Well WWII might well have ended some 60+ years ago but the effects of it are still felt in London today A rather large UXB (2,200lb) was discoverd next to a tube and rail line in East London a couple of days ago and today detonated (well the timer & Det was) the main charge was disposed of very late last night by members of the Royal Engineers. This is the largest device discoverd in the last 30 years so who knows what else is still waiting to be found. Apparently a member of the team realy went beyound the call of duty and returned to work on the bomb 4 times after it had started to tick, I just hope that his gallentry is recognised Here are a couple of links to the story http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7439249.stm http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23491214-details/Tube bomb still a danger/article.do The second article gives a much clearer understanding of the danger it posed to the community.
Sadly, I'm not surprised. I think I read somewhere that some parts of London weren't rebuilt until well into the 1960s. And that's not the worst of it. When I was in the former East Berlin in 1991 (!), there were still parts of that city off the beaten track that weren't fully restored. And I know the French dig up stuff regularly. I read in the Telegraph in the last few days that a city in Normandy discovered a buried American Sherman tank while doing road work. And in eastern France discoveries of Great War munitions (including GAS shells) aren't uncommon. I believe the French government (and the Belgian) maintain agencies specifically to deal with unexploded munitions. It just goes to show that "wars and rumours of wars" are still with us, even 60 or 90 years later.
That's scary and sad. "War what it is it good for?" Absolutely nothing! but it sure leaves a trail doesn't it?
