More Than 150 World War II Bombs Found Under Playground in England
More than 150 bombs from World War II have been found under a children's playground in northern England, with concerns that more may remain, officials said.
The bombs were discovered as a construction project was underway to renovate the Scotts Park playground in Wooler, a small town in Northumberland, England, that is near the border with Scotland. BBC reported that workers had found a 'suspicious object' on Jan. 14 while digging foundations. It turned out to be a practice bomb, or a nonexplosive bomb that is used for training but can still be harmful.
The Wooler Parish Council enlisted Brimstone Site Investigations, a company that specializes in unexploded ordnance, to investigate the site, council officials said in a news release.
Brimstone arrived on Jan. 23 for what was supposed to be a two-day survey, 'but it soon became apparent that the scale of the problem was far greater than anyone had anticipated,' the parish council wrote.
On the first day, Brimstone identified an additional 65 practice bombs, each weighing 10 pounds, as well as smoke cartridges.
On the second day of work at the site, Brimstone recovered an additional 90 practice bombs and safely removed them to a designated storage area, the council wrote.
The BBC reported that the Ministry of Defense had ordered a full survey of the site.
Though the bombs are practice bombs, 'they do still carry a charge' and require removal by specialists, the parish council's release said, adding, 'These have been found with their fuse and contents still intact — and the detonator burster and smoke filling in particular can still be potentially hazardous.'
A spokesperson for the Northumberland County Council called the discovery 'unexpected.'
Mark Mather, an official in Wooler, told the BBC that about a third of the park had been cleared and it was possible there were more bombs.
'It's quite something to think the children have been playing on bombs,' Mr. Mather said.
Mr. Mather said that Wooler had been a training center for the Home Guard, a volunteer citizen militia considered the last line of defense against the Germans during World War II.
'After the war, it looked like they just buried all the ordnance in one of the pits,' Mr. Mather said.
The Ministry of Defense said that a team had visited the site twice in January, the BBC reported, but it did not offer further details.
The Wooler Parish Council said it hoped contractors could resume work in April once the site had been declared safe.
Brimstone, the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Mather, the Wooler Parish Council and the Northumberland County Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hear that big BOOM? It could be the Tooele Army Depot detonating aging munitions
RUSH VALLEY, Tooele County — U.S. Army Col. Luke Clover promised a van full of reporters Wednesday that they will never forget the shock waves propagated by the open detonations that they had gathered to observe. The explosions, as the colonel promised, were loud. They were teeth-rattling. As good soldiers say: 'That's affirmative, sir.' But Wednesday's media day at the Tooele Army Depot — aka TEAD — was about more than sending local journalists back to their newsrooms with a fun and 'detonating' dispatch. Clover and his associates are anxious to share the purposes behind the army depot's open detonations that folks across multiple Utah counties often hear — and feel. 'We want to share with the community what's going on out here … and to let everyone know what's going on out here in support of the national defense and the United States Military,' said Clover, who commands the 83-year-old depot. Tooele Army Depot personnel, the colonel added, are performing essential missions. First, as part of the U.S. Army's Joint Munitions Command, the ammunitions base conducts safe and environmentally responsible destruction of surplus or obsolete ammunition. 'We have a lot of World War II-era munitions that come through here for demilitarization that are no longer useful. Or there are munitions here that have been deemed hazardous or unsafe to use for our service members,' said Clover. Tooele Army Depot also maintains munitions — performing surveillance tests to ensure that the military weapons are safe for use. 'And when they're found to be unsafe, unstable or not operating in the way that they're supposed to, then they're deemed ready for demilitarization,' added Clover. Disposing of obsolete munitions also frees up storage space for modern munitions. Established in 1942 while World War II was raging, the Tooele Army Depot is tasked with receiving, storing, maintaining, shipping, modifying and, of course, demilitarizing conventional munitions. The depot also specializes in ammunition equipment prototype design, development and fabrication. The weather and dry conditions found in Utah's West Desert region seems factory-made for the work being performed at the base. Some depots in other, more humid areas of the country must deal with moisture seeping into their earth-covered magazines and storage areas. 