Page 22 • The HERALD • 11th May 2023 v SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE HERALD v PVCu FASCIAS & GUTTERING CLEANING SERVICE Gutters checked for leaks and repaired Also new installations Driveway, Patio and Decking Cleaning and Restoration Service Very reliable and fully insured Good Rates and Professional Service Special Rates for OAP’s Call us now for a free quote Holbury 07884 112416 The Dangerous Legacy of Unexploded Bombs in the New Forest by Marc Heighway, mheighway@hotmail.com Marc hosts monthly local history talks, visit nfhwa.org/ events for details A couple of years ago, I found an unexploded bomb from the SecondWorldWar whilst walking in the New Forest. It was sticking out of the ground somewhat o the beaten track. I reported the nd, and later that day a bomb disposal team came to the site and detonated the device. You might think this would be a rare occurrence, but you’d be wrong. e winter just gone, my friend and I found a Stokes mortar whilst walking near Lyndhurst. is explosive device dated back to the First World War. Both nds were purely coincidental. I have never gone out looking to nd unexploded bombs. As someone who walks weekly in the forest with my dogs and son, the idea that dangerous devices are so common isn’t a comfortable one. But on both occasions, they were hidden in plain sight on our local heathland near welltrodden areas. ankfully I’ve never been harmed, nor has anyone that I know. I also can’t recall any fatal accidents in recent years. But this hasn’t always been the case. In 1952, one man was killed, and two injured, a er one of them picked a bomb up near Brockenhurst. e area on which the accident occurred had been a military training area during the Second World War. An ambulance medic who attended the scene said he counted around thirty mortar bombs sticking out of the ground on his way to the body. Another tragic accident also happened in the 1950s when a young boy picked up a bomb on Beaulieu Heath. He brought it back to his Dibden Purlieu home, where it exploded, killing him. In more recent memory, one man had a lucky escape in Holbury when he decided to drill a hole in a bomb he’d found washed up at Hurst Spit. e Daily Echo reported how concerned neighbours called the police a er hearing an explosion. ankfully the neighbours, as well as man who drilled into the bomb, were not harmed. e man received an eight week suspended prison sentence and a ne. ings could have been much worse. e reason why the New Forest area continues to reveal unexploded bombs is down to several di erent reasons. In the First World War there was a trench mortar school in the forest as well as various ri e ranges. During this same period, Hatchet Pond was used to practice bombs, both of which would still have small explosives in them. Parts of the New Forest were also under the ight path of both German and Allied aircra . Both sides would drop bombs on remote areas of heathland, but for very di erent reasons. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Lu wa e aircra would jettison bombs over the New Forest a er being intercepted by the RAF. is would lighten their load meaning they could then make a quicker getaway over the English Channel. Allied aircra would also release bombs over uninhabited areas when returning from missions over Europe. ey were not permitted to land on air elds with live bombs still onboard, so would drop them safely on heathland instead. ere were also bombing decoys in the New Forest. ese were created on remote areas of heathland and designed to look like real air elds and towns from the sky at night. Part of the cunning ploy involved setting ares and lights o , to hopefully trick the Lu wa e into dropping bombs harmlessly on these dummy towns and pretend air elds. Not all bombs dropped on the New Forest would explode, particularly those that landed in so and boggy areas... which is why they continue to be found to this day. ere was also a large bombing range at Ashley Walk near Fordingbridge where the RAF would test explosive devices during World War Two. Only last month the bomb squad were called out to detonate a bomb found there by a walker. It’s very likely that bombs will be found in the New Forest area for decades to come, as the earth continues to expel its wartime secrets. So, if you happen to ever see anything suspicious in the ground like I have before, call the police. Don’t touch or disturb anything that could look odd in the earth. An unexploded bomb, no matter how old it is, can still explode. Hythe Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Club takes place on the 2nd Saturday of every month at e Lord Nelson, High Street, Hythe. Go along on Saturday 13th May to enjoy the social interaction and banter with fellow veterans which will help improve your mental health and is good for PTSD. For more details text Graham on 07526 507053 or nd them on Facebook (Hythe Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Club). 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