Thanks for the interesting info wwh. Some googling revealed that "The original Bangalore torpedo was designed in 1912 by Captain McClintock, an engineer who worked for Bengal, Bombay and Madras Sappers and Miners. Developed in Bangalore, India, the original design was not intended for warfare, but to clear pre-existing barbed-wire obstacles leftover from the Boer War and Russo-Japanese War."

The link is: http://www.sproe.com/b-bangalore.htm