REMOVAL OF BIG BOMB

Southland Times, Issue 24233, 17 September 1940, Page 5

REMOVAL OF BIG BOMB

GREAT CATHEDRAL SAVED GALLANTRY OF MEN OF DISPOSAL SECTION FRENCH-CANADIAN IN CHARGE - (British Official Wireless) (Received. September 16, 6.30 p.m.) RUGBY, September 15. For the past three days the Bomb Disposal Section has been struggling to remove a bomb of the biggest size ever dropped on London, which fell in Dean’s Yard, close to the west end of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The bomb entered the roadway at the edge of the pavement. When the Bomb Section began to dig they found that six-inch gas main had been fractured and three men were gassed at an early stage. The gas company was called in to deal with the main, which had caught fire. None knew how close to the blazing main the bomb might have been. When the gas had at last been cut off the Bomb Disposal Section had to dig for 27 feet six inches into the subsoil before they found the bomb. It proved to be a ton in weight and looked like a vast hog, about eight feet long. Moreover, it was fitted with fuses which made it deadly dangerous to touch or move.

To save devastating damage to St. Paul’s, the risk of removal had to be undertaken and with great difficulty it was drawn up with special tackle for a high polish had been imparted through the soil, making it difficult to handle. Two lorries in a tandem were required to haul it out of the hole. The streets were cleared by the police

from St. Paul’s to Hackney Marshes and the bomb was placed on a vast lorry and driven away at high speed, the risk of explosion being imminent the whole time.

On Sunday at Hackney Marshes the bomb was blown up by the Bomb Disposal Section. It caused a 100 foot crater and rattled windows and in one place loosened plaster in houses far away on the marshes. With pictures and prose the newspapers applaud the courage of the “Suicide Squads,” who under the more prosaic title of bomb disposal squads of the Royal Engineers have dealt effectively wtih many delayed action bombs. The bomb removed from St. Paul’s was one of the largest dropped in London. The official account of its removal by a squad under Lieutenant R. Davies is among the most remarkable stories of the Battle for London. The Ministry of Home Security states: “Only the courage and tenacity of Lieutenant Davies and his men prevented St. Paul’s from being levelled to the ground.” Lieutenant Davies is a French Canadian. His gallant squad consisted of two Yorkshiremen, two Lancashiremen and an Irishman. The Secretary for War, Mr R. A. Eden, praised the courage of the men. “Your cheerful acceptance of hazards that would daunt the stoutest heart is beyond all praise,” he said.