Current Information:

Age-21

7, Gladstone Street, Leytonstone

The Battle of Messines - 12th October-2nd November 1914

The Battle of Messines was one of the actions that took place during the Race to the Sea and it took place between the Comines-Ypres canal and the River Douvre. It involved the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions and elements of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Divisions as well part of the Indian Division.

In the early morning of 31st October, there was a strong German attack at Messines and just further to the north at Wytschaete where 2nd Cavalry Division held a front of over three miles between Wytschaete and the Comines canal. Trenches were blown in and men buried alive but because British artillery fire proved very effective in stopping them, there was no serious enemy infantry attack during the morning.  However this changed in the afternoon and at 4.45 pm there was a determined German attack that lasted nearly an hour, against 4 Cavalry Brigade where 6th Dragoon Guards were one of the units in the line.  Then, at 10.15pm, there was a further attack against the whole front held by 2nd Cavalry Division which again came to nothing.  From Messines to the canal the line had been held intact except for the salient around Messines but things changed on 1st November when the enemy launched an overwhelming attack which drove the cavalry units at Wytschaete out of their trenches back to a new line behind the Wytschaete-Messines road. That night 6th Dragoon Guards moved back to billets in Westoutre before moving to new billets at St Jean Cappel. The  Regiment diary for 6th November simply recorded that they remained in these billets all day, so there is no explanation for the death of William Lane who was killed on that day. It may have been the case that he was temporarily attached to another unit