I’ve been looking through some photographs belonging to my great aunt and came across the two postcards below. The handwritten captions on the rear say it was an unexploded bomb dropped by a Zeppelin in a garden near Dereham in August or September 1915 (each postcard gives a different date).
But what intrigued me was wondering at what point in the history of our civilization was it no longer considered a good idea to get young children to stand next to unxploded ordinance?
By: TonyT - 11th September 2012 at 02:17
Was probably the 4kg ones thinking about them, once found a set lying on the taxiway lol, the jag had landed at night and shut down on the taxy way.. Armourers reroled it taking the bombs off putting them on the ground temporarily, the aircraft was dragged into the HAS as we continued to turn it round and the bombs got left behind lol. We’re found by the copper and his dog who stumbled on them on his rounds.. Called in and went out to see what he was muttering on about and sure enough the bombs were lying on the taxy way.
By: Last Lightning - 11th September 2012 at 00:50
carrying a cardboard box of 12 practice bombs and the bottom fell out, all of the bombs dropped nose first onto the apron smashing some of the plastic frangible nose cones off… Luckily they had the safety pins in, but he had to be lead to the crew room and sat down with a drink to calm his nerves. They were I think 28kg ones and one would have killed you.
Strong man, that box of 12 practice bombs would have weighed in at 336KG!! no wonder the bottom fell out the box! perhaps 5kg or 2.5kg is closer to the mark, either way I would have needed a stiff drink and several packs of smokes! :);)
By: Denis - 7th September 2012 at 18:13
My Mum paid to look at an unexploded German parachute mine in 1942, it was on show at the Priory in Ware.
This version of the story from the Hert’s memories website…
On 24th September 1942, a parachute mine fell just over 100 metres from the sanatorium. It became entangled in a tree and failed to explode. The patients were evacuated while the mine was made safe by the Royal navy. Someone suggested that if the mine was displayed in the Priory grounds, it could be used as a showpiece to raise money for the “Ware Boys at The Front” fund so it was taken there by council workmen.
Ticking bomb…
It remained there for 5 days until a passing serviceman said it had not been fully diffused. This caused a panic and it was quickly moved to Brazier’s gravel pit in nearby Watton Road (where the Vicarage estate now stands). Despite its proximity to houses, the mine was exploded on 30th September and a large crowd gathered on Widbury Hill to watch. The explosion caused considerable damage; one house was totally destroyed and three more had to be demolished. Several houses in Watton Road lost their roofs and 300 more had varying degrees of damage. It turned out that the mine had been part of a raid which had killed three people in Hertford.
By: Arabella-Cox - 27th August 2012 at 23:50
Yes, I think they are professionally-produced postcards rather than family portraits/photographs which often seemed to be printed with a postcard-style reverse. I’ve found the first picture elsewhere on the internet.
By: Arabella-Cox - 27th August 2012 at 22:51
Really superb photographs!
By: TonyT - 27th August 2012 at 20:12
Hamden98 fast fwd to the 80s, RAF Germany John M getting the pack up trailers ready for detachment to Decimmannu, carrying a cardboard box of 12 practice bombs and the bottom fell out, all of the bombs dropped nose first onto the apron smashing some of the plastic frangible nose cones off… Luckily they had the safety pins in, but he had to be lead to the crew room and sat down with a drink to calm his nerves. They were I think 28kg ones and one would have killed you.
By: Richard gray - 27th August 2012 at 18:49
When one went off I should imagine 😀
8th Sept 1915, 4 killed 2 civilians and 2 soldiers in the raid.
By: hampden98 - 27th August 2012 at 18:48
Although massively off topic my dad, who served aboard HMS Anson during WW2 told me the day he was loading crates of AA shells into one of the ready use lockers on board the ship. He dropped a case. The wooden case split open and the graze fused shells hit the deck. One shell took the brunt of the impact and the lead cone bent over :eek:. Fortunately the shell didn’t go off.
Not sure how you would deal with that in a Health and Safety world.
BTW we suspect my dad lied about his age and couldn’t have been more than 14, 15 when he joined the navy!
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August 27, 2012 at 6:17 pm