briefing, Norton-Griffiths repeated his demonstration. On arrival at the front line, (a mile from where the first German mine had exploded the previous December), they confirmed the excellent conditions of the clay-based soil and returned to St Omer via the four headquarters to communicate their findings. The following day, the team held further meetings in St Omer, concluding with a meeting between Norton-Griffiths, Fowke and Sir John French, the C-in-C, for a personal explanation. Fowke gave his agreement to a trial to which French agreed, and the three set out a structure for what were to be called tunnelling companies, rather than Norton-Griffiths' preference for 'moles': a symbol which many of the tunnelling companies would later adopt as their unit sign.


text: In a meeting with Lord Kitchener on 17 February, he reported on his visit to France and the agreement of Collins and Fowke to form trial tunnelling companies. Norton-Griffiths pointed out that to deploy the units at the speed which Lord Kitchener had suggested, would require the recruitment of civilians, who could not undergo basic military training to enable their immediate deployment to the front line. Kitchener's staff were highly sceptical of the proposal, but using his carte-blanche skill to cull such skilled men from regular infantry units, Norton-Griffiths won his argument. The same day, 17 February, British sappers at Hill 60 near Ypres blew a small mine which they had taken over from the French, but without great effect. The Germans retaliated with a small mine at Zwarteleen, but were driven out of the British positions. On 21 February, however, they blew a large mine nearby, killing forty-seven men and ten officers of the 16th Lancers. In mid-March the Germans blew another large mine at Zwarteleen, creating a deep crater and damaging their own lines in the process.


text: Norton Griffiths travelled to Manchester on 18 February and closed down one of his tunnelling contracts, making 18 staff redundant. The following day the War Office gave its approval to the Royal Engineers tunnelling company scheme. On the same day, 18 formerly redundant Manchester men turned up in Chatham to be enrolled, clothed and turned into Royal Engineers. One of the most rapid acts of the First World War, men who were working underground as civilians on 17 February, were working underground on the Western Front a mere four days later. The first nine Royal Engineer Tunnelling Companies, numbers 170 to 178, were each commanded by a regular RE officer – they comprised: five officers and 269 sappers, aided by temporarily attached infantrymen as required, (which almost doubled the companies' number). Norton-Griffiths, in the rank of major, acted as a liaison officer between these units and the E-in-C's office in St Omer.


text: Although able to select almost any soldier he wished, as he had predicted, Norton-Griffiths was quickly forced to recruit civilians. The new recruits in these units, aged anything up to 60, did not readily conform to military discipline and Norton-Griffiths' skills as a politician and as an engineer were called on in recruiting the men he needed and integrating them into the military environment. His judgement of people was remarkably accurate, he very rarely made a mistake in selecting men for a commission. The deployment of the first eight units led to the introduction of the tunnelling method that allowed the British to dig tunnels at a rate of per day, compared to the Germans' .


text: The first attack of the newly formed tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers was carried out by 173rd Tunnelling Company. First deployed in the Ypres Salient with the 28th Division, the tunnelers laid six mines by 10 April 1915. These mines (together with others that were unfinished) were filled with around of Ammonal explosives, the resulting explosions ripping the heart out of Hill 60 over a period of about 10 seconds. The effect was a mini-earthquake that split the ground under the entire hill, white flames shot into the sky. Concrete pillboxes and soldiers occupying them came down in all directions away. The explosion resulted in a deep crater, with surrounding trenches sandwiched shut so fast that soldiers were crushed, still in their standing positions. The Germans all around were crying with fear. Many retreated in terror, the-then tunnel master, Otto von Füsslein, was castigated, although the position was quickly recaptured a few days later.


text: The action showed the importance of the necessity for a counter-offensive against German mining on the British lines. Having proven the system, Norton-Griffiths left the company and returned to London in April 1916 and his duties as an MP. He left GHQ with his rough plan of August 1915 for extensive mining on the Messines front, which formed the framework on which mines were used at the Battle of Messines two years later. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts, mentioned in dispatches three times and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1916.


text: The success of the Tunnelling Companies led to mining being made a separate branch of the new E-in-C's office, which was under Major-General S.R. Rice and the appointment of an Inspector of Mines at GHQ. The second group of tunnelling companies were formed from Welsh miners from the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment, who were attached to the 1st Northumberland Field Company, Royal Engineers, a Territorial unit.