'But the environment here is perfect for that mission … to help maintain the longevity of the stockpiles,' said Clover. The region's natural environmental features can also help mitigate disasters, said Erin Trinchitella, Tooele Army Depot's industrial operations director. 'Part of our environment here, as you could see today, is soil,' she said. 'So if there is an accidental explosion, the soil here … helps absorb that.' Wednesday's media day occurred at a historic moment for the American military: Saturday, June 14, is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. 'We are extremely proud of the job that we do in support of not only the Department of Defense's munitions enterprise mission, but also the overall mission of the United States Army and the other uniformed services: The U.S. Air Force, Navy, Space Force, Marines and Coast Guard,' said Clover. 'We work with all of them, and we handle and maintain the munitions for all of those services.' Depot officials say they are eager to be good neighbors in the Tooele County community and beyond. To help keep local officials and residents abreast of daily detonation activities, Tooele Army Depot dispatches frequent emails alerting local jurisdictions of the day's operations. Subsequent posts are added to the base's social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and X. There's even a 'noise complaint' hotline: 435-833-3300. 'We give people as much notice as possible that we are going to be detonating that day — and, along with that notification, we also include information for people to provide us with a noise report,' said public affairs officer Wade Matthews. 'We're not afraid to take that information … we can use that information for making adjustments, if necessary.' Lonnie Brown, Tooele Army Depot's environmental management division chief, said the depot works 'hand-in-hand' with Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army to ensure environmental protections. 'We have several audits to verify that we meet within our permit standards — and we're being reviewed several times a year to make sure that those standards are met,' said Brown. The depot also performs ecological studies to help protect local wildlife — while sponsoring several projects to benefit species such as the Burrowing owls. Tooele Army Depot also works with the EPA to test and monitor groundwater wells. 'We find that there's no significant impact on these wells,' said Brown. On Wednesday, reporters were given a rare glimpse of the lunar-like landscapes that double as explosion pits — and the precise task of preparing obsolete munitions for destruction. Crews prepare the 'donor' munitions before burying it in the explosion pit under at least seven feet of soil. The range area is then cleared and firing lines are tied and finalized. Detonation specialists, safely housed in a 'shooter shack' located several hundred meters away from the blast site, manage all of the firing lines utilizing a lock box that's connected to a firing panel, which triggers the detonation. Specialists executed several detonations Wednesday, with the 'assistance' of several reporters.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hear that big BOOM? It could be the Tooele Army Depot detonating aging munitions
RUSH VALLEY, Tooele County — U.S. Army Col. Luke Clover promised a van full of reporters Wednesday that they will never forget the shock waves propagated by the open detonations that they had gathered to observe. The explosions, as the colonel promised, were loud. They were teeth-rattling. As good soldiers say: 'That's affirmative, sir.' But Wednesday's media day at the Tooele Army Depot — aka TEAD — was about more than sending local journalists back to their newsrooms with a fun and 'detonating' dispatch. Clover and his associates are anxious to share the purposes behind the army depot's open detonations that folks across multiple Utah counties often hear — and feel. 'We want to share with the community what's going on out here … and to let everyone know what's going on out here in support of the national defense and the United States Military,' said Clover, who commands the 83-year-old depot. Tooele Army Depot personnel, the colonel added, are performing essential missions. First, as part of the U.S. Army's Joint Munitions Command, the ammunitions base conducts safe and environmentally responsible destruction of surplus or obsolete ammunition. 'We have a lot of World War II-era munitions that come through here for demilitarization that are no longer useful. Or there are munitions here that have been deemed hazardous or unsafe to use for our service members,' said Clover. Tooele Army Depot also maintains munitions — performing surveillance tests to ensure that the military weapons are safe for use. 