RAOC Gazette - page 213
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1983 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1983 |
| Late date | 1983 |
| Transcription |
\p or less non-existent, so it was very unlikely that my newly acquired skills would ever be tested. My talents as a Bomb Disposal expert were however un- fortunately requested some five months later when I was the Warrant Officcr-in-Chargc, Number 3 Indian Army Ordnance Mobile Ammunition Laboratory Unit, attached to 36 Division in Northern Burma, where we were following the divisions ad- vance and engaged on battle ground clearance. The Division had just crossed the Irrawaddy River at Katha when I was requested to dispose of uncxplodcd bombs which had been reported located on the outskirts of a small Burmese village about fifteen miles inland from Katha, deep in the teak forests of that region. When we eventually located the village the Headman took us to the area where the missiles had landed. There were three in all and fairly close together, in an area of some two thousand five hundred square yards. Two were lying on the surface and a third was clearly visible some three feet under the water in a river. The bombs all looked as though they had come straight from manufacture and been gently placed in their positions. I had no trouble identifying the bombs as they wcrc_ clearly marked as three hundred and twenty five pound American Depth Charges, needless to say, there was no problem in detonating them in situ, though I did spend five minutes training an unhappy Sepoy in placing a demolition charge correctly on a missile underwater. I thought it strange that my first bombs should turn out to be those of our allies and it did seem an awful long way from the sea for depth charges. ILtiitxti to ®&^ tf)t editor THE CHILWELL STORY BRIGADIER G. B. BERRAGAN writes: — Dear Editor,—It is now over a year since The Chilwell Story was published and it is therefore appropriate that I should report on the progress of sales of the book. A total of one thousand four hundred and twenty three books were printed. By August 1983 there were just over one hundred books left, with orders still being received from all over the world. There will be no reprint and I anticipate that all the books will have been sold by the end of the year. A number of very generous donations have ensured that there will be a profit of about £1,500 when all the books arc sold. On 7th July this year I had the pleasure of presenting a cheque for £500 to the Vicar of Attenborough, The Reverend Frank Beech, to be used for the upkeep of the grave for those killed in the great explosion in 1918. The balance will be donated to Service charities. In writing the book the problem for the author, Captain Mike Haslam, was not what to include but the more difficult task of deciding what to exclude from the vast amount of material which was provided following our press and television appeals. As editor, the chapter which I had to ask Mike to substantially revise was Chapter 10, which deals, inter alia, with the controversy surrounding the decision to close the Depot. In doing so we inevitably omitted much of the vital role played by Brigadier Ian MacDonald and his staff during the very difficult period from 1977 to 1979. It was during lan's time that the initial outloading plans were prepared and the movement of stores from Chilwell to Bicester and Donnington began. He had the unenviable task of maintaining the morale and retaining the loyalty of the staff at a time when every issue they made was contributing to the eventual closure of the Depot. 1 was very appreciative of the sound foundation for closure laid by Ian MacDonald and which I later inherited. Finally I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Mr Colin Wright of DSM Chilwell, who took on the enormous task of handling the sale and distribution of The Chilwell Story and also the Corps Trustees together with the RAOC Secretariat who gave their full support and blessing to the project. * * * MR R. T. DALLEN BEM M1MH writes: — Dear Sir,—I was most interested in the snippet of information in last June's GAZETTE concerning unusual Bomb Disposal activities regarding the Flying Bomb. I can recall incidents during my Ammunition Examiner days which were also some- what out of the ordinary. It was in 1943 that I was detailed to attend a Bomb Disposal course at the Royal Engineers School at Kirkee. The reward for passing this course was to be, believe it or not, a posting to active service. Despite the fact that I might blow myself up and the unattractive hardships of active service in the jungle, I managed to pass the course with flying colours. I now had what is probably a unique entry in my AB 64 for an ammunition examiner, which stated that I was now a Bomb Disposal expert. (Not to be confused with EOD.) The training had been mainly on the disposal of German Bombs and that was also with the use of some fairly up-to-date equipment; we touched but lightly on the Japanese types. In no time at all I was posted to an advance ammunition depot in Assam about forty miles from Kohima. It was here that I was most relieved to learn that the Japanese Airforce was more The second request for my services followed closely on that of the Depth Charges, this time the call was from a GI who was acting as Station Master at a place called Indaw, this was a station on the Burmese Railway situated very roughly half way between Myitkyina and Mandalay. The GI had dis- covered the bomb behind one of the shacks which made up the station. As soon as I saw the object I immediately knew it wasn't a bomb, but I also did not have a clue what it could be. It looked exactly like the round black bomb, which usually had a smoking wick and is associated with Russian spies who always wore long cloaks and large black hats. Anyway, for effect and I hope the satisfaction of the GI, I placed a very substantial explosive charge against it and blew it to pieces. Some month or so later I saw another of these bombs at- tached to a Flame Thrower, carried by a soldier in the Gloucester's. It was in fact an Oxygen Bottle! The third incident concerned the disposal of what turned out to be a genuine Japanese bomb, though it was a dead copy of the German Anti Personnel Butterfly Bomb. These were found in a village close to Mong Mit in the Northern Shan States of Burma. In theory, the slightest movement should be sufficient to activate these devices and disposal instructions were simple, that is of course for most people, one merely had to take a pot shot at the bomb from a reasonably safe distance and the bomb would detonate if hit. After I had taken five shots at one bomb using a .303 Lee Enfield and missing the target every time, I shame-facedly handed the rifle to an infantry- man who hit and detonated three bombs with his first three shots. The last incident concerns dealing with what appeared to be a Sea Mine. This was when I was serving at CAD (FS) Warsop where we were engaged on clearing ammunition prior to the land being returned to the National Trust. Using teams of European Voluntary Workers we were systematically search- ing, with the aid of Mine Detectors, those areas on each side of the roads and tracks of the depot for stray items of am- munition which might be hidden in the bracken. As it was not unusual to find such items as small arms ammunition up to 7.2 high explosive shell hidden behind the bushes, we were not really surprised when one of our search teams turned up what appeared to be a Sea Mine of some twelve inches diameter. The base plate was missing and the light grey explosive was exposed. We took the mine to our demolition ground and prepared to destroy it. In an attempt to reduce the ground shock, as we were in a coal mining area, we decided to detonate it on the surface. The resulting explosion was very disappoint- ing, but inspection revealed that we had blown all the explosive out of the mine, which was now scattered as a fine powder over a wide area of Sherwood Forest. It was only a day later, that when visiting the site where the Sea Mine had been found, one of the European Voluntary Workers approached me, with a wicked gleam in his eyes as he drew my attention to a large ornamental post which had at some time previously toppled to the ground and about eight feet away stood a similar post, which had poised neatly on its top, a twin of the mine we had destroyed the day before. — 176 — |
| Book number | R0406 |