English: Men of the Lancashire Fusiliers sit in a muddy puddle on the floor of a front line trench opposite Messines to clean a Lewis gun. Behind them, as the trench bends round to the right, a group of men can be seen standing in the trench, one of them with his bayonet fixed. To the left of the photographs, can be seen the gas alarm horn and wind vane. Several rows of sandbags form the top left-hand edge of the trench. Imperial War Museum, image Q4649.

Category: photographs Related period: First World War (production), First World War (content) Creator: Brooke, John Warwick (Lieutenant) (Photographer) Production date: 1917-01 Catalogue number: Q 4649

Part of MINISTRY OF INFORMATION FIRST WORLD WAR OFFICIAL COLLECTION