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[Page 34]
during the fighting of the early part of the war the British had more than once prevented the Germans from crossing. Passing through the ruins of Zellebeke we soon reached the fire trench. This was in an awful condition owing to the late rains & the mud squelched around the bed in a quaking quagmire, reaching well over the knees. Everywhere was still almost as death & despite the fact that the trenches are only from seven to twenty five yards apart no bombing takes place or at least has taken place, or at least has taken place lately. In fact it seems to be an understood thing that their sentries must not snipe ours, or ours theirs. This then is Ypres which if on the 1st Sept 16. How vast a change from the last June & preceeding months, when the bloodiest battles of the western front have taken place. On our right front is the famous Hill 60, now in possession of the Germans. It is a hill no longer but just one section of the picture of desolation here about. The country is a waste of craters & tangled were protected French of the remains of woodlands & the ruins of villages & farm houses.
A ll day no sound breaks the silence save an occasional salvo from our guns, the crack of a sniper rifle or the crash of the German minenwerfer.
There is plenty of opportunity for sniping. The enemy at a range of 25 yards can be seen continually at work in his lines, or even asleep in his dugout. But there seems little inclination on the part of either us or our enemy to make things hot.
On the morning of the 2nd while on post watching the Huns building a machine gun position I was seen by two of the Saxons, who were baning against their parados discussing probably the fate of Ypres as they continually pointed to the