EXPLOSION OF A “DUD” SHELL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3714, 8 November 1927, Page 3

EXPLOSION OF A “DUD” SHELL.

BOY SERIOUSLY INJURED. While playing on the sandhills at the rear of Robinson’s Lakes on Sunday afternoon, John Shortt, aged 11 years, a son of Mr. and Mrs. P. Shortt, of Manawatu Heads was seriously injured as the result of a “dud” shell exploding. Interviewed yesterday morning by our representative, little Ted Shortt, aged 9, a brother of the injured boy, said that on Sunday afternoon he and his brother, accompanied by Wilson McPhail, aged 10, Noel Steer, aged 10, Ford Steer, aged 11, and Pat Steer, aged 8, walked out to Robinson’s Lakes, some three miles from the Beach. While playing about the sand dunes at the rear of the lakes he found an unexploded 6 lb. shell lying in the sand, which his brother took from him and commenced to bury. He pointed it into the ground and started to knock it out of sight with an old shrapnel case. He had: driven it almost out of sight and when giving it a final blow it exploded and severely injured his brother. A SEARCH FOR “LEADIES.”

In conversation with our representative Ford Steer, stated that the party had set out from. Manawatu Heads at 1 o’clock for the lakes in search of “leadies” (shrapnel bullets). They found a number which they placed in a sugar bag carried for the purpose, and John Shortt also discovered a shraphel ease, which they took along with them. It was on their wav home at about 3 p.m. that Ted Shortt discovered the “dud” 6 lb. shell in a gully. John took it from him and said he would, bury it so that it would not hurt anyone. They all realised the danger in playing with the shell and begged him not to touen it. Hq insisted on burying it, however, and, placing it nose down in the sand commenced to hammer it with the shrapnel case. The other lads all scrambled up the hillside out of the way and again urged Shortt to leave the thing alone, Ford Steer calling out: “Well, it won’t ba our fault if you get hurt.” “THE LUCKY LAST HIT.” By this time, however, the shell was almost buried and ( Shortt called out: “Well, here’s the lucky last hit” and gave it a blow with. the shrapnel case, when it exploded, lifting the unfortunate lad about four feet into the air. No one else was hurt and they all rushed down the hill. Shortt was lying over the hole made by the explosion of the shell, his face was all black and burned, both his hands bent back from the wrists and he was bleeding profusely from a gaping wound in his left leg, where half the calf had been blown away, and from a laceration on one hand. They asked him what was the matter and he replied: “I’m all right, but I want Dad. Don’t let Mum know.” They lifted him up and found he could not see. He was laid down on the sand and the sugar bag placed under his head. Ford Steer and Wilson McPhail remained with him while the others ran for assistance. AFTER THE ACCIDENT. After a long wait the lads decided to try and walk the unfortunate boy out, having been unable to find any material from which to make a stretcher. Placing their arms around him they walked him to a spot about a quarter of a mile further on, where Shortt was unable to proceed further. €. Davey and R. Hartley then arrived on horseback. Hartley took the injured.boy on the horse and Davey proceeded to the beach and summoned Dr. Wyllie, who arrived just as Hartley reached the road. Shortt was attended by the doctor and conveyed Straight to the hospital. About three and a-half hours elapsed after the accident before the boy received attention and during the whole of that time, despite his terrible injuries, he remained quite conscious.

AN INSPECTION OF THE SCENE. Yesterday afternoon Constable Owen and: our representative were guided to the scene of the accident by the two Steer lads and W. McPhail. The lads’ tracks of the previous day were picked up on the sandhills at the rear of the Sanatorium, and their meanderings over the sandhills followed for about, two and a-half miles, until the place was reached, a. spot directly behind the lakes and coinciding with the location of the targets in the recent artillery practices. The country is particularly barren —nothing but sandhills and water holes. For about a quarter of a mile, before the gully was located much-trampled and

BLOOD-STAINED SAND

showed the spot reached .by the lads,. Steer and McPhail and their badly injured mate, when R. Hartley and C. Davey arrived! on the scene with a horse. From there on to the scene of the accident, over a sand ridge, around another and across a swampy piece of land and into the gully it was not hard to trace the footmarks of the three boys, side by side, the. centre pair being liberally besmattered with blood. The gully itself was just a deep cleft in the sandhills, in the centre of which Was a hole about two teet in diameter and eighteen inches deep, Caused by the. explosion. Numerous footmarks from this spot led to the top of the hill bearing silent witness to the numerous hurried and anxious visits made to the summit by the two lads who remained with the unfortunate boy to see if assistance was forthcoming before an endeavour was made to walk their comrade out.

