On the 7^th June 1917 at 0310hrs 19 mines were set off by the allies from tunnels under the German front-line near Ypres. This was the signal for the start of the Messines phase of this third major battle in Ypres. On our trip to Ypres we went to see what remained in the landscape 90 years later. A huge crater, formed after the biggest of the 19 explosions went off. 91,000lb of ammonal explosive was used. It’s hard to comprehend how big this explosion must have been. Even when we stood beside the crater it doesn’t even justify the extent to which this explosion damaged the beautiful Belgian countryside. The fact was that at the time this was the loudest man-made noise ever recorded, rumours being the 19 huge explosions were heard as far away as Dublin and Downing Street.

Over a 9 mile section of the front-line, 9 divisions all went over the top shortly after the explosions at 0310hrs. The only problem was that some of the mines had problems with their fuses and it was hard to get them to synchronise. This particular mine the ‘Spanbroekmolen mine’ was delayed by 15 seconds. In the intensity of an imminent offensive this 15 seconds must have felt like minutes to the men of the 36^th Royal Irish Rifles division. All the soldiers of the 9 divisions attacked simultaneously after the explosions, the Royal Irish Rifles division included. They sprinted towards to find the explosive going off in their face.

Lone-tree cemetery was created beside this crater:

Originally 22 explosives were planned to be set but one was disposed off by German counter-miners during a sweep at a farm in August 1916. 600 tons of explosive were planted but only 19 of the 21 explosions went off.