'And when they're found to be unsafe, unstable or not operating in the way that they're supposed to, then they're deemed ready for demilitarization,' added Clover. Disposing of obsolete munitions also frees up storage space for modern munitions. Established in 1942 while World War II was raging, the Tooele Army Depot is tasked with receiving, storing, maintaining, shipping, modifying and, of course, demilitarizing conventional munitions. The depot also specializes in ammunition equipment prototype design, development and fabrication. The weather and dry conditions found in Utah's West Desert region seems factory-made for the work being performed at the base. Some depots in other, more humid areas of the country must deal with moisture seeping into their earth-covered magazines and storage areas. 'But the environment here is perfect for that mission … to help maintain the longevity of the stockpiles,' said Clover. The region's natural environmental features can also help mitigate disasters, said Erin Trinchitella, Tooele Army Depot's industrial operations director. 'Part of our environment here, as you could see today, is soil,' she said. 'So if there is an accidental explosion, the soil here … helps absorb that.' Wednesday's media day occurred at a historic moment for the American military: Saturday, June 14, is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. 'We are extremely proud of the job that we do in support of not only the Department of Defense's munitions enterprise mission, but also the overall mission of the United States Army and the other uniformed services: The U.S. Air Force, Navy, Space Force, Marines and Coast Guard,' said Clover. 'We work with all of them, and we handle and maintain the munitions for all of those services.' Depot officials say they are eager to be good neighbors in the Tooele County community and beyond. To help keep local officials and residents abreast of daily detonation activities, Tooele Army Depot dispatches frequent emails alerting local jurisdictions of the day's operations. Subsequent posts are added to the base's social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and X. There's even a 'noise complaint' hotline: 435-833-3300. 'We give people as much notice as possible that we are going to be detonating that day — and, along with that notification, we also include information for people to provide us with a noise report,' said public affairs officer Wade Matthews. 'We're not afraid to take that information … we can use that information for making adjustments, if necessary.' Lonnie Brown, Tooele Army Depot's environmental management division chief, said the depot works 'hand-in-hand' with Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army to ensure environmental protections. 'We have several audits to verify that we meet within our permit standards — and we're being reviewed several times a year to make sure that those standards are met,' said Brown. The depot also performs ecological studies to help protect local wildlife — while sponsoring several projects to benefit species such as the Burrowing owls. Tooele Army Depot also works with the EPA to test and monitor groundwater wells. 'We find that there's no significant impact on these wells,' said Brown. On Wednesday, reporters were given a rare glimpse of the lunar-like landscapes that double as explosion pits — and the precise task of preparing obsolete munitions for destruction. Crews prepare the 'donor' munitions before burying it in the explosion pit under at least seven feet of soil. The range area is then cleared and firing lines are tied and finalized. Detonation specialists, safely housed in a 'shooter shack' located several hundred meters away from the blast site, manage all of the firing lines utilizing a lock box that's connected to a firing panel, which triggers the detonation. Specialists executed several detonations Wednesday, with the 'assistance' of several reporters.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum WWII panel features two veterans' tales of valor
Driving rain fell with the ferocity of machinegun fire while thunder bombarded the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force's rotunda as if it were distant air strike's. Yet, the elements could not overcome the power of the stories being told by World War II veteran airmen 1st Lieutenant Kenneth Beckman and Staff Sergeant Bruce Cook during the museum's 5th Annual WWII panel. Sean O'Dwyer, the museum's education program manager and panel moderator, said while all four panelists from last year's event were alive, Beckman, 102, and Cook, 99, were the only two who could make the trip. Beckman, originally from Northampton, Massachusetts, now hails from St. Petersburg, Florida. Cook lives in West Columbia, South Carolina. The two told stories about close calls, fellow crewmen's practical jokes and harrowing missions. They did so to the best of their recollections, which were much better than they let on, particularly Beckman's as many of his stories were accompanied by the exact date of the