And "something doing" there was, much sooner than I expected. I had
reached the Prison at Ypres just in time to hear and feel the best
staged battle in history--the Battle of Messines. The following letter
written home on the evening of June 7, describes Messines Night:

"Since I wrote to Mother yesterday a good deal has happened. About 6.30
I attended a conference consisting of the officers and sergeants of B
Company in Captain Andrew's room; and Captain Andrews explained the
scheme which he had explained to me earlier on; though he did not tell
them quite as much. I, of course, will not tell you what the scheme was!
Then dinner. Things were much quieter now--quieter than they had been
all day. A working party of the Battalion was to leave after dinner. The
2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers are the battalion in reserve to General
Stockwell's brigade at present: we hang out here in the day-time, and go
out on working parties in the trenches in the Salient at night. But
Captain Andrews said that I need not go out with them on this occasion.
So I remained behind and censored letters. While doing so my eyes began
to water--about 11 to 11.30. Then the Company mess-waiter, Private Saul
(Captain Andrews' batman), came in and told me that the Germans were
sending over 'tear gas.' So on with my gas helmet. The gas shells were
bursting outside the windows; but I thought it safe to take off my
helmet after a few minutes; my eyes watered a good deal, that was all.
At about midnight I went to bed.

"For three hours I slept quite comfortably. At 3.15 I was awakened by a
terrific row. The whole place was shaking like an earthquake; the wall
was quivering; our guns were firing rapid as fast as ever they could go;
every gun in the city, in fact, every gun on the British Front for
miles, was pounding the enemy with shells. A man came in to say that the