text: Twelve Tunnelling Companies were ultimately formed in 1915 and one more in 1916. A Canadian troop was formed from men on the battlefield, plus two other companies trained in Canada and then shipped to France. Three Australian and one New Zealand tunnelling companies were formed by March 1916. This resulted in 30 companies by the end of 1916, many made up of ex-miners. The establishment for a tunnelling company was set at 14 officers and 307 other ranks (ORs). Early in 1916 20 of the companies were to be raised to a higher establishment of 18 officers and 530 ORs, but none ever reached that strength; the other five remained on the original establishment. All of these companies were occupied on other underground work such as the digging of subways, saps (a narrow trench dug to approach enemy trenches), cable trenches, underground chambers for such things as signals and medical services, as well as offensive and defensive mining.


text: Both sides deployed tunnelling, with the German lead quickly followed by the British follow-up. The result was a labyrinth of tunnels within a cat and mouse-like game of tunnelling, counter-tunnelling and counter tactics. As the tactics and counter tactics deployed against each other became less and less effective, the depth at which the tunnels needed to be dug became deeper and deeper and hence more dangerous. The result was a greater time to dig, resulting in a greater vulnerability to both leakage of information and tunnel collapse, and a higher loss of lives in the most hideous of circumstances: entombment, drowning, gassing or obliteration in cramped and claustrophobic galleries beneath no man's land.


text: To make the tunnels safer and quicker to deploy, the British Army enlisted experienced coal miners, many outside their nominal recruitment policy. The desperate need for skilled men saw notices requesting volunteer tunnellers posted in collieries, mineral mines and quarries across South Wales, Scotland and the Northeast of England covering Derbyshire, County Durham, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. In addition, specialist tin miners were also recruited from the Cornish mines mainly joining the 251st Company RE. To attract the tin miners, a per diem of six shillings a day was offered to underground miners, which was around double to that was being paid in the mines.


text: The mining assistants who acted as 'beasts of burden' were often made up of "Bantams" - soldiers of below average height who had been rejected from regular units because they did not meet the height requirements. Upon the declaration of war in August 1914, William Hackett applied and was turned down three times at the age of 41 by the York and Lancaster Regiment. On 25 October 1915, despite having been diagnosed with a heart condition, he was enlisted and sent for two weeks basic training at Chatham, joining 172nd Tunnelling Company.


text: As tunnels were vulnerable to attack, the entrances were a closely guarded secret. With electricity in short supply in the frontline, tunnellers were forced to work by candlelight. Operating in near silence to avoid detection, the tunnels were cold, cramped and often up to a foot deep in freezing water. Tunnel entrances were most often at the bottom of deep shafts. From here, using the clay-kicking technique, the tunnels were aligned and given direction by the simple use of candlelight. They were built on a slight uphill gradient of between 1:100 and 1:50 to keep them as dry as possible. This meant that they were also vulnerable to the accumulation of gas at the digging face.


text: A clay-kicking team typically consisted of three men: a "Kicker" who worked at the face, a "Bagger" who filled sandbags with the lumps of clay spoil, and a "Trammer" who transported the bags out of the gallery on a small, rubber-tyred trolley on rails. The trolley was also employed to bring timber in on the return journey. If the tunnel was long, the trammer was given extra assistants to speed the exit of spoil and intake of timber. The team was responsible for its own safety, and would insert a 'sett' of wooden supports every . As no nails or screws could be used due to noise, the 'setts' (consisting of a sole, two legs and a cap), were sawn with a rebated step, which, once trimmed into the clay, would expand with the absorbed water into a solid structure.


text: Working in cold, cramped conditions, miners worked in 6- or 12-hour rotating shifts. Miners were prone to illness, with high rates of trench foot and bad food disease, while fatigue compounded the situation, creating a high mortality rate. The miners also had to cope with difficult circumstances when they entered the mining tunnels. Often the tunnels were dark, small and flooded with water. Tunnellers were billeted quite a long way back from the front line, while a regular Royal Navy-style rum ration was issued to keep out the cold. Natural gases and gases given off as a result of explosions could ignite, poison or asphyxiate. The major problem gas for tunnellers was carbon monoxide, given off by all projectiles from shells to rifle bullets.


text: With the use of experienced miners, came the use of "miners friends" in the form of mice and later small birds, such as canaries. With a high metabolic rate, they were readily susceptible to gas, and issued to the Tunnelling Companies as an official item. When gas was present, their unconsciousness would alert miners to the need to evacuate. Although many animals died, others would recover on the surface, with at least one company keeping a record of the gassings so that their creatures did not have to endure more than three instances before being pensioned off to an aviary. The role of the miners friends are honoured on the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh. In extensive tunnelling systems, air-tight doors were introduced to control air flows.


