Redline Home Guard recently returned to the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway for another enjoyable training evening, this time centred around a talk on unexploded bombs and wartime bomb disposal.
Making the most of the warm weather and light evenings, the platoon spent much of the evening outdoors. Training began with a brief parade and flag break before members moved on to drill practice around the station yard. The session allowed another member of the platoon to take command and lead drill, helping build confidence and command presence while sharpening up movement and discipline on parade.
As the evening progressed, members gathered outside for a talk exploring the threat posed by unexploded bombs during the Second World War and the dangerous work carried out by bomb disposal teams across Britain.
The talk covered the scale of the Luftwaffe bombing campaign against Britain, including local Thames Valley raids on Reading and Newbury in February 1943, where large German high explosive bombs caused devastating damage and casualties. From there, the session examined the main German bomb types used during the war, including SC high explosive bombs, parachute mines, incendiaries and the infamous SD2 “Butterfly Bombs”, along with the increasingly dangerous delayed-action and anti-handling fuzes designed specifically to target rescue workers and bomb disposal personnel.
A number of display items and inert examples helped bring the subject to life, allowing members to examine bomb types, fuzes and bomb disposal equipment up close while discussing how wartime bomb disposal teams attempted to render them safe under extremely dangerous conditions. The role played by the Home Guard, Civil Defence services and Auxiliary Bomb Disposal Squads in maintaining cordons, controlling crowds and supporting rescue efforts was also explored during the evening.
The setting at CWR provided an excellent atmosphere for the evening, particularly given the importance of railways during the war and the constant threat posed to vital transport infrastructure by bombing raids and sabotage.
As always, the evening combined historical learning with practical training and good company, making for another highly enjoyable Redline training night.
A big thank you once again goes to the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway for allowing us continued use of the site for training activities.
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