Engineers have always been at the forefront of battle and the burden of death we share is proportionally as high as any other Arm. A mine dump explosion during the Second World War involving the 11^th (Lambton) Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers in Germany on 18 March 1945 is a tragic reminder of the hazardous conditions that are part of Combat Engineering. This story about an incident during the Second World War with the 11^th (Lambton) Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers in Germany on 18 March 1945 is a tragic reminder of the hazardous conditions that are part of Combat Engineering. Nine Sappers of the 11^th (Lambton) Field Company, lost their lives in a single incident on that day.

The 11^th (Lambton) Field Company had been mobilized on 1 Sep 1939 as the pace of wartime activities in Canada increased. The company had been dormant in Walkerville, Ontario since 1927 but had come to life in 1936 when the Lambton Regiment (an infantry unit of Sarnia, Ontario) was reorganized as an artillery battery and two Engineer field companies. The 11^th Field Company became active on 5 December 1936 as the 11^th (Lambton) Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers in Sarnia.

After being mobilized on 1 September 1939, a period of recruiting and local training followed during that Fall and Winter. The company then concentrated for unit training at Camp Petawawa during the period May - Aug 40. The main body of the company embarked at Halifax, NS for the United Kingdom on 23 Aug 1940 and the remainder of 11^th Field Company personnel had arrived in England by October 1940.

It would be almost four years before the company disembarked in France at Normandy as part of the Invasion of The Continent.  During these four long years, in addition to individual and unit training, the main work of the sappers in England was preparing the United Kingdom's defences for war in the eventuality that it was invaded. They constructed beach obstacles, pill-boxes, anti-tank ditches, and minefields. Other work included improving British roadways for military traffic as well as building military facilities, hospitals and air bases.

The 11^th Field Company embarked for Normandy on 5 July and, four days later, disembarked in France on 9 July. This delay was an indication of the congestion that continued at Normandy more than a month after D-Day as follow-on forces and supplies were funnelled into the battle on the Continent. After the heavy action in Caen, the Canadians were readying for the break-out. Mines were being lifted, debris cleared, protective minefields were being supervised, roads were repaired and water-points were set up.

The 11^th Field Company then supported the Allied advance in France and then through Belgium, Holland, and eventually into Germany. Among its operations, the company participated in the Battle of Falaise, The Scheldt, The Rhineland, and The Rhine. The 11^th Field Company was engaged in the Battle of the Rhineland between 8 February and 11 March 1945 - especially Operation VERITABLE. The 3^rd Canadian Infantry Division, in amphibious vehicles, cleared German positions in the flooded Rhine plain as the Allied forces continued to press the enemy.

On 22 February, once clear of the Reichswald, and with the towns of Kleve and Goch in their control, the offensive was renewed as Operation BLOCKBUSTER and the Canadians linked up with the US Ninth Army near Geldern on 4 March. Fighting continued as the Germans sought to retain a bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine at Wesel and evacuate as many men and as much equipment as possible. Finally, on 10 March, the German withdrawal ended and the last bridges were destroyed.

By 25 February, the 11^th Field Company had arrived in Germany as the Allied forces continued to push back the enemy. Suddenly, for the time being, there appeared to be a lull in operations. The last pockets of German resistance in this area had surrendered and the Allies held the left bank of the River from Dusseldorf to Nijmegen. It would be 25 March before the whole of the west bank was clear, but the US First Army already held a bridgehead south of Bonn having seized a bridge at Remagen.

The Engineers of the 2^nd and 3^rd Canadian Divisions had retired only as far as the area of Cleve (Kleve). On 16 March, the 11^th Field Company began to check a stretch of ground near Cleve for mines, to make it safe for occupancy by The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. The mine-clearing parties lifted a large number of Riegelmine 43 anti-tank mines that they held in two dumps by the next evening. On the following morning of 18 March, Lieutenant Owen Taylor, Sergeant Charles Richards and seven sappers: Albert Brown, Alphonse Steffler, Neil Sponagle, Urban Mayo, Erik Anderson, Harold Inkpen, and Donald McLellan set out to destroy the mines in the dumps. A half-hour later, something went terribly wrong. There was a terrific explosion and everyone in the party was killed. No evidence was ever found to indicate why the tragedy had occurred.

Extract from 11^th Fd Coy War Diary dated 18 March 1945

Click the links below to read the personal stories of the nine Sappers of the 11^th Field Company whose lives were lost on 18 March 1945: