Tommy, who watched the battle, said, "Hell was let
loose that night." As I returned to my billets along the ancient moat
that at one time defended the city, shells passed over my head and a
dozen or so aimed no doubt at the tall chimney of the ancient magazine
de gaz fell within a few yards of my quarters.

On the evening of April 20th we were to take up the line of trenches
held by the Sixteenth. The Germans still continued to shell Ypres,
(which is pronounced Ep-r-r, E as in fee, two syllable r-r, the R
sounded the Scotch way with a burr aspirate).

Shortly after luncheon Captain Warren and Lieutenant Macdonald came to
the orderly room to ask some questions about the order in which we
were to march into the trenches. An officer from each company had gone
into these trenches the night before and looked them carefully over.
The left section was given to Captain Osborne, the right to Captain
McGregor and the centre to Captain MacLaren. The position consisted of
seventeen half moon redoubts and they were not at all strong. Captain
Alexander's company was to be in reserve with headquarters at St.
Julien. As the officers had received orders not to go away from their
billeting area, and had to receive permission to do so, both Warren
and Macdonald asked me if they could go up to the Cloth Square to buy
some comforts to take down into the trenches for the men. I gave my
consent, but warned them to be careful and take cover from any shells
that came along. About ten minutes later Lieutenant Macdonald arrived
back breathless. He asked quite coolly, "Where is Major MacKenzie?
Trum's hit with a piece of shell."

I immediately called the major, who was in the next room, and we
learned that "Trum," as Captain Warren was affectionately called, had
been badly wounded. He and Macdonald were standing in a grocery store
at the north side of the square when a "Jack Johnson," as the huge
seventeen inch shells fired by the Germans from the Austrian howitzers
they have brought up to shell this town are called, fell into a
building in the south side just opposite. The shell wrecked the
building into which it fell, killing an officer and seventeen men. A
piece about an inch square flew fully two hundred yards across the
square, passed through a plate glass window, missed Macdonald by an
inch, and struck Warren below the right collar bone piercing his lung.
"They have got me in the back, Fred," were the last words he said. He
was carried o