It’s an unexploded bomb which has been sitting in a Welsh couple’s garden for more than 100 years. Owner Sian Edwards says she used to bang her trowel against it to remove soil while gardening, believing it to be a “dummy” device with no charge. Last week, a police officer informed her he had spotted the bomb and would have to inform the Ministry of Defence. The following day, the bomb squad turned up, discovered it was “live”, took it to a nearby quarry, and blew it up.
The Knowledge.
The bomb disposal squad use a small explosive to detonate the suspect bomb. So it doesn’t necessarily mean that the suspect bomb was live. But it’s the safest way to dispose of it.
Occasionally live ordnance turns up on the Thames foreshore as you might imagine.
I remember a real horror story, a fella was exploring at low tide and found what appeared to be a lump of rather attractive rock and put it in his trouser pocket.
Unfortunately for him it was a lump of phosphorus, it dried in his jeans, ignited and burn a hole right through his groin and came out through his backside.
I’ve just been reading about Phosphorus in my book on the periodic table…
It comes in at atomic number 15 with a 44 degrees C melting point and was called ‘The Devil’s Element’ .
White Phosphorus is used in tracer bullets and Bombs that cause fire storms…It has also been used in nerve gas like sarin, which killed or damaged many people in the Iraq/Iran war in the 1980’s as well as killing 12 and injuring many other people in the Tokyo subway attack in 1995.
It causes severe burns on contact and a safer version is found on the side of matchboxes (the striker)
It also used to be found in matches made in Stockton-on-Tees in 1827 but many of the girls working in the factory developed ‘Phossy Jaw’ a nasty disease that caused the jawbone to waste away and so was banned in the early 20th century.
Nasty stuff…