text: Such was the reliance on mining during the early stages of the war, that eventually mining-related casualties became so great that the War Office decided something had to be done about mine rescue. The skilled mining volunteers were particularly hard to replace. In one six-week period, one tunnelling company had 16 men killed; 48 sent to hospital; and 86 minor cases treated at the shaft head and returned to company billets. Another company suffered 12 men killed by gas; 28 sent to hospital in one month; 60 minor cases were retained with the unit. The affected mining units put out an urgent call for appropriate rescue equipment. Captain D Dale Logan was appointed advisor to GHQ in September 1915 on all matters connected with the health of the specially enlisted Tunnelling Companies.


text: In June 1915, Lance Corporal Arthur B. Clifford was made solely responsible for mine safety training. Sent to the front to train 3000 mine-rescue troops in a month, there were only 36 sets of 'PROTO' breathing equipment available in the whole of the United Kingdom. Clifford was based with the Royal Engineers at Strazeele, with a sub-station at Berguette. This became the first Army Mine-Rescue School. Clifford was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1917 for what he had achieved.


text: From July 1916, under Logan's new organisation, the second Army Mine-Rescue School was established at Armentières. This allowed the British to deploy a system of mines rescue, where no mining shaft was further than from a rescue station. Named after the kit they employed, Proto-men were hand-picked experienced miners, selected for coolness under pressure. Two men were on duty at all times, with additional access to 10 electric miners lamps, six canaries, four mobile cages, one saw, one hand axe, three life-lines, two mine stretchers, one trench stretcher, one Primus stove, two tins of café au lait, six hot water bottles and six blankets.


text: As a result of so much mining activity by both sides, detection and breakthrough into each other's tunnelling systems occurred frequently. The result was often the deployment of the emergency camouflet, a pre-prepared charge which was always ready in the British and Allied forces sectors when tunnelling was taking place. Vicious hand-to-hand fighting in the dark with picks, shovels and wood used as weapons might also take place. Although all miners were trained to use rifles, the restrictions of tunnel construction and the conditions of the tunnels where the miners had to operate often meant they could not be used. If the opposing side were unsuccessful in repelling an attack, then enemy tunnels could be used for short periods to observe enemy tunnelling activity and direction.


text: Early tunnelling required a great deal of improvisation, as equipment was in short supply. This made tunnels shallow, the noise of digging being detectable using simple devices in the trenches, even amongst the gun-fire. In the trenches, soldiers found that driving a stick into the ground and holding the other end between their teeth enabled them to feel any underground vibration. Another method involved sinking a water-filled oil drum into the floor of the trench, with lookout soldiers taking turns to lower an ear into the water to listen for vibrations. Improvised methods later included Water Board inspector short-sticks, each with a single vibrating wire-type earphone attached, or using filled French water-bottles laid flat on their sides in pairs, so they could be listened-to through medical stethoscopes.


text: Underground, within the tunnelling operations, side-shaft listening posts were deployed and manned by soldiers whose job entailed listening for indications that the enemy was tunnelling. Initially using just manual methods, the British were eventually equipped with the Geophone, which could detect noises up to away. Employing two Geophones, a listener was able to ascertain the direction of hostile activity by moving the sensors until sound levels were equal in both ears. A compass bearing was then taken. When gauging distance only, both earpieces were plugged into a single sensor; this was a skill only gained by experience. Deploying listeners in different tunnels in triangulation techniques, by the end of 1916 the scale of British tunnelling warfare had expanded to such an extent that there were not enough listeners to man every post; central listening stations were devised. Working electronically like a telephone exchange, the signals from up to 36 remote sensors (Tele-geophones and Seismomicrophones) could be distinguished and logged by just two men.


text: The tunnellers developed counter tactics, which both sides deployed. The first was the use of large mines placed in one's own tunnels – some actually dug towards enemy noise to create damage – which when exploded would create fissures and cracks in the ground, making the ground either unsuitable for tunnelling or destroying existing tunnels and works. A small device, called the camouflet, created a localised underground chamber designed not to break the surface and form craters, but to destroy a strictly limited area of underground territory – and its occupants. The second tactic, deployed when the enemy tunnel was too close to your existing works or trenches, was the deployment of rod-fed torpedo shaped camouflet charges. Effectively land mines on the end of long iron sticks, the technique was a defensive tactic against an immediate threat. Towards the end of the tunnel war, forces also deployed mines at greater depths, which, coupled with the use of listening devices, could be exploded away from friendly trenches as a defensive measure.


