Vampire dugout facts for kids

The Vampire dugout is an amazing underground shelter from World War I. It's located near the village of Zonnebeke in Belgium. British soldiers built this dugout in early 1918. It was meant to be a safe place for a brigade's headquarters, which is like a main office for a large group of soldiers. The 171st Tunnelling Company of the Royal Engineers built it after a big battle called the Battle of Passchendaele.

The Vampire dugout was found again in 2007. It was even featured on a British TV show called Time Team in 2008. You can't visit the dugout because it's on private land, but experts who study battlefields check on it regularly.

History of the Vampire Dugout

Why Soldiers Needed Deep Shelters

After the Battle of Passchendaele, the land around Ypres Salient was completely destroyed. There were no trees or farms left to hide soldiers. As the war changed and weapons became more powerful, soldiers needed deeper and safer places to stay. Simple blast shelters became huge underground spaces. These spaces were like small towns, with hospitals, dining rooms, chapels, kitchens, and even bedrooms where tired soldiers could rest.

Building Underground Barracks

In January 1918, the British army needed shelters for their troops on Passendale Ridge. They sent 25,000 special tunnellers from the Royal Engineers to the area. These experts had already dug many deep tunnels and shelters for the Battle of Messines in 1917. They built nearly 200 shelters, some as deep as 30 meters (about 98 feet) into the blue clay.

These underground barracks could hold anywhere from 50 to 2,000 soldiers. They had connecting tunnels that were about 2 meters (6 feet 6 inches) high and 1.2 meters (4 feet) wide. Water pumps were used to keep the tunnels from flooding because of the high groundwater tables. By March 1918, more people lived underground in the Ypres area than live in the town above ground today!

How the Vampire Dugout Was Built

The Vampire dugout was designed to house a brigade headquarters with up to 50 soldiers and one senior officer. It was located near Polygon Wood. The dugout got its name from the supply soldiers who would come out at night, like vampires, to bring supplies to the front lines.

The 171st Tunnelling Company dug the Vampire dugout 14 meters (about 46 feet) below the ground in Flanders. It took them four months to build. They used strong metal beams and old railway lines to support the structure. They also added wooden beams to make it even stronger.

When Vampire Dugout Was Used

The Vampire dugout was ready for use in early April 1918. First, the 100th Brigade of the British 33rd Division used it. Then, the 16th King's Royal Rifle Corps and the 9th Battalion Highland Light Infantry Regiment stayed there.

However, after only a few weeks, the dugout was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Lys in April 1918. The British recaptured it in September 1918. Its last occupants were the 2nd Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment.

When archaeologists explored Vampire in 2008, they found many signs that the British had been there, but very few from the Germans. There were no metal beds, which suggests the British didn't have much time to set up before the Germans took over. Researchers first thought the dugout was about 200 by 150 meters (656 by 492 feet). But they later found tunnels covering an area of 800 by 600 meters (2,625 by 1,968 feet)! Even though it was designed for 50 men, they now think at least 300 soldiers might have used Vampire. More research is needed to find out if the British or Germans extended the dugout.

Vampire After the War: 1920 Onwards

After the war ended in November 1918, all deep dugouts, including Vampire, were left empty. Soldiers left within weeks, and the underground structures slowly filled with water. After military teams cleared any leftover bombs, Belgian locals returned from 1920. They took the wooden steps from the dugout entrances for heat and building materials. Then, they filled the main shafts with rubble so the land could be used for farming again.

Local people also started digging up the local blue clay for businesses, mostly for brickworks. Over time, as the Terca Zonnebeke N.V. brickworks expanded, they rediscovered several World War I underground structures.

Zonnebeke's Underground War History

Today, the area of Zonnebeke has the most World War I underground constructions. Most deep dugouts are now flooded, which has helped to keep them in good condition. They are some of the most real reminders of the Great War in Flanders.

The 171st Tunnelling Company also built another deep dugout in the center of Zonnebeke. This one was right under the old church. It was only found during archaeological digs of the old abbey. Today, you can see where this dugout was in a special garden at the church. A model of the church dugout is also on display at the "Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917" in Zonnebeke.

About 180 dugout sites have been found in the Ypres Salient. In the 1990s, some were explored. For example, the Australian-built Bremen Redoubt was found in 1983. It was open to the public until 1998, but it collapsed because its wooden supports dried out. In 1998, another dugout called Beecham dugout was found near Tyne Cot Cemetery.

Finding the Vampire Dugout Again

In 2006, it became known that the Terca Zonnebeke N.V. brickworks wanted to expand their clay digging area. Researchers from the Association for Battlefield Archaeology and Conservation (ABAC) started looking into it. Johan Vandewalle, a Belgian tunnel explorer, and Peter Barton, a British historian, found that at least one underground structure, believed to be Vampire dugout, was near the proposed digging zone.

After talking with local officials, the ABAC was allowed to start a research project on the Vampire dugout. Since the Highland Light Infantry had used the dugout, the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University also joined to help with the archaeological work.

Digging and Exploring Vampire Dugout

In the summer of 2007, a team from Belgium and Britain, led by Vandewalle and Barton, went to Zonnebeke to find the Vampire dugout. They had archaeologists Tony Pollard and Iain Banks, and a geophysicist named Malcolm Weale. A camera team was also there to film for a TV show.

They used old maps, special ground-scanning equipment, and a mechanical digger. On the last day of their search, Pollard and Banks found the entrance shaft of Vampire! Digging into Vampire's underground structures began in January 2008.

In spring 2008, the team returned with a larger group, including firefighters from Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service. Their goal was to clear the entrance shaft and explore the dugout. They had a limited time before the farmer needed the land back for planting winter barley. The local blue clay was very hard, so the team used a high-pressure fire hose to turn it into liquid. Then, they pumped the liquid clay into a special tank.

After three weeks, the team reached the bottom of the shaft. They used a remotely operated vehicle (a robot) to check if the structure was safe. Mining experts then added more supports to keep the team safe. For the TV show on Channel 4, presenter Tony Robinson was filmed inside the dugout. It was still damp but very well preserved. The show, called "The Lost WWI Bunker," aired on November 10, 2008, and was also shown in the United States.

After filming, the Vampire dugout entrance was covered again to protect it. The dugout was allowed to refill with water. Archaeologists believe this is the best way to preserve it, as it had been preserved this way for 90 years. They learned from other dugouts, like the Bremen Redoubt, which collapsed when its wood dried out. Vampire is on private property, so the public cannot visit it. However, local battlefield historians inspect it every year.

The Future of the Vampire Dugout

The future of the Vampire dugout is uncertain. The Zonnebeke brickworks is expanding, and the land where Vampire sits might be used for digging clay in the future. Even if the dugout is protected, the digging work nearby could cause cracks in the blue clay because of water changes.

Because of their historical importance, age, and safety concerns, World War I dugouts are usually not open to the public. A realistic model of a British deep dugout has been built at the museum in Passchendaele.

Images for kids

• 

  The Zonnebeke Church Dugout, built by 171st Tunnelling Company in 1918 (model)