Hats Off to the Men Who Kill the Bombs!

Courage of a very high order was required in the men of the Bomb Disposal Sections of the Royal Engineers whose job it was to dig up and destroy the time-bombs distributed by Nazi raiders. Some of their deeds of heroism are described here, and tribute is paid also to some civilian workers well worthy of inclusion in the hero’s ranks.

Not until the monster time-bomb was successfully removed from the hole which it had dug close to the foundations of St. Paul's Cathedral did the nation wake up to the existence in their midst of a body of men whose heroism was of that supreme kind-the cold-blooded. Yet those four days of dangerous toil at the top of Ludgate Hill was but one incident out of many such. Since the Nazi raiders started dropping time-bombs in their attacks on London and the provinces, the Bomb Disposal Sections of the Royal Engineers, whose principal job it was to dig out the bombs, take them away to some convenient open space and there explode them, were kept exceedingly busy. By day and by night they toiled so that dislocation of communications, that interruption of the nation's business, which were the Nazis objectives, were as short as possible.

For the most part, their heroic Labours went unrecorded in the Press, because, as the soldiers themselves put it, "it's all in the day’s work.” Only when instances of exceptional gallantry had received official recognition did we hear anything about them. On September 17th 1940 the "London Gazette" announced that the King had been pleased to approve awards of the Medal of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. for Gallantry (now the George Cross), to four members of the Bomb Disposal Sections of the Royal Engineers; and it went on to tell in the most matter-of-fact way or the heroic deeds that had been recognised by the grant of this Cross, which ranks next to the V.C.


The first was Lieutenant E. W. Reynolds, 101, 102 Bomb Disposal Sections, who on August 17, 1940, was sent to investigate a 250-kilo bomb which had fallen in a garden among some council houses and had not exploded. Digging down17 ft he found that it had a new type of fuse, about which no instructions had at that time been received. Finding that traffic was suspended on the road and that the inhabitants had had to be cleared out of their houses, he removed the fuse and found that it had a clockwork delayed action. The risk that he took was great, and merit of his action was the greater for lack of exact knowledge of the type of fuse he was dealing with. A fortnight later, on September 3, he was summoned to deal with another unexploded bomb found amongst the debris of some wrecked business premises. He found on arrival that it had a clockwork fuse which was still ticking; and, suggesting that the sooner it was dealt with the better, he stated that he was willing to do so forthwith. In view of the damage to property that would have been caused by the explosion of such a large bomb in such a congested area and especially of the possible effect on the public morale, permission was given and Lieutenant Reynolds immediately extracted the fuse and rendered the bomb inoperative.
Next is the story of Second Lieutenant E. E. Talbot, 103 Bomb Disposal Section, who on August 24-25, after having been present for the whole time, 12 hours, taken to dig down to an unexploded bomb, diagnosed when it was brought to the surface that it was of the delay-action type and ordered his men to a safe distance while he examined it. As the bomb appeared to be of a new type, Lieutenant Talbot decided to remove it to a place where it could do no damage if it exploded. Still keeping his men under cover, he carried the bomb on his shoulder for some 200 yards and placed it in a safe spot. From the start of the work there was a risk of the bomb going off, and Lieut. Talbot set a fine example of courage and devotion to duty.
The third story concerns Second Lieutenant W. L. Andrews, who on August 26, while in charge of No’s. 22 and 23 Bomb Disposal Sections, experienced some difficulty in trying to extricate the fuse of a bomb.
After withdrawing it about 1 and ½ in: the fuse dropped back into position actuated by what appeared to be magnetism or a spring. Removal was attempted several times without success. 2nd Lieutenant Andrews then placed his section under cover, and after tying a piece of cord to the ring of the fuse discharger, pulled with tile result that the bomb exploded. He was blown a considerable distance, and two of the men received splinter wounds. Throughout 2nd Lieut Andrews displayed great coolness and keenness in the interests of the Service.

These men, seen at their depot, form part of the heroic contingent of the Bomb Disposal Section of the Royal Engineers which removed the one-ton time-bomb that buried itself close by St. Paul's Cathedral on September 11. On September 15 the bomb was taken to Hackney Marshes, where it made a 100ft crater when exploded.

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When Five Sappers Were Killed

Finally, we are told of Lance-Sergeant W. J. Button, No. 48 Bomb Disposal Section who on August 18 was ordered with his section to continue the work of excavating: an unexplored bomb. Although he knew well that, owing to the time already spent on excavation, the bomb was liable to explode at any moment, he continued the work of his section with great coolness. The bomb eventually exploded, killing five sappers of the section, and throwing Lance-Sergeant Button a considerable distance. Although considerably shaken, he behaved with great coolness, collected the rest of his section at a safe distance, and ascertained that none of them was injured, notified the first-aid detachment, and reported to his section officer by telephone.
But not only soldiers were engaged in combating the menace of the time-bomb; there were civilians whose daily work took them into the same deadly field, To take one instance, there were the employees of the Gas Light and Coke Company, who were called in to deal with the gas main which had been set on fire by the bomb at St Paul's and who had to put out the fire before lieutenant Davies and his men could get to work digging out the bomb, When they first arrived on the scene they found that two of the Royal Engineers were already badly gassed, and the foreman and his mate promptly applied artificial respiration. Then he and three of his gang cut off the gas supply and got the fire brigade to flood the main with water. Later, there was a second outbreak of fire, and again the flow of gas was cut off and the fire brought under control. In peacetime gangs of gas worker’s are always in a state of readiness to deal with, any damage which may happen to the mains, particularly through fire; in wartime their responsibilities are immensely increased, and as for danger-well, who would be keen on tackling the flames which are licking the crater at the bottom of which is a huge bomb which may go off at any moment.?

These men, seen at their depot, form part of the heroic contingent of the Bomb Disposal Section of the Royal Engineers which removed the one-ton time-bomb that buried itself close by St. Paul's Cathedral on September 11. On September 15 the bomb was taken to Hackney Marshes, where it made a 100ft crater when exploded.

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Reprts taken from War Illustrated 4th October 1940