text: Firstly, the British used clay-kicking which was a virtually silent method of tunnelling. The Germans did not know of this technique, having not used it in their pre-war civil engineering, and thus used mattocks (a type of pick-axe) and other loud tools throughout the war. This made their tunnels more vulnerable to detection and attack.


text: Secondly, the use of clay-kicking made the British four times as fast at tunnel digging as their German counterparts.


text: Thirdly, British positions were most often located in low-lying areas, while German positions tended to be more elevated. Although this made the British more vulnerable to shelling, it also meant that British tunnellers had less of the soft quicksand-like 'Kemmel Sands' (known to the Germans as "Schwimmsande"), an integral component of the geological make-up of the ridges around Ypres, to penetrate. While the bottom blue clay layer was virtually flat, as was the Kemmel Sands that sat on top of it, there was a dry strata which varied above this which created the geographical contours. This varying dry strata increased pressure on the Kemmel Sands, which unable to egress water below them, made them wet and unstable. When punctured, the Kemmel Sands would often "spout" under pressure, both water and solid material. Difficult to dig through and keep the mining wooden structure stable, the Germans, assuming that the British had the same instability problem, dug few tunnels until 1916. The British found an engineering solution by creating a metal tube through the Kemmel Sands. Sunk either through its own weight or by the use of hydraulic jacks, once the blue clay layer was hit, the tunnelling could again resume under wooden supports. In autumn of 1915, 172nd Tunnelling Company at St Eloi managed to sink shafts through the sandy clay at a depth of down to dry blue clay at a depth of , which was ideal for tunneling, from where they continued to drive galleries towards the German lines at a depth of . This constituted a major achievement in mining technique and gave the Royal Engineers a significant advantage over their German counterparts.


text: The British used tube shafts from May 1915, a full year before the Germans, who when they did start to use metal and concrete tunnels, had lost the strategic advantage and were digging purely for defensive purposes.


text: Tunnelling companies were not popular amongst the ordinary troops. Knowing such a unit was nearby made them nervous:


text: The first British mine to be detonated was by the 173rd Tunnelling Company at Hill 60 (10 April 1915). Mines were also used at The Bluff, St Eloi (six on 27 March 1916), the Battle of Aubers Ridge (May 1915); Hooge, Givenchy, Cuinchy and the Battle of Loos (September 1915).


text: In June 1916, during the height of the underground war on the Western Front, British tunnellers fired 101 mines or camouflets, while German tunnellers fired 126 mines or camouflets. This amounts to a total of 227 mine explosions in one month – one detonation every three hours. The last British deep mine of the First World War was fired by 251st Tunnelling Company at Givenchy (10 August 1917).


text: The small village of Hooge in Flanders belonged to one of the easternmost sectors of the Ypres Salient, which made it the site of intense and sustained fighting between German and Allied forces. From 1914 the front line of the Salient ran through the Hooge area. There was almost constant fighting in the area over the next three years, and Hooge changed hands a number of times. The château at Hooge was used as the British divisional headquarters for the area for some time; several senior officers from the 1st and 2nd Divisions were killed when the Château de Hooge was shelled on 31 October 1914.


text: German forces attacked the château between 24 May and 3 June 1915 and despite the detonation of a mine by the 175th Tunnelling Company (operating with the 3rd Division) on 19 July, leaving a massive crater, took control of the château and the surrounding area on 30 July 1915. The château and the crater (craters being strategically important in relatively flat countryside), were taken by the British 6th Division on 9 August. It was reclaimed by the Germans on 16 June 1916 and retaken by the British on 31 July 1917 when the 8th Division managed to advance past it by about a mile. The Germans retook the site in April 1918 as part of the Spring Offensive but were expelled from the area by the British on 28 September as the offensive faltered. The chateau was completely destroyed along with the entire village; several large craters were blown over the course of the 1917 fighting.


text: In the Somme sector of the Western Front, local but very fierce underground fighting had taken place in the winter of 1914 and spring of 1915 at La Boisselle, Fricourt, Bois Français and Carnoy. As part of the Allied preparations for the Battle of the Somme (1 July – 18 November 1916), the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers made two major contributions to the opening attack: Firstly, they placed a number of mines beneath the German front lines, laid deep in the chalk and overcharged to throw up high lips for screening and to give advantage to the attackers when (or if) they captured them. Secondly, they prepared a series of shallow Russian saps from the British front line into no man's land, which would be opened at Zero Hour and allow the infantry to attack the German positions from a comparatively short distance. Thirdly, members of the 183rd company also dug a tunnel for a Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector, one of 4 installed in preparation for the battle.


