WW2 bomb going off in Killamarsh 1970's/80's

[brummy_tracy]

People just dont believe me when I tell them that there was a WW2 bomb that went off in Killamarsh.

I was only young and cant remember what year it was, they were open casting Rother Valley Park when they found it in the old marshes.

It was supposed to be a controlled explosion but it was more powerfull than they expected, blasting out many windows on Sheffield Road.

They had put flares up to warn people to get clear, so being young and stupid my friends and I went to see what the fireworks were about.

We were in gardens behind the houses on Sheffield Road on the Rother Valley Side when the blast hit us, it knocked us off our feet. I ran home in tears thinking the world had ended.

Please someone tell me I havent made all this up, it was one very vivid dream if I have.

[owdlad]

Hi Tracy

I have spoken to a friend who lived on Kirkcroft Lane at that time and she can't remember it happening, but is going to ask her significant other and work mates, and will get back to me as and when, but so far it looks as if you might have been affected by some fumes from the Tar Distillers.......

[brummy_tracy]

Well Leigh Environmental was behind my junior school at the time, so you might be right there.

 

Cheers for your help

 

wonder if it was in the Leader?

[owdlad]

Originally posted by brummy_tracy

Well Leigh Environmental was behind my junior school at the time, so you might be right there.

 

Cheers for your help

 

wonder if it was in the Leader?

 

The Leader's not that up to date with it's news :heyhey:

[brummy_tracy]

I worked at the Leader for a while in the early 90's as designer.

Must admit it wasnt that brill even then, you made me chuckle.

 

thanks

[Hal9001]

Your memory doesn't fail you.

 

I was in my bedroom on Rainbow Road, Hackenthorpe and I heard the bang. It shook my windows. I thought there'd been an explosion at Beighton Pit.

 

I think it was either 1979 or 1980.

[brummy_tracy]

Originally posted by Hal9001

Your memory doesn't fail you.

 

I was in my bedroom on Rainbow Road, Hackenthorpe and I heard the bang. It shook my windows. I thought there'd been an explosion at Beighton Pit.

 

I think it was either 1979 or 1980.

 

Thanks Hal9001

Hurrah im not mad after all! Do you know if it was reported in any papers?

 

Cheers

[owdlad]

There is this I got from Hansard, in a speech by Harry Barnes

 

Mr. Barnes : It is often difficult to claim a rate rebate because of the reduction in rateable values. I shall refer later to when I lived beside the Dronfield-Unstone bypass. When it was being constructed I was given a temporary rate rebate because of the problems that it caused. Such rebates will be ended by the poll tax regime. Whereas in the past people may have been given rate rebates for problems

 

Column 362

such as opencast mining or mining subsidence, they will not be available under the poll tax. I shall seek to discuss the democratic and constitutional implications of the poll tax in a later Adjournment debate.

 

The first incident at Killamarsh with which I was associated was the 1986 explosion, which Leigh Environmental described as a fire. The fire and explosion destroyed part of a building housing an aerosol recovery plant. The firm was prosecuted by the factory inspector under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to maintain the safety of its employees. In court, the inspector said :

 

"Here was an accident waiting to happen."

 

The firm was fined £1,500--the maximum penalty that could be imposed was £2,000--so the court showed its displeasure by making that decision.

 

It being Ten o'clock, the motion for the Adjournment lapsed, without Question put.

PETI

[brummy_tracy]

I remember that one as well as the WW2 bomb, we all had to keep our windows shut and we were'nt allowed to playout in the field behind the school for a couple of days after it happened.

Everyone wanted to shut the place down after that, there was mothers marches and allsorts of protests, mainly cause it was so close to Norwood Junior school (where I was).

They blamed alot of illnesses on it, there was a bad plaque of gladular fever in the kids that year that everyone blamed on them.

[deano]

Was living at charnock (gleadless) at the time and remember a distant rumble and our windows shaking,my dad informed me that they had blown up a ww2 bomb that had been found.