H. D. (Harry Davis) Trounce

Born in 1885, Harry Davis Trounce was a British-born American mining engineer who later wrote about his experiences in World War I. The main book linked to his name is Fighting the Boche Underground, first published in 1918 and now widely available in public-domain editions.

That memoir follows his service with the Royal Engineers’ tunnelling operations on the Western Front. Sources describing the book identify him as a mining engineer who joined the British Army in October 1915 and served with the 181st Tunnelling Company, bringing technical knowledge to the grim and highly specialized work of underground warfare.

Trounce’s writing is valued less for literary flourish than for its immediacy and specificity. For listeners interested in military history, engineering, or firsthand accounts of trench warfare, his memoir offers a rare look at the dangerous world below the battlefield.