text: For the start of the battle on 1 July 1916, the Royal Engineers planned to fire a group of eight large and eleven small mines along the Somme front line. The most important of them were beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt at Beaumont-Hamel, beneath a German field fortification known as "Schwabenhöhe" just south of La Boisselle and three in a sector named "The Tambour" near Fricourt. The Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt mine, which consisted of of explosives, was the first to be detonated. This led to the successful filming of the explosion by British cinematographer Geoffrey Malins, who was filming the 29th Division's attack on that day. Despite their colossal size, the largest of the mines fired on 1 July 1916 failed to help sufficiently neutralise the German defences. At La Boisselle, the ruined village was meant to fall in 20 minutes, but by the end of the first day of the battle, it had not been taken while the III Corps divisions had lost more than . At Mash Valley, the attackers lost 5,100 men before noon, and at Sausage Valley near the crater of the "Lochnagar" mine, there were over 6,000 casualties – the highest concentration on the entire battlefield. The III Corps' 34th Division suffered the worst losses of any unit that day.


text: In January 1917, General Sir Herbert Plumer, gave orders for a series of mines to be placed under the German lines in preparation for the Battle of Messines.


text: These were not the first mines in the Ypres Salient. From 1915, British engineers started digging, but it was not until the winter of 1916 when they were joined by Canadian, Australian and New Zealand engineers, that mass tunnelling started under the German trenches. At St Eloi, six mines were detonated on 27 March 1916. At Hill 60, a gallery was started in summer 1915 and known as "Berlin Tunnel". The 1st Australian Tunnelling Company took over mining operations at Hill 60 in November 1916, led in part by Captain Oliver Woodward. Twenty-six deep mines were eventually dug in preparation of the Battle of Messines in 1917, some up to long and up to deep, altogether containing 600 tonnes of ammonal explosive. To solve the problem of wet soil, the tunnels were dug in the layer of "blue clay", 80–120 feet (25–30 m) below the surface. The galleries dug in order to lay these mines eventually totalled over in length, and had been constructed in the face of tenacious German counter-mining. On several occasions, German tunnellers were within yards of large British mine "chambers." The mine at Petite Douve Farm was discovered by the Germans on 24 August 1916 and destroyed by a counter-mine.


text: With doubts about the reliability of the system (some mines had been lying underground for over a year), soldiers waiting in the trenches had been warned that they could not depend absolutely on the mines working as planned, so their orders were to leave their trenches and attack whether the mines exploded or not. The explosion of the mines took place at 03:10 on 7 June 1917. Approximately 10,000 German troops were killed when the mines were simultaneously detonated, creating large craters and an explosion so loud it was heard by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in his study in 10 Downing Street in London. There is even a report of an insomniac student hearing it in University College, Dublin. The evening before the attack, General Sir Charles Harington remarked to his staff, "Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography."


text: The largest of the mines at Messines was at St Eloi, dug by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company, consisting of of explosive. This allowed the capture of St Eloi by the British 41st Division. Another large mine was at Spanbroekmolen. Found and counter-mined by the Germans a few weeks before the attack, the British were forced to dig a second entrance tunnel into the already prepared explosive chamber, (which consisted of 41 tons of ammonal explosive below ground), to reconnect the detonation wires. Although tested fully just a few hours before the attack, officers used torch batteries to prove the circuits. As instructed, soldiers of the 36th (Ulster) Division had already left their trenches and begun to move across No-Man's Land when the mine exploded a few seconds late, leading to some being killed by falling debris. They are buried in Lone Tree Cemetery nearby. The "Lone Tree Crater" formed by the blast was approximately in diameter, and deep.


text: Four mines close to Ploegsteert Wood (Birdcage 1–4) were not exploded as they were outside the attack area. The British intended to dismantle the remaining mines, but the Third Battle of Ypres delayed operations, after the Germans overran the group headquarters their location was lost. On 17 July 1955, a lightning strike set-off one of the remaining mines. There were no human casualties, but one cow was killed and some local property damage was sustained. The remaining mines with several tonnes of high explosive are still buried under the Belgian countryside. A memorial to the Australian mining troops killed at Hill 60 during the course of the war was later placed at the site.


