Mine Camp

The grainy imaged or sepia tinted photographs depicting Victorian life and times are all very interesting and evocative of that era in the history of our country. However, being in black and white we are deprived of the reality of what were often multi and vibrant colours of clothes, street decorations and buildings. 

Take for example, in my home City of Kingston Upon Hull (or just Hull), the parade of the Humber Division of Sub-Marine Miners on July 29th 1889. 

The newspaper coverage of the event, not actually a formal State, Commemorative or Guard of Honour occasion, described the very bright uniform of the Regiment which was compared to the brilliance of a Rifle Brigade in tunic and that of Artillerymen in their trousers. 

Add to this the appearance of stylish forage caps, garters and accoutrements and it is little wonder that what was just a march down to the Victoria/Corporation Pier to catch a paddle steamer to the Annual Training Camp at High Paull attracted quite a crowd of onlooker and well-wishers. 

Smoke and flags were raised and cheers rang out to support the newly formed Division of this specialised branch of the military. 

The role of Sub-Marine Miners had been established in 1886 under a War Office Circular and taken up in Hull in the following year with an inaugural 60 personnel. The title of the Regiment does sound a bit confusing at first- Sub-Marine Miners but refers not to underwater excavation but the emerging science based weaponisation of fixed explosive mines

The fear amongst the Generals and Senior Staff was of the vulnerability of the mighty Estuaries of the United Kingdom to attack from foreign powers. 

In official language the emphasis was to maintain a permanent peace in the country and in the interests of providing security for commerce. In more colloquial terms and specifically in Hull the principal aim was to protect by converting the River Humber into a death-trap if enemies dared to come around Spurn Point and threaten the Ports and population centres.. 

Our perception of mines nowadays is largely from seeing spiky horned ,black or colour painted old wartime sphere shaped objects used as charity collection boxes on many typical English seaside promenades but in the late 1880's they were a bit more basic and crude. 

Made out of glass containers packed with nitro-glycerin they were quite effective but also very hazardous to handle. 

The theory to which the Sub-Marine Miners worked was to create a fixed field of mines to defend estuaries and harbours with these being fired electrically from the shore by spotters with knowledge of the exact location so as to damage or deter any invaders. The use of mines was documented in the ancient world and adopted to some effect in conflicts through history. 

On that summers day some 100 men and officers paraded from the Wenlock Barracks in the west of the City via Park Street to reach the Pier. 

The 1889 Training Camp at High Paull was 15 days of activities. 

Due to the need for skilled men the pay was amongst the highest in the military disciplines. The training included mock battles and seminars on modern electrical systems. 

The culmination of the fortnight was the blowing up of a large raft in the main Estuary channel by means of electrical charge and witnessed by many gathered on the breakwaters. 

Unfortunately the Military Command sought to dilute the role of this specialist discipline and in 1891 reverted the Regiment from a Volunteer Division to  Militia. 

Many of the original intake of members objected to the onerous change in terms and conditions and simply resigned. 

The title of Sub-Marine Miners seems to have been lost from public familiarity due to its short lived and ultimately unnecessary purpose and role in the defence of the country and in particular on the doorstep of the Port of Hull.