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Temporary 2^nd Lieutenant
ARTHUR JAMES LATHAM
Royal Engineers 

by 

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, BSAE, P.E., MinstRE
(September 2026)

Figure 1. Temporary 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur James Latham, R.E.
(Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum) 

1.  FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

Family Information           

Arthur James Latham was born in 1891 in Lydbrook, West Dean, Gloucestershire. He was the son of the Reverend Arthur William Latham (1858-1915) and Emma Latham, née Roberts (1860-1942).[1] 

Early Life

            In 1911 Latham resided with his family at Wynols Hill House in Coleford, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire and at that time was a Mining student, probably a student of Mining Engineering.[2]  Following his schooling he took a position as Chief Surveyor at the Kingswood Collieries in Bristol.  In this capacity he had to maintain exact, up-to-date drawings of underground tunnels, shafts, and surface infrastructure to track the progress of excavation and to ensure that mining operations stayed strictly within legal property boundaries and safe distances from hazards like old, flooded workings or unstable ground.  He also was responsible for guiding miners on the precise direction and slope (gradient) they needed to dig for tunnels, roadways, and ventilation systems.  He also measured stockpiles of mined coal and calculated the volume of removed material for production reports.[3]  His schooling and his work experience would eventually determine his postings in the Army during the Great War. 

2.  COMMISSIONING AND TRAINING 

Commissioning 

            On 3 June 1915 Latham was commissioned a Temporary 2^nd Lieutenant in the Infantry.  The London Gazette of 4 June 1915 indicates that he received this commission in the Regular Forces without indicating a regiment.  It is known, however, that he first served in one of the  Public Schools Battalion.[4]  He was subsequently transferred to the Royal Engineers, probably prompted by his mining studies, and was posted to the 185^th Tunnelling Company[5] after a period of training in the U.K.  Men with experience with mining were needed to fill the ranks of the newly formed tunnelling companies and Latham’s educational experience made him suited to serve in such a unit.  

Training 

As Latham did not join his unit until early in 1916, he probably attended a short period of training at the School of Military Engineering (S.M.E.) in Chatham.  His training at the S.M.E. probably would have consisted of field fortifications, construction, surveying, telegraphy, electric lighting, tunnelling and mining, photography, chemistry, military law and tactics.

3.  POSTINGS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

            The 185^th Tunnelling Company had been formed at the Base Depot in Rouen, France on 5 October 1915.  The company was commanded by Captain Thomas Charles Richardson, R.E. who would earn the Military Cross (M.C.) for gallantry in action early in the war.  Shortly after its formation, the 185^th Tunnelling Company was moved to La Boisselle where it undertook mining operations at Inch Street and Lochnagar.  It appears from the medals that he received for his service that Latham must have joined the unit early in 1916. 

             "Inch Street" was the British military code name for a frontline communication trench near the French village of La Boisselle on the Somme.  The Royal Engineers 179^th and 185^th  Tunnelling Companies were engaged in intensive mining directly beneath German lines when Latham joined his unit.  This tunnel network was directly tied to the creation of the massive Lochnagar Crater, which was to be blown on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916). 

            On 4 February 1916, German forces counter-mined and detonated a massive underground charge (a camouflet)[6] near the British three-level Inch Street system, tragically killing 18 British miners.  Captain Richardson and 2^nd Lieutenant Latham were among those killed.  At the time they were testing a listening device (probably a geophone) in an attempt to locate German mining activities.  When the German charges were detonated these two officers and 16 other men of the unit were either killed by the explosions, buried or gassed by poisonous fumes.  It is interesting to note that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission does not include Richardson or Latham among the men killed, but it does list the following men: 

┼  79122 Lance Corporal J. Washington

┼  102439 Sapper P. Lane

┼  107811 Sapper J. Gibson

┼  121597 Sapper J.T. Bicknell

┼  94492 Sapper A. Marshall

┼  139189 Sapper L. Fowkes

┼  86455 Sapper J. Hewitt

┼  86574 Sapper L. Lumsdaine

┼  91972 Sapper William Murphy

┼  102029 Sapper Henry Parry

┼  96939 Sapper W. Pritchard

┼  132651 Sapper J.W. Swithenbank

┼  139187 Sapper A. Thompson

┼  121523 Sapper W. Heald

┼  132396 Sapper A. Nelson

┼  112866 Sapper F.L. Simpson 

Figure 2.  An R.E. Officer Using a Geophone to Detect German Tunnellers.
(Image courtesy of Engineers at War)

In The Life of a Tunnelling Company Graham lists Richardson as a Captain and Latham as a Lieutenant.  However, in Soldiers Died in the Great War Richardson is listed as a Temporary Major (died of wounds) and Latham is listed as “died.” 

Temporary 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur James Latham is buried in the Albert Communal Cemetery Extension Cemetery, Somme, France.  Probate of his Will took place in London on 18 June 1917.  His effects, amounting to £106-13s-5d (about $9,400 US in 2026 currency) were left to his mother, Emma Latham, a widow.[7]

4. MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Figure 4.  The Medal Index Card of 2^nd Lieutenant Arthur James Latham, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com) 

Note that neither the medals nor his date of arrival in France are shown on the card.  In fact, except for his name, rank, corps and date of death, this card is virtually useless. 

REFERENCES 

Books 

1. GRAHAM, H.W.  The Life of a Tunnelling Company.  J. Catherall & Co., Hexham, 1927.

2. GRIEVE, W.G. & NEWMAN, B.  Tunnellers.  Herbert Jenkins Limited, London, 1936.

3. HMSO.  Officers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.  HMSO Stationery Office, London, 1919.  

Census 

1. 1891 Census of England (RG 12/4340).

2. 1901 Census of England (RG 13/2475).

3. 1911 Census of England and Wales.

Civil Documents 

1917 Probate Calendar, p. 22.  

Commonwealth War Graves Commission 

Temporarily not available. 

Family Trees 

Ancestry.com: Arthur James Latham (by Mary Newsom). 

Imperial War Museum 

Photograph Summary Data. 

Internet Web Sites 

Engineers at War
https://engineersatwar.imeche.org/features/tunnelling 

London Gazette 

1. The London Gazette, 4 June 1915, p. 5394.

2. The London Gazette, 13 July 1915, p. 6844.  

Military Documents 

1. Medal Index Card.

2. Pension Index Card.  

Periodicals 

Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers.  The Royal Engineers Journal, Institute of Royal Engineers, 1925-1932.

ENDNOTES