Hello Graham, the patents office/ intellectual property office is in Newport, and I think they hold details of all patents issued. Email here: mailto:Enquiries@ipo.gov.uk

At one of their presentations they told an interesting story about bomb disposal. Apparently a new German fuse was giving trouble. A check of international patents revealed the details of the patented anti tampering device used and allowed the fuse to be disarmed safely. Sounded unlikely!