mission. The panel was one portion of Sunday's events, which were part of four days of Memorial Day events that the museum planned in honor of the 26,000 airmen of the Eighth Airforce who never returned from WWII. More of the museum's Flags for the Fallen events have been planned for Monday, May 26. O'Dwyer asked the two centenarians a series of questions, helping them call up long dormant moments from their pasts. He started by asking what they were doing when Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. Cook said he was 16 and standing in a doorway when someone came by saying that the Hawaiian naval station had been bombed. "And to me, that didn't mean a whole lot," he said because he had never heard of it before. Beckman actually resigned from the Naval Academy because his roommate's grandfather was a doctor with the with the Navy, and he had heard that a war with Japan was "just around the corner." So he signed up with the Army Air Corp in November of 1941. For him, Dec. 7 of that year started like any other day until about 4 p.m. when he heard what had happened at Pearl Harbor. Beckman went on to serve as a navigator within the 305th Bomb Group while Cook was a waist/ball gunner and toggler for the 379th. Beckman attributed his desire to be an aviator to his first flying experience when he was five years old. The manager of Northampton airport knew his father and invited Beckman for a ride in a two-seater airplane. During the war, he went on 48 missions over two tours. He signed up for a second tour after he decided he wanted to become a permanent officer. He flew with two U.S. presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. Beckman described two close calls he had in service. One involved a German pilot who flew his Messerschmitt Me 262 "absolutely vertical" 20 feet off the right wing, so close Beckman could see he was blond with glasses and a white scarf. "I guess I saw him for all of a split second," he said, but he never forgot it. Another close call occurred when his crew's right wing engine had been hit and caught fire. He called that a death notice because a fire usually proceeded an explosion, which typically meant crew members had five to 10 seconds to grab a parachute and jump. In that moment, he secured his parachute and dangled his feet out the escape hatch and then he heard a copilot tell everyone the fire was out. He did not have to jump. Had he jumped he would have done so over enemy territory and undoubtedly been taken as a prisoner of war. Cook could not recall ever being scared beyond his first mission when he told a peer he could not get into the ball turret with his parachute on. The peer said that they could leave his parachute aside and if they got shot down maybe he could get up and grab it in time. Cook was then worried the whole four hours and fifteen minutes of that first, and likely his shortest, mission. Beyond that, he did not recall being scared very much in the air. He did remember a time when a plane ahead of his caught fire. The flames streamed behind it so much that a crewman on his plane thought their plane had caught fire and a miscommunication led another crewman to grab his chute and jump out over enemy territory. Cook told another story of how he shot at an approaching fighter, taking him out. Later the other gunner on the plane also claimed to have shot the enemy fighter down. When the crew got back to base they flipped a coin to see who would claim the hit. "Malone won," he said. Years later when he looked at the military records it only stated that a bomber shot down a fighter, giving no particular airman credit. Both Cook and Beckman flew dozens of missions throughout their tours of duty. Cook joked that officers and enlisted men such as himself did not always hang out during the war, but it was an honor to be speaking with Beckman about their experiences and the men they served with. Beckman and Cook, while grateful for the museum's recognition, deflected any praise heaped upon them. When asked to reflect on Memorial Day's meaning, Cook said he did not deserve the praise that the museum and community were giving him. To underscore the point of the holiday, he recollected one more story of a fellow airman who was less fortunate. During the war, a young man Cook referred to as Albert was moved to another plane to make way for Cook's return to his crew. Cook said on Albert's first mission with the new crew their plane was shot down. Albert and others bailed out over enemy territory while the crew's pilot went down with the plane. For Beckman, Memorial Day is an "opportunity for me to think about the fellows that didn't make it, they were the real heroes." He then paused before expressing that he was at a loss for words "to describe how wonderful life can be when the world is at peace." Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@ and JoeInTheKnow_SMN on Instagram. This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum WWII panel features two veterans