text: Between October 1915 and April 1917 an estimated 150 French, British and German charges were fired in this sector of the Western Front. The tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers progressively took over from the French between February and May 1916. The units active around Vimy were the 172nd, 175th, 176th, 182nd, 184th, 185th and 255th Tunnelling Companies.


text: The British soon discovered that German tunnelling companies had taken advantage of the relative calm on the surface to build an extensive network of tunnels and deep mines from which they could attack French positions. The Royal Engineers immediately deployed tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers along the front to combat the German mining operations. In response to increased British mining, German artillery and trench mortar fire intensified in early May 1916. After September 1916, when the Royal Engineers had constructed defensive galleries along most of the front line at Vimy, offensive mining largely ceased. By 1917, 19 crater groups existed along this section of the Western Front, each with several large craters. The British gallery network beneath Vimy Ridge grew to a length of .


text: Before the Battle of Vimy Ridge (9–12 April 1917), the British tunnelling companies secretly laid a series of explosive charges under German positions in an effort to destroy surface fortifications before the assault. The original plan had called for 17 mines and 9 "Wombat" charges to support the infantry attack, of which 13 (possibly 14) mines and 8 "Wombat" charges were eventually laid. In order to assess the consequences of infantry having to advance across cratered ground after a mining attack, officers from the Canadian Corps visited La Boisselle and Fricourt where the mines on the first day of the Somme had been blown. Their reports and the experience of the Canadians at St Eloi in April 1916 – where mines had so altered and damaged the landscape as to render occupation of the mine craters by the infantry all but impossible –, led to the decision to remove offensive mining from the central sector allocated to the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge. In the end, two mines were blown before the attack, while three mines and two "Wombat" charges were fired to support the attack, including those forming a northern flank.


text: From Spring 1917 the whole war became more mobile, with grand offensives at the Battles of Arras, Messines and Passchendaele, there was no longer a place for a tactic that depended upon total immobility for its employment. As the tactics and counter-tactics required deeper and deeper tunnelling, (hence more time and requiring more stable front lines), offensive and defensive military mining largely ceased. The last mine fired by the British in the First World War was near Givenchy on 10 August 1917.


text: Even after mine warfare had stopped, underground work continued, with the tunnellers concentrating on deep dugouts for troop accommodation, safe from the larger shells being deployed.


text: According to the original trench maps, hospitals, mess rooms, chapels, kitchens, workshops, blacksmiths, as well as bedrooms where exhausted soldiers could rest, were hewn from the blue-clay and stone. Connected by corridors measuring 6 ft 6in high by 4 ft wide, they were fitted with water pumps which, when the troops left within weeks of the war ending, were slowly submerged. The developments at Hill 60 housed 3,000 men, those near Hooge 1,000. The Vampire dugout, a brigade headquarters built by 171st Tunnelling Company near Zonnebeke, was captured and occupied by the Germans in their Spring Offensive in 1918, before being retaken in September. The level of activity can be gauged by the fact that during 1917 and 1918, more people lived underground in the Ypres area than reside in the town today. About 180 dugout sites have been located in the Ypres Salient and in the 1990s some of them were entered, at least in part.


text: In preparation for the Battle of Arras in 1917, the Royal Engineers had been working underground from October 1916, constructing tunnels for the troops. The Arras region is chalky and therefore easily excavated; under Arras itself there is a vast network of caverns (called the "boves"), which consist of underground quarries, galleries and sewage tunnels. The engineers devised a plan to add new tunnels to this network so that troops could arrive at the battlefield in secrecy and in safety. The scale of this undertaking was enormous: in one sector alone four Tunnel Companies (of 500 men each) worked around the clock in 18-hour shifts for two months.


text: The British attack plan was well developed, drawing on the lessons of the Somme and Verdun in the previous year. Rather than attacking on an extended front, the full weight of artillery fire would be concentrated on a relatively narrow stretch of . The barrage was planned to last about a week at all points on the line, with a much longer and heavier bombardment at Vimy to weaken its strong defences. During the assault, the troops would advance in open formation, with units leapfrogging each other in order to allow them time to consolidate and regroup. Before the action could be undertaken, a great deal of preparation was required, much of it innovative.


text: To assist the attack, the Royal Engineers constructed of tunnels, graded as "subways" (foot traffic only); "tramways" (with rails for hand-drawn trollies for taking ammunition to the line and bringing casualties back); and "railways" (a light railway system). Just before the assault the tunnel system had grown big enough to conceal 24,000 men, with electric lighting provided by its own small powerhouse, as well as kitchens, latrines and a medical centre with a fully equipped operating theatre. The bulk of the work was done by New Zealanders, including Māori and Pacific Islanders from the New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion, and Bantams from the mining towns of Northern England.


