Blast from the Past: The Live Bomb That Was a Garden Ornament

A pensioner's ordinary garden ornament turned out to be a live bomb that could have exploded at any time. Read the shocking story of how it was discovered and detonated.

Blast from the Past

A pensioner’s ordinary garden ornament turned out to be a live bomb that could have exploded at any time. Jeff Edwards, 77, was amazed when the shell was taken away to be detonated by the bomb squad after it had been sitting outside his home for more than 70 years.

The 64lb naval bomb had been outside the house in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales, since just after World War 2.

The bomb had been found by the previous occupants of his house, the Morris family. Jeff said the bomb had been discovered by the father, known as Pops Morris, who used to go round delivering lemonade on a horse and cart. He found it on Broad Haven beach and brought it back on his horse and cart, and it had been in front of the house ever since.

“The father used to go round delivering lemonade on a horse and cart and was known as Pops Morris.”

The bomb, which dates from 1880 to 1890, is believed to have been fired from a warship using Broad Haven beach as target practice. The bomb had become part of the house’s features. The couple who lived there after the Morris family sunk it into cement in the front garden, and when Jeffrey and his wife Sian moved in in 1982, they painted it red to match their windowsills.

A garden ornament that turned out to be a live bomb.

Nobody thought the bomb had any charge, and after gardening, Sian used to bang her trowel on it to get rid of any loose earth. All was well until Jeffrey and Sian got a knock on the door on Wednesday evening. A police officer said that it would be necessary to take photos of the device and send them onto the MOD.

Within an hour, the officer was back on Jeffrey and Sian’s doorstep saying that the bomb squad would be arriving the next day. At 8:30 am on Thursday, the police arrived on the street, followed by the bomb squad and the fire brigade.

“If the house goes up, we are going up with it.”

In the end, it was not necessary to evacuate, but after an x-ray, the bomb disposal experts did find that the shell still had a small charge. The experts worked throughout the day slowly digging the bomb out of the concrete. It was then taken under police escort to a quarry in Walwyn’s Castle where it was covered in five tonnes of sand and detonated the next day.

The bomb disposal experts worked throughout the day to dig the bomb out of the concrete.

“I was sorry to see it go,” said Jeffrey. “It’s been part of my life all those years. It was sad to think of being blown to smithereens.” Jeffrey said that he was delighted to hear that the bomb had split clean in half when detonated. The markings on it revealed that it dated back to 1880 or 1890, and it is now likely that it will be acquired by a museum.