'Finding a bomb isn't something you do every day'
Three weeks later, setting up their kit for another morning of underwater exploration, Adam explains that their explosive discovery happened further down the river, close to Bishop Monkton."We just popped out for an hour to try out some new lights on the remotely operated underwater vehicle that I use," he explains. "Cameron got some footage for me so I could look at what the light spread was like. "When he'd finished, I told him to go off and find something interesting. Next thing I knew, Cameron said he'd found something."Unsure of what it was, Adam sent his vehicle into the water to also scout out the object."As soon as I saw the shape of it, especially the front, I knew he'd found a bomb. A rather big bomb at that," he laughs. It was later revealed that rather than just being an empty casing, the bomb actually still contained live explosives. "I was worried about the safety of me and my dad, and for the equipment we'd been using," Cameron says."One thought going through my head was, 'please don't hit the bomb, we don't need another reason for it to explode'."
The pair then quickly removed their exploration equipment from the water and rang Cameron's mum, Rachel. "I don't think she quite believed us, but I eventually managed to convince her we'd found a bomb," Adam says. "Then it was off down to the police station to report it."After the explorers sent over their footage, a Royal Navy crew went down to the site to recover the device. Difficult conditions meant it took several attempts, but on 26 March, a bomb disposal team finally managed to make it safe. "Initially, we thought they would fully detonate it to get rid of it but that would have been a logistical nightmare, with a big exclusion zone of 1.5km," Adam says."It would have been most, if not all, of Bishop Monkton that was evacuated."Instead, Adam says a shaped charge was used to "crack it open" so the explosives could be dealt with.
The days the father-and-son duo usually spend together investigating the river are not so potentially perilous.They say they go out as often as they can, both to have adventures but also to spend quality time together. They started the hobby about four years ago, when Adam was looking for a new gadget to explore underwater during the pandemic. "I've always been interested in what is going on underwater, where you can't see," the dad-of-two says."I used to scuba dive a long time ago, but because of the condition I have I can't scuba dive anymore. "This is the next best thing - and it saves me getting wet, unless I get them stuck."
'Deep clean'
Cameron agrees the shared hobby "means a lot", with the only downside being getting up early on a weekend. "It's great to be out of the house and he's not got his face stuck in his Xbox," Adam laughs."He's certainly not going to forget some of the things he has done. "In years to come, I want him to be able to say, 'I remember doing that with my dad'."Meanwhile, what of the World War Two relic they found that caused such consternation and led to the Royal Navy being called in to make it safe?"They took away what was left of the casing and told me they would deep clean it and x-ray it to check it was safe," Adam explains."Then, we can more than likely get it back to put in a local museum."
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Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
My view from the captain's chair aboard Britain's 65,000-ton leviathan facing down war-hungry Chinese despot: DAVID PATRIKARAKOS
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Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia — all these democracies want us there. The more alliances they have, the more strategic independence they maintain. Lammy points not just to Nato but the 'Indo-Pacific Four' (IP4), the alliance of Nato partners in the region – Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. He highlights the intelligence-sharing 'Five Eyes' group of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US and, of course, the G7 group of developed western nations. 'Our economic and military alliances are so multilateral. Yes, this is a time of peace through strength,' he says. 'But also peace through deepening our allied partnerships with one another.' What I saw in Darwin was merely the latest iteration of something Britain has been doing for centuries: creating and managing alliances. When we fought with our Empire in the Second World War, we sat at the centre of a web of allies. 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BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
D-Day veteran receives new medals after old set stolen
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Scotsman
14 hours ago
- Scotsman
How Scotland's historic World War bases can help tackle housing crisis
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Some housing development proposals are unveiled, and you see, well, houses. But the launch of the Lar Housing Trust project at Port Edgar in South Queensferry this week turned into so much more. This was about history, community and the resilience of individuals. At its core, the 49-home project is simply the latest in a series of developments by the trust, set up ten years ago to provide high-quality, mid-market accommodation in an increasingly challenging market. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But at Port Edgar, what they are doing is bringing back to life a disused and neglected site which was once a key component in our wartime protection and providing homes for a new generation. Second World War veteran Dorothea Barron, 100, places a brick at a new housing development at the site of the former Port Edgar barracks in South Queenferry (Picture: Jane Barlow) | PA A Wren returns Three years ago, I visited the site to hear about the proposals and the funding challenges that came with it. This week I was privileged to be among those invited along to lay one of the reclaimed and reconditioned bricks from buildings which had once housed Royal Navy personnel. Among them was Dorothea Barron, now 100 years old. One of the last surviving Wrens and one of those who sent and deciphered the morse code messages which were central to wartime communications. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Watching her lay the first brick in a wall which will become part of a thriving community – including a community café and a Men's Shed group – I was struck by the importance of the moment. We were also joined by a brother and sister whose parents had met when they were stationed there. As we all chatted over tea and coffee in the buildings being brought back to life, tales of our wartime heroes merged with information about how renewable technology will create homes for the future, which will have an awe-inspiring view of three examples of the best of British bridge engineering over the past century and a half. The Port Edgar base dates back to 1918 when it was a barracks for a Royal Navy base that serviced torpedo boat destroyers. In the Second World War, it was a hospital and supported staff at the minesweeper base. All this history is being recognised in the redevelopment which, although primarily permanent housing, will also provide respite accommodation in the barracks' former jail. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Passion and enthusiasm Similar history is evident in other parts of the country at deserted Army and Royal Airforce bases, many of them now little more than overgrown collections of brick huts and broken runways. As I was shown round the historic buildings at Port Edgar where a revolutionary water-pump system will provide the heating, I couldn't help but think how so many of them could be reborn this way. That the vision that led Lar to see the potential in Port Edgar could be invaluable in utilising and repurposing everything from the sites and structures, down to the bricks themselves, to overcome the housing crisis which this generation faces. Ann Leslie, the woman who originally came up with the idea and founded Lar ten years ago spoke with passion and enthusiasm. Our government could do worse than to enlist her help in overcoming the crippling housing shortage we face. For me, Port Edgar could be the blueprint for a future that manages to protect the past.