text: Assault tunnels were also dug, stopping a few yards short of the German line, ready to be blown open by explosives on Zero-Day. In addition to this, conventional mines were dug under the front lines, ready to be blown immediately before the assault. Many were never detonated for fear that they would churn up the ground too much. In the meantime, German sappers were actively conducting their own underground operations, seeking out Allied tunnels to assault and counter-mine. Of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company alone, 41 died and 151 were wounded as a result of German counter-mining.


text: Today, most of the tunnels and trenches are off-limits to the public for reasons of safety. A 250-metre portion of the Grange Subway at Vimy Ridge is open to the public from May to November and the Wellington tunnel was opened to the public as the Carrière Wellington museum in March 2008.


text: In preparation for the Second Battle of Passchendaele, as early as the 17 October, assault units were given all available details about the German defences in their respective sectors, in order to facilitate early planning. Intelligence officers and artillery observers worked jointly in observation posts recording newly built German fortifications as well as those that had previously escaped notice, permitting the artillery to take necessary action before the offensive. To improve the logistical movement of artillery and supplies an extensive programme of road building was started. Ten field companies, seven tunnelling companies, four army troop companies and nine battalions were put to work repairing or extending existing plank roads. From the middle of October until the end of the offensive, a total of of double plank road and more than of heavy tram line was constructed in the Canadian Corps area. Brigadier General Edward Morrison, commanding the artillery, also secured permission to use the roads to the rear for withdrawing disabled guns for repair.


text: Many of the largest craters have been left, often too large to fill-in, even today. The largest crater on the Western Front, the Lochnagar Crater, had been left for 50 years, but it had begun to be used by motorbikers and as a rubbish dump. Privately purchased in 1979, it is now a recognized 1914–1918 historic battlefield site.


text: Around Ypres, some large craters remain near Hooge, as do several of the craters created by the mines in the Battle of Messines, including those at St Eloi (created by a charge of of ammonal), Maedelstede Farm (created by a charge of of ammonal), and at Spanbroekmolen (created by a charge of ammonal). When detonated on 7 June 1917, the blast at Spanbroekmolen formed the ""Lone Tree Crater"" with a diameter of and a depth of . The crater was acquired in 1929 by the "Toc H" foundation in Poperinge and is today recognized as the "Pool of Peace" memorial.


text: In a little square just outside Wijtschate church stands the 'Memorial to the British Miners of World War One' who were engaged in underground war beneath the Messines Ridge. The bronze statue depicts a young miner in a kneeling position, working with a pickaxe (photo).


text: The Royal Engineers grave at Railway Wood on the Bellewaerde Ridge near Zillebeke, about 4 kilometres east of Ypres, marks the spot where eight Royal Engineers of the 177th Tunnelling Company and four attached infantrymen were killed between November 1915 and August 1917 whilst tunneling under the hill near Hooge. Their bodies were left in situ, beneath the hill on which the memorial now stands. One of the twelve men commemorated here is Second Lieutenant Charles Geoffrey Boothby (1894–1916), whose wartime letters to his girlfriend were published in 2005.


text: 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.


text: In Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée, the 'Tunnellers Memorial' commemorates the action on 26 June 1916 for which William Hackett of 254th Tunnelling Company was awarded the Victoria Cross. The memorial stands at the site of the Shaftesbury Shaft and the Red Dragon Crater. Its dimensions, high and wide, mirror the standard interior proportions of mine galleries constructed by the tunnelling companies in the Flanders clays. The memorial was designed by Peter Barton and unveiled on 19 June 2010.


text: At least three men who served with the Tunnelling Companies were awarded the Victoria Cross, two of whom were members of tunneling units at the time of their VC action:


text: During the First World War, the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers comprised the following British and Commonwealth components:


