As part of the military preparations for the assault on Mesen/Messines Ridge, the Allies spent many months digging tunnels under German positions.

Hundreds of sappers with experience in mining and tunnelling bored their way laboriously under No Man’s Land, and finally reached the twenty one locations where massive mines were set in place, right under the German lines.

On 7th June 1917 at 3.10am in the morning, one million pounds of gelignite exploded with such volcanic force that the shockwaves were felt in London. On the Messines Ridge it was a scene of utter devastation in the German lines, and the Allies took the Ridge, but not without major loss of life, notwithstanding the colossal hammer blow of the explosion.

Only nineteen of the massive mines exploded. In 1955, during an electric storm, one of the two remaining mines exploded. The final mine is still buried somewhere on the ridge.

One of the craters left by the explosions of June 1917 has never been refilled, and is now an awesome pool, striking in its girth and depth, located between Wytschate and Kemmel where part of the Battle of the Ridge was fought.

It was intended that this Pool of Peace should be properly landscaped and made fully secure from the visitor point of view, with an appropriate viewing platform and relevant information plaques and other visitor amenities, however, the International School for Peace Studies has not been able to secure the lease of the pool and this project has been postponed indefinitely.