The Spanbroekmolen mine crater, (now the "pool of peace") near Mesen, Belgium.
The Spanbroekmolen mine crater near Mesen, Belgium. "The word Molen means windmill and the crater is named after the mill that had stood here for centuries until it was destroyed by the Germans during the 1st Battle of Ypres in November 1914. The crater was formed by the third largest of the charges laid by tunnellers in the build up to the battle of Messines Ridge. Although the charge placed by the Royal Engineers at St Eloi was 2 tonnes larger than here, that mine was by necessity deeper and the resulting crater was not as large. The tunnellers of 3rd Canadian Tunnelling Company had started the work as far back as 1 January 1916 before eventually handing over to the British 171st Tunnelling Company RE. Work was completed by 28 June 1916 and the charge of just over 41,000 kilos of explosive was placed. When it became evident that the Battle of the Somme was going to drag on, plans for Messines were put on hold, but the tunneller's work went on. A new gallery had to be dug in 1917 because of the gas formed by German counermeasure explosions (called camouflets). The new cables and primer charge were only laid on the evening of 6 June 1917, hours before the battle was supposed to open. The word to the 36th (Ulster) Division (who would be attacking in the area) from Major Hudspeth of the 171st Tunnelling Company was that he was almost certain that the mine would go up. At 03:10 hours and fifteen seconds on the morning of the assault the mine did indeed go off, but the slight delay meant that the Ulstermen were already out of their trenches (thinking that it hadn't) when it detonated. There were a number of fatal casualties from the blast and falling and falling debris and some of them are buried in the Lone Tree Cemetery opposite the mine." (Source )
Size: 5168px × 3427px
Location: Spanbroekmolen Crater, nr Peckham Farm, Mesen, Belgium.
Photo credit: © Maurice Savage / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 171st, battlefield, battlefields, belgium, british, canadian, cemetery, company, crater, division, farm, flanders, grave, great, ieper, kruisstraathoek, lone, mesen, messines, mines, molen, monument, peace, peckham, pool, remembrance, spanbroekmolen, tourism, tourist, traveller, tree, tunnelling, ulster, war, world, wwi, ypres