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: Unlike most BBC series produced in the 1960s, all episodes (bar the pilot) have survived intact, and are available as a complete set on DVD and blu-ray.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: The series starred Rupert Davies as the Police Judiciaire detective Commissaire Jules Maigret, who took up the role in 1960 after Basil Sydney, who had played Maigret in the pilot episode, was unable to continue.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: Episodes included such well-known faces as Stratford Johns, Leon Cortez, Terence Alexander, Roger Delgado, William Franklyn, Michael Goodliffe, and Barry Foster, among others.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: Although staying largely true to the storyline of the books, the series featured only three of Maigret's team of detectives (the "faithful four"), omitting any casting for Janvier, although the character is mentioned in several episodes.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: The choice of Davies to play Maigret was enthusiastically approved by Simenon himself. Remembering the role in a 1964 interview Davies said "When Andrew Osborn, the producer of the show, offered me the part on Good Friday in 1960, I knew very little about Maigret. I knew he was a famous French fictional detective, but that was all." Rather than read the books to get the feel for the character, Davies thought it would be better to meet Maigret's creator and hear from him how he saw the character. The BBC agreed and a meeting was arranged between Davies and Simenon in Lausanne.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: "The moment Simenon saw me he shouted: ""C'est Maigret, c'est Maigret." You are the flesh and bones of Maigret!" Davies later remembered. "That was a wonderful beginning. Then he drove us to his lovely château in the village of Échandens, where I met his wife. Later he began to coach me in Maigret's idiosyncrasies."


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: The series was written by a set of ten writers, each contributing individual episodes; the most prolific being Giles Cooper, credited with nineteen episodes, and Roger East, with twelve.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: Directing was similarly shared by sixteen directors, with Gerard Glaister and Terence Williams responsible for eight each, Andrew Osborn seven, and Eric Tayler six.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: Each episode was shot in black-and-white and lasted 50 minutes, and (as it was made for the BBC) was intended to be screened without commercial breaks. It was shot mainly in studio, though many of the exteriors were filmed on location in Paris.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: Theme music and various incidental music was composed by Ron Grainer for which he won an Ivor Novello award. Apart from the pilot, all 52 episodes remain within the BBC's archives.


title: Maigret (1960 TV series)

text: In May 2021, Network Distributing announced the Blu-Ray release of the series (to be released August 2021), with a DVD release soon to follow.


title: Punk ideologies

text: Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture and punk rock. It is primarily concerned with concepts such as mutual aid, against selling out, egalitarianism, humanitarianism, anti-authoritarianism, anti-consumerism, anti-corporatism, anti-war, decolonization, anti-conservatism, anti-globalization, anti-gentrification, anti-racism, anti-sexism, gender equality, racial equality, health rights, civil rights, animal rights, disability rights, free-thought and non-conformity. One of its main tenets is a rejection of mainstream, corporate mass culture and its values. It continues to evolve its ideology as the movement spreads throughout North America from its origins in England and New York and embraces a range of anti-racist and anti-sexist belief systems. Punk does not necessarily lend itself to any particular political ideology as it is primarily anti-establishment and though leftist punk is more common due to the prevalence of liberal and conservative ideologies in the status-quo.


title: Punk ideologies

text: Punk ideologies are usually expressed through punk rock music and lyrics, punk literature such as amateur fanzines, spoken word performances or recordings, punk fashion, or punk visual art. Some punks have participated in direct action, such as protest or demonstration disruption, political violence, ecotage, street barricades, squatting, pirate radio, off-grid energy, graffiti, vandalism and public and business property destruction, and indirect action through counter-propaganda, protests or boycotts. They support and squat in urban and rural collective houses, with group funds held in common. Punk fashion was originally an expression of nonconformity, as well as opposition to both mainstream culture and the status quo. Punk fashion often displays aggression, rebellion, and individualism. Some punks wear accessories, clothing or have tattoos that express sociopolitical messages. They stage Punk Rock Food Drives, such as D.O.A's Unity for Freedom. Punk visual art also often includes political messages. Many punks wear secondhand clothing, partly as an anti-consumerist statement.


title: Punk ideologies

text: An attitude common in the punk subculture is the opposition to selling out, which refers to abandoning of one's values and/or a change in musical style toward pop (e.g. electropop) and embracing mainstream culture or more radio-friendly rock (e.g. pop rock) in exchange for wealth, status, or power. The issue of authenticity is important in the punk subculture—the pejorative term "poseur" is applied to those who try to associate with punk and adopt its stylistic attributes but are deemed not to share or understand the underlying core values or philosophy.


title: Punk ideologies

text: Because anti-establishment attitudes are such an important part of the punk subculture, a network of independent record labels, venues and distributors has developed. Some punk bands have chosen to break from this independent system and work within the established system of major labels. The do it yourself (DIY) ideal is common in the punk scene, especially in terms of music recording and distribution, concert promotion, and photocopying magazines, posters and flyers. The expression DIY was coined by commentators after the fact.