contractor who had enormous energy but little patience, particularly in
a situation that called for action. In July 1914, believing that Britain
would become involved in the coming war and sensing inaction from the powers
that be he, along with a political colleague named Gideon Murry, called for
former colonial soldiers with a view to establishing an irregular unit. in
this task they were successful and, with much persuasion, managed to gain
official recognition and acceptance for the newly formed unit and it was
given the title of the 2nd King Edward's Horse, a cavalry regiment in the
special reserve and Norton Griffiths was granted the rank of Major. That
having been done he looked elsewhere to make a contribution to the war effort.One of his contracts was a tunnelled drainage system in Manchester and the idea struck him that the method of driving these small tunnels, known as "clay kicking", would be useful in the now static front lines that had developed in France and Flanders by the end of 1914. He managed, at length, to persuade Lord Kitchener, then the Secretary of State for War, of its usefulness and was largely instrumental in the formation of the new tunnelling companies that were formed as a result. His role within this new formation was to act as a liaison officer between the company commanders and the Engineer-in-Chief, Brigadier-General Fowke.
His methods were often at odds with the traditional military system which deferred all to rank and hierarchy. He used his talents as an MP in recruiting volunteers from the civilian and those men already serving. Against army guidelines he enticed many men with a weekly pay of six shillings, when a normal sapper's pay was two shillings and sixpence. this sum was to be paid to experienced clay kickers and miners. However, as many men were needed and the numbers swelled, in many cases it became more difficult to distinguish between experienced men and those classed as 'mates'. Such pay differentials would cause problems within the tunnelling companies until the end of the war.
It was Norton Griffiths who suggested the idea for mining the Messines Ridge, which commenced on the morning of June 7 1917, and which was, arguably, the most successful mining operation of the war on both sides. The much-needed reorganisation of mining operations in January 1916 resulted in a restructuring of personnel and responsibilities. Having done much to contribute to mining operations as a whole and sensing a reduced role for him in the new scheme of things, he asked to be released from his duties to attend to his own personal affairs and officially left the tunnelling force on March 31 1916 (1).
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(1). Barrie. War Underground. P. 203.
Photograph - Grant Grieve. Tunnellers. P. 39