PIECES OF SHELL FOUND. In the hole was found the nose of the shell and several pieces terribly twisted by the force of the explosion The fuse ca]D, which showed unmistakeable signs of having received a severe battering at the hands of Shortt, was discovered over the ridge about a chain away and it is probable that this portion of the shell inflicted most of his injuries as he was sitting down on the sand practically over the shell when hammering it into the ground. It is little short, of marvellous that he was not killed and he probably owes his life to the fact that the shell was almost completely buried when it exploded. The Steer boys and McPhail and little Ted Shortt are deserving of great* praise for the way in which they acted in connection with the accident. There was no panic, the two elder boys remained with their unfortunate companion while the others made off post haste for assistance. , ANOTHER SHELL FOUND. Ford Steer informed our representative yesterday that previously to the accident another “dud” six pounder had been found and buried. A search was made for it yesterday, but it was not located. There were ample signs, of the recent artillery practice about the hills, shrapnel bullets, cases, and nose caps being scattered in all directions. The find of dud shells in the vi-N einity of the lakes is accounted for by the fact that it has been the custom of military batteries visiting Foxton annually for training purposes, to shoot across the lakes, using the sand dunes at the rear as targets. INSPECTION BY DEFENCE • OFFICER. In conversation with our representative Captain Pollard, of the Defence Department, who visited Foxton yesterday for the purpose of investigating into the above accident stated that the shell responsible .for John Shortt’s injuries was of a type which has not been in use since 1925. The “dud” was of the type known as “Coast defence powder filled common shell,” and contained about a. pound of powder. These shells, which are quite small were used in a couple of Nordenfelt quickfiring coast defence guns, which were first brought to Foxton from Wellington in 1923 and loaned to the East Coast Battery. Captain Pollard stated that these old coast defence shells, which were made long before the Great War were excellently constructed and the percentage of “dud” shells amongst them was very low. ( , Captain Pollard said that a great deal of time and care had been expended in selecting a range and that some years ago he had pushhiked from Palmerston North to Foxton in search ofi a suitable site. That decided upon and which has been used for some years now was ideal. The defence authorities deeply regretted this most unfortunate occurrence on the artillery range, but as far as was humanly possible ALL PRECAUTIONS WERE TAKEN to ensure the destruction of any “dud” shells. When a “dud” was fired it was always known approximately where itshould have landed provided it had not ricochetted. The maximum ricochet of a shell however, was 90 degrees and this allowed for a shell landing almost anywhere. After, a practice a party was immediately sent out in order to try and discover any unexploded shells and destroy them, but owing to the softness of the sand and the possibility of a ricochet it was not always possible to find a “dud.”

Tlie nature of the country, made it very difficult to trace any “duds,” however, said Captain Pollard as a shell might sink in the loose sand, to a depth of a couple of feet, and yet, through the drifting of the sand, a couple of months later, it might be exposed again. Another contingency that could not be guarded against was the tendency of these old coast defence shells to ricochet off the surface of water so that the shell in question might have struck the lake and yet glanced off the surface to become buried in the sand where the winds had later uncovered it. WARNING NOTICES ERECTED. Apart from this at the conclusion of each day’s practice a party was detained to examine all around the targets for “dud” shells. Notices had been erected on the range warning the public of the danger of “duds” and instructing persons discovering any such, to report the matter to the police or the defence authorities. The land over which the firing took place was private property and the Defence Department had merely obtained the permission of the owner to use it as a range. Being a private property, therefore, the children had probably no right to he in the vicinity at all.

Captain Pollard said that in future any “dud” shells located on the range should not be touched but ihe spot suitably marked and the matter reported to the police or Defence authorities.

MATTER BEFORE THE HOUSE,

Wellington, Last Night,

With reference to the explosion of a shell on the Foxton Beach and the resultant serious injury to a small boy, Mr. Glenn asked the Minister of Defence in the House tonight whether he had any particulars of the mishap. Hon. F. J. Rolleston replied that he had no particulars, but would be pleased to ascertain the whole of the facts.