Ex Staff Sergeant David, told about his experiences dealing with lethal improvised explosive devices during the 1960’s, 70’s & 80’s, playing ‘Cat & Mouse’ and pitting his skills against the very best terrorist bomb makers trying to cause death and destruction in Northern Ireland at the height of the ‘Troubles’. A revealing insight into what some would call the most dangerous job in the world called for ice cold nerves, quick decisions and a whole load of luck!
During "The Troubles” bomb disposal in Northern Ireland was handled by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Ammunition Technicians (ATs) who were deployed to deal with improvised explosive devices , pipe bombs, and conventional or historical military ordnance. In a presentation which included many photographs and film clips he clearly expressed the tension and satisfaction of undertaking such a hazardous job.
Bomb disposal was famously managed by the EOD Company (Royal Army Ordnance Corps), which dealt with tens of thousands of emergency calls and saw 23 specialists killed in action. Protective clothing during the early days of his service was pretty basic but continually improved to provide better protection against both blast and chemicals, and we also saw the invention and deployment of the remote-controlled ‘Wheelbarrow robot’.
David recounted a number incidents where he and his colleagues took ‘the long walk’ towards a suspect device, identified it and dealt with it appropriately.
Unlike the Hollywood films the explosive devices generally did not have a clock trigger which would have to let the AT know how long he had to disable the device. More often than not they had a vibration trigger making it a much more difficult device to deal with!
To this day the EOD unit continues to respond to security alerts, suspect devices, and unexpected historical finds such as WWII ordnance.
We thank David for delivering a highly professional talk which was which was both gripping and thought provoking and we are grateful that we have such brave men standing by to keep us safe from such exploding devices.
We were also happy to have such a large audience as our partners and members of Clifton Circle joined us to help create such a fulfilling meeting.
With many thanks to Tony Richards for a significant contribution to this article.