Walberswick has paid host to the bomb squad twice this week with the discovery, on Wednesday of a WWII mortar in the garden of what was once Tower House, which was billeted by a garrison from Lancashire during the war. Builders unearthed the bomb whilst digging trenches for electrical and water supplies for a new music studio in the garden. The builder initially thought it was a spray can of paint, and fortunately only gently knocked some of the dirt off. He quickly realised the seriousness of the situation and the owner, Astrid King promptly called the police. The bomb was placed under the shovel of the digger and Astrid sent a photo of the bomb to the Royal Logistic Corp Bomb Disposal in Colchester who texted back "we're on our way"!
All homes within 100 yard radius were evacuated, The Street and Palmers Lane were closed to traffic. 90 minutes later Royal Logistic Corp Bomb Disposal arrived with sirens blaring, they retrieved the bomb and took it to the beach. The beach was cleared and they completed a controlled explosion which could be felt all over the village. This was, as Astrid pointed out, "end of Bomb #1", but not the end of the story.
The next day followed a similar pattern, with another mortar being dug up, very close to the first. Again the Royal Logistic Corp Bomb Disposal arrived, sirens blaring, and a similar routine was completed. By now many locals were ready with their cameras and social media was full of clips and photos of sand shooting into the air as the dunes were employed to keep the detonation suppressed. It's obviously likely that there will be further discoveries over the coming week, as the builders continue with their work, and as we publish this story a kind villager is making a sweep of the garden with his metal detector. You'd have thought the Royal Logistic Corp Bomb Disposal might have done that, maybe they just enjoy visiting our